IRS Letter 3172 states, "Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing and Your Right to a Hearing Under IRC 6320". IRS Letter 3172 is a notice to inform you the IRS has filed a federal tax lien. Form 668(y)(c) is the actual filed lien in county offices.
WARNING ABOUT LIENS & "REPRESENTATIVES":
This tax lien is filed publicly so everyone can see it. Therefore, immediately after the lien is filed you will receive a flood of telephone calls from "representatives" who claim (& guarantee) that they can eliminate this tax problem. They offer "free consultations" where they prey upon your fears & hopes in order to sell you a very expensive, futile "service". They will steal your money (which could go to the IRS) and harm you by extending the statute of limitations. Of course, they are not lawyers & have no ethical duty to tell you the truth. (See Blog Articles)
THE TRUTH ABOUT TAX LIENS:
Attached to Letter 3172 will usually be an invitation to Appeal the lien. (Form 12153) However, be very careful - an Appeal is often futile and extends the statute of limitations. Don't fight battles you can't win - especially if the limitations period is extended.
Instead, we believe the traditional tools to reduce, mitigate or eliminate this debt should be explored. But, be aware that any avenue of relief you solicit will have positive & negative consequences to you. For instance, you can file Chapter 7 bankruptcy & perhaps prevent the IRS from collecting.
However, this does not eliminate the tax lien, which continues to run for the full collections time period. Only a successful Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a completed Offer-of-Compromise or full payment of the tax, penalty & interest will extinguish a Federal Tax Lien.
So, we have to find creative ways to accentuate the positive & diminish the negative. Please follow the Prep Steps for IRS Letter 3172 and see a tax lawyer in Colorado Springs, Pueblo or Denver so a specific Action Plan can be devised for your benefit! Use this Evaluator to see if Bankruptcy is the best choice.
