What Is a Certificate of Discharge of Federal Tax Lien?

IRS tax liens attach to all of your property. Therefore, selling a piece of property or other asset while you have a tax lien in place can be very difficult. In certain cases, however, the IRS will discharge a lien from an asset or group of assets, allowing a sale to occur. The lien is discharged from the assets being sold, however it stays in place in every other manner. The Service requires copies of specific documents in order to consider a request for a Certificate of Discharge (COD).

Use IRS Publication 783 and IRS Form 14135 to request an IRS COD. The IRS will be much more agreeable to a COD if you have a tax resolution or tax settlement in place. If you don't have your tax debt resolved before you request a COD from the IRS, it is a good idea to request a formal resolution simultaneously.