If you just found a tax lien attached to your Michigan home, you probably have one urgent question. How long does the lien last, and when will it finally come off your property? The answer depends on who filed it, because a federal lien and a State of Michigan lien run on two completely separate clocks. If you want a clear read on your situation before you act, our team of Michigan tax attorney professionals can tell you which clock applies to your lien.
The short version is that a federal tax lien usually lasts 10 years from the date the tax was assessed, while a State of Michigan tax lien runs for 7 years and can be renewed. Knowing how long a Michigan tax lien lasts matters most when you are trying to sell or refinance, because a recorded lien can stall a real estate closing in a hurry. This guide lays out both timelines in plain English, walks through your options for clearing a lien sooner, and shows where to turn for help.
A federal tax lien is not something the IRS chooses to create case by case. It arises automatically once the IRS assesses what you owe, sends you a bill, and you do not pay. That quiet lien becomes public when the IRS files a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with your county register of deeds.
The timeline is tied to what the IRS calls the collection statute, set by Internal Revenue Code section 6502. The IRS has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect the debt. That deadline is called the Collection Statute Expiration Date, or CSED. The Notice of Federal Tax Lien is written to release on its own 30 days after that 10-year window closes. So in most cases, the answer to how long an IRS lien lasts in Michigan is 10 years plus 30 days from the assessment date.
That 10-year clock is not always a straight line. Certain events pause it, which pushes the expiration date further out. The most common ones include:
The IRS can also refile the public notice in limited situations, which extends how long it stays visible on your record. Because the federal rules carry their own detail, we cover the federal side in depth in our guide to whether federal tax liens expire. The rest of this article focuses on what makes Michigan different. You can also read the basics straight from the source at IRS.gov.
If your lien comes from the Michigan Department of Treasury rather than the IRS, the rules change completely. A state tax lien is governed by Michigan law, specifically MCL 205.29, not the federal collection statute, and it does not follow the 10-year federal timeline.
Under that statute, the lien attaches to your property from the date the underlying return or report was due, and it continues for 7 years from the date of attachment. The Department of Treasury can extend it for another 7 years by refiling, as long as that refiling happens within the 6 months before the original period runs out. In practice, this means a state lien can stay on your property for up to 14 years if the state chooses to renew it.
There is also a record-keeping rule worth knowing. Under Michigan’s State Tax Lien Registration Act, if the state does not refile within 7 years and 60 days of the original filing, the filing officer can remove the notice from the record. Removing the notice is not the same as erasing the debt. The underlying tax balance can still be owed even after a lien notice drops off.
This is exactly where many Michigan homeowners get tripped up. Settling with the IRS does not clear a Michigan state lien, and the federal 10-year rule does not apply to state debt. The two agencies operate entirely independently. If you are dealing with both a federal and a state lien, you have two separate problems on two separate clocks. For the state side, our overview of settling a Michigan state tax lien explains the options through the Department of Treasury, and you can confirm current state guidance at michigan.gov/treasury.
Most people do not learn they have a lien from an official letter. Instead, they find out from a title company. Spring and summer are peak seasons for home sales and refinancing in Michigan, and that is exactly when a routine title search pulls up a recorded lien that has been sitting quietly for years.
A tax lien clouds your title. It does not stop you from legally owning the home, but it does attach to the property’s equity, which means the government sits ahead of you in line when the home changes hands. A buyer’s lender will almost never close on a property with an open tax lien. The same problem shows up with a refinance because your new lender wants first position and a tax lien filed before the refinance gets directly in the way.
The good news is that a lien usually does not have to kill your deal. It often gets paid directly from your sale proceeds at closing or handled through options like a discharge or a subordination. Our detailed guide on how to sell or refinance a home with a tax lien walks through how that works step by step.
Waiting out a 7-year or 10-year clock is rarely the smart play, especially with a property deal pending. You usually have faster options. Each federal tool below has its own IRS application form, which is part of why the paperwork is easier to get right with professional help.
For Michigan state debt, the path runs through the Department of Treasury and its own resolution programs, which are separate from the federal process.
Here is a point that surprises many people. The three national credit bureaus stopped including tax liens on consumer credit reports in 2018, so a lien no longer drops your credit score the way it once did. That does not mean a lien is invisible. It is still a public record filed with your county, which is exactly how title companies, lenders, and buyers find it during a transaction. So while a lien may not appear on your credit report, it can still block a sale or a refinance until it is resolved. Clearing it through a discharge, subordination, withdrawal, or full resolution is what actually frees up the property.
Consider a homeowner in Oakland County who accepted a strong offer on her house in June and expected to close in three weeks. The title search turned up a Notice of Federal Tax Lien from a balance owed several years earlier, and the buyer’s lender refused to fund the mortgage until the issue was resolved.
Rather than lose the sale, she applied for an expedited certificate of discharge so the lien could be cleared from that specific property using the closing proceeds. With the paperwork filed correctly and the proceeds directed to the IRS, the lien came off the title, and the sale closed only a little behind schedule. Cases like this turn on timing and proper documentation.
This example is for illustration only and does not describe an actual client. Because outcomes vary based on each taxpayer’s unique facts, prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
A lien on your home is stressful, but it is a solvable problem when you act early. Our team includes licensed attorneys, CPAs, and former IRS Revenue Officers. We have stood on both sides of these cases and know how the IRS and the Michigan Department of Treasury actually operate.
We help Michigan homeowners figure out which clock their lien is on, whether a discharge, subordination, withdrawal, or settlement is the right tool, and how to keep a sale or refinance on track. You can review your tax lien resolution options or reach out for a direct look at your situation.
Please note: Levy & Associates does not represent clients in criminal tax matters of any kind. Our professional focus is strictly on civil tax resolution.
A federal tax lien generally lasts 10 years from the date the IRS assessed the tax, and the public notice is written to release 30 days after that. The deadline can be extended by a refiling or paused by specific events like a pending settlement offer, a Collection Due Process hearing, or bankruptcy.
No. A Michigan state tax lien runs for 7 years from the date it attached under MCL 205.29, and the state can renew it for another 7 years. It does not follow the federal 10-year rule, so settling with the IRS will not clear a state lien.
Yes. The first period runs 7 years from attachment, and the Department of Treasury can refile once for another 7 years if it acts within the 6 months before the original period expires. That brings the maximum life to 14 years.
Usually yes. Most sales close by paying the lien directly from the proceeds at closing or by obtaining a discharge that releases the lien from that specific property. The key is to start the paperwork well before your closing date, not after.
It can, because your new lender wants first priority, and a recorded tax lien sits ahead of them. A subordination moves the IRS behind your new loan so the refinance can go through, which is often much faster than paying the lien in full.
Not directly anymore. The major credit bureaus removed tax liens from consumer credit reports in 2018. A lien is still a public record, though, so it will surface in a title search and can block a sale or refinance until it is resolved.
The IRS releases a federal lien within 30 days of the debt being paid or otherwise satisfied. State timelines through the Michigan Department of Treasury can differ, so it is worth confirming the status directly with the state once your payment clears.
If a tax lien is standing between you and a home sale, a refinance, or just your peace of mind, the team at Levy & Associates is ready to help. Our attorneys, CPAs, and former IRS Revenue Officers understand exactly how federal and Michigan state liens work, because many of us used to work on the government side of these cases.
Call us at (877) 500-4930 or contact us online today for a free financial consultation.
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