Lien Removal

As our Hoyt experience shows, not everything is necessarily fair (we are victims being dragged down by the government after the fact, while normally victims of a disaster of this magnitude receive government aid).

When you have settled your Hoyt-related "tax debt" with the IRS, you will want to ensure the IRS removes any liens placed on your property (if you still have any property left). To do this, contact their Centralized Case Processing (CCP) unit at 800-913-6050. Have the following information ready before calling:

• Lien number(s)
• Tax year(s) covered

The CCP will usually issue lien releases within two weeks. If a third week has gone by, something is wrong. What's wrong may not necessarily be that you have a lien release coming and didn't get it. Ask IRS for help in determining why the lien wasn't released.

Yes, even though the IRS has been out to get you all these years you still must ask them for help in releasing a lien. Nobody else has the power to do that. If you're lucky, you'll get a decent person on your first try and that person will give you solid facts and clear instructions. If you reach a person who starts bombarding you with questions and pumping you for information, you've got a fishing expedition person to deal with. If that happens, just hang up.

Here's another consideration:

(From the Kiplinger Tax Letter, September, 2005). "IRS can still collect taxes that were excused in bankruptcy. Future income tax refunds can be grabbed to offset unpaid taxes, a court says. It doesn't matter that the debtor's future income tax liabilities were discharged by the bankruptcy court. (Pigott, D.C., Ala.)"