What is a certificate of release of a federal tax lien?
In this process there are a series of steps. A Taxpayer is found to owe the Tax Agency money; The Tax Agency has tried without success to get the Taxpayer to settle the debt or to negotiate a settlement arrangement; The Tax Agency will then conduct a system search and identify assets that can be either lien-ed or seized; The Tax Agency then applies to the Court and receives a consent to file a either a Lien against the Title OR a Lis Pendens (pending litigation - the same type of encumbrance on the Title); The Taxpayer must then negotiate either Payment-in-Full or a Schedule-of-Payments; Once settled, the Tax Agency will issue a Cerificate-of-Release to the Taxpayer affirming that the debt has been satisfied and the Lien may be removed at the Land Titles Office. The Taxpayer would then approach the Land Titles Office with a certified copy of the Cerificate-of-Release and instruct that the Lien be struck from the record thereby discharging any obligation. NOTE: We have yet to see a Tax Agency release a Lien or Lis Pendens without either Payment-in-Full, or a Court Application and appearance proving that the Taxpayer is not the party in question OR the tax debt was fraudulently incurred, and not the liability of the Taxpayer.