• The lien stays attached to your property.

• You can, however, force the IRS to be paid only the secured portion of its claim .

• The rest of the tax debt is treated as unsecured (general or priority, depending on the type and age of the tax) and paid pro-rata with credit cards and medical bills — often only pennies on the dollar.

Only if the underlying tax debt itself qualifies for discharge and you complete the bankruptcy case.
Dischargeable taxes (generally income taxes that are more than 3 years old, filed on time, no fraud, etc.) lose their personal claim against you. Once the tax debt is discharged:

• In Chapter 13:…After plan completion, you can request that the IRS release the lien

• The lien is released only after the IRS processes the case— this can take 30–90 days after discharge.

Yes, for valuation purposes under 11 U.S.C. § 506(a), the IRS secured claim is usually valued at $0 if there is no equity above senior mortgages. That means the IRS gets nothing as a secured creditor, but the lien still survives discharge unless the underlying tax itself is dischargeable.

Still no. The Chapter 20 trick that works for junior mortgages does not work for federal tax liens. The IRS lien survives both cases unless the underlying tax debt is discharged and the IRS voluntarily releases or withdraws the lien.

• You cannot permanently strip the lien like a fully “underwater” second mortgage.

• You can minimize or eliminate what the IRS gets paid through a chapter 13 plan.

• If the taxes are old enough to be dischargeable, the lien will eventually be released after you finish chapter 13 bankruptcy and apply for release. Released as well in chapter 7 assuming IRS isn’t interested in assets you owned on date of filing.

• Always work with an Arizona bankruptcy attorney experienced with IRS liens — the rules on dischargeability and lien withdrawal are technical.

An NFTL is defective if it contains errors like incorrect taxpayer information, wrong tax periods, or improper formatting (e.g., missing required details under IRC 6323). Amazingly, such defects don't invalidate the underlying statutory lien but can subordinate the IRS's priority against third parties like creditors. To challenge, submit Form 12277 or contact the Centralized Lien Operation (800-913-6050) with documentation proving the error— the IRS must correct or withdraw it if verified, restoring your credit and property rights without full payment.

Yes—filing an NFTL during a bankruptcy automatic stay (under 11 U.S.C. § 362) is improper, as it halts most IRS collections. What's amazing is this creates an immediate violation, potentially leading to lien invalidation and possible sanctions against the IRS. Taxpayers can file a motion in bankruptcy court to void the lien; the IRS must then release it, protecting assets from seizure.

NFTLs expire after 10 years unless refiled within a strict window (ending on the "Last Day for Refiling" noted on the form). Shockingly, a missed refiling makes the public notice unenforceable against purchasers or creditors, though the underlying debt lien (the secret lien) may linger until the 10-year collection statute ends. Taxpayers can request a lien release via Form 12277, and if unrefiled, may be able to sell property free of the IRS claim— a hidden escape hatch for resolving old debts.

Absolutely—liens based on mistaken identity (e.g., similar names) or erroneous assessments are improper from the start. The IRS must withdraw it entirely, treating it as if never filed, which erases public records. Provide proof like payment records or ID mismatches to the IRS contact on the notice; they’re required to act quickly, often within 30 days, avoiding any collection action.

The 'silent' (statutory) lien arises automatically under IRC 6321 upon non-payment after demand, but without a timely NFTL filing, it lacks priority over certain creditors—making the setup defective for IRS enforcement. This "stealth" flaw may make dealing with the IRS easier or allow you to sell assets without IRS interference, as third parties (e.g., buyers) take priority.

YES — but with two huge caveats you must understand:

• If the Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL) is truly defective (wrong taxpayer name/SSN, wrong tax periods, filed in violation of automatic stay, never properly refiled, etc.), bankruptcy courts will void or strip the lien entirely. The IRS then holds only an unsecured claim (or in some cases a “silent lien).

• Caveat #1: The lien amount on the NFTL is almost always “wrong” because interest and penalties keep accruing. Courts have repeatedly held that this alone does not make the NFTL defective (see Treas. Reg. § 301.6323(g)-1; In re Moore, 2014 WL 2600780 (Bankr. D. Idaho)). An overstated or understated amount is generally not grounds to invalidate the lien.

• Caveat #2 (the big one): Even if you successfully strip the lien, if the underlying tax debt is a priority tax (e.g., trust-fund taxes or income taxes less than 3 years old — it remains a priority claim under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(8) and must still be paid 100% through a Chapter 13 plan (11 U.S.C. § 1322(a)(2)). You only avoid the lien surviving after bankruptcy; you do not escape paying the debt itself in Chapter 13.
  Bottom line: You can destroy the lien and prevent it from attaching to future assets, but priority tax claims still get paid in full through a chapter 13 plan. In a 7, the prioirity debt survives discharge.

Any NFTL filed after the bankruptcy petition is void as a violation of the automatic stay. File a simple motion — courts void the lien and sometimes award sanctions against the IRS.

The public notice becomes unenforceable after the “Last Day for Refiling.” In bankruptcy, you can strip the lien completely because the IRS loses secured status against the estate.

Yes — mistaken identity or erroneous assessment liens are void from the beginning.

If no valid NFTL was on file as of the petition date, the IRS has only a statutory (“silent”) lien. In Chapter 13 or 7, that lien is automatically stripped at the end of the case for most taxes. Again, if the tax is priority under § 507(a)(8), you still pay 100% of the debt through the Chapter 13 plan. But if no NFTL - the debt can’t be considered “secured” debt in the 13. In the 7, no NFTL, if debt is discharged move assets lien free.

Real defects (not just wrong dollar amounts) include: wrong taxpayer name/SSN that doesn’t match SSA records, wrong tax periods, filing during automatic stay, failure to refile by the “Last Day for Refiling,” or lack of pre-lien notice (CDP rights). Minor amount discrepancies caused by ongoing accruals do not count.