I did my taxes with turbo tax. I owed federal taxes and paid them. I also paid my state taxes. I checked my credit report the other day and there are two open charges from the state saying "State Tax Lien" One is for $90 and the other is $130. I never received anything saying I owed additional money and wouldn't have known if I didn't check my credit. How can I go about getting these removed? I have no problem paying them... just don't want them on my record.
The first thing to do is check with the state tax commission to see what they have to say about it. State tax commissions usually do not report to credit bureaus themselves. Another thing to check is the code it is posted as. Another thing to check is the code used in the listing. Various state agencies who collect taxes use different codes. A sales tax code might have the letters ST in it somewhere. If it deals with motor vehicles it might have MV in the listing. Check for things like that because if it is from some other agency than the one you think it is the coding might reveal that.
If a tax lien reports on your CRs, then a "public file" must exist in the records office of your local county court house. I recommend that the first thing you do is visit your local county court house, and review the tax lien filings on record. These will show what you owe and why. You then should be able to work backwards to see who filed it (what office) and why. Most likely they will pull the liens if you pay it, BUT...be sure to get it in writing BEFORE you write the checks. Then follow up with the county court house to ensure filing has been pulled. You also may have a break with the e-filing you did; there should be an electronic record of your payment for the state taxes, make sure you have this in your hands before you proceed. Also, do your bank records show the payment for these state taxes? Double check that the account information was correct on your taxes filing.
I called the state today... They are from 2002 when I was a sophmore in college. I asked them about paying and full and getting a written letter saying that they would remove the marks on my credit report. They said that it can't be done. They said it will only show as being paid and cannot be removed. What do I do now?
A couple of ideas: 1) If you have your tax records from 2002, or access to them, review them again to see if the amount was actually owed. You may want to see if there is a way to contest the amounts owed. 2) Start researching the laws for your state, and income taxes. There usually exists a clause to allow NOT reporting the lien somewhere. 3) Don't give up! Just because this person told you here was nothing that could be done, don't take that as the final word. Keep trying to get to someone higher up the ladder, someone who CAN do something. 4) Try to find a fault with something they did; if you owed taxes as far back as 2002, did you ever get a notice or bill? Did you receive any state tax refund for the years after 2002? Again, do your homework, it sounds like they may have made a mistake somewhere, and you can use this to your advantage. So, don't give up and do your homework, you may also want to see if there ia a state "tax advocacy" in your state. These are officials who investigate and work for you in tax matters like these. Good Luck!
Great. I will try someone higher up. I did receive a refund in 02, so it seems like a mistake on their part. I will keep trying.
Quick question; you say you received a "refund" in 2002. What is the "tax year" these liens are for? You said 2002, which means this was for your filing in 2003. Did you get a refund in 2003? I also would question your taxes, if you were in college, it would seem that you probably did not make that much money. Again, make sure you have your tax years vs. filing years straight. Also, double check your tax records. There may be a mistake here. Also, don't overlook the obvious. Did you verify that the tax liens were for you? I mean did you verify your Social Security number against them? There are plenty of documented cases of identity error with tax liens.
Yes, they are mine, and I didn't make more than 2K while I was down there that year. I want to get these removed. Someone suggested to just claim unknown.
Did you file tax returns for those years? Did you have any remaining amount owed beyond your withholding? Were you due a refund, or did you send in a payment with your return? At what level of annual income would you have owed the first dollar of state tax, after exeptions? Were any income amounts reported against your SSN that were not included in your tax returns? Were any income amounts reported against your SSN, that were not your income?
I did file returns for those years. I did not owe anything beyond my withholding. I was due a refund those in 02 and owed in filing year 05. (paid) No amounts reported against my ssn. There is a possible amount that I do not recognize as mine. I will have to trace the paper trail.
