Certificate of Discharge

A Certificate of Discharge (COD) is the process of removing a single piece of property from being subject to the tax lien, usually so that the property can be legally transferred. For example, if you are trying to sell your house but the presence of the lien is preventing this from occurring, then you would need to obtain a Certificate of Discharge to release the tax lien against your house.

In the vast majority of cases, the IRS will not release a lien against a particular piece of property unless they are somehow going to benefit from it. They will generally only approve a Certificate of Discharge if the lien discharge will facilitate the sale of the property in such a way that the IRS will get some money out of it. In other words, releasing the lien will facilitate collection of the tax.

If the government isn’t going to see any money out of releasing a piece of property from the lien, it’s possible to still obtain a Certificate of Discharge if there is a valid reason. In particular, if the IRS won’t be receiving any money, but getting rid of the property will free up cash flow and put you in a better financial position in regards to your income and expenses so that later on down the road you can start paying on your taxes, then the IRS will likely approve a Certificate of Discharge. If the property in question has no significant fair market value, the COD may also be granted, but this is much more of a hit-or-miss situation.

If you need help navigating the Maze of the IRS bureaucracy – Contact Us Today! We specialize in Reducing and Resolving Back Tax Issues – Fast. Our Team of Enrolled Agents is specifically trained to help Reduce the Complexity of Tax Lien Situations. We Can Help!

Click Here for more Information on the Services we provide. Click Here for more information on Tax Liens.