0 point gain from IRS lien removal

thankfulheart · ‎01-09-2012

I need a WEEPING smiley. I bit the bullet and pulled the trigger on a full Equifax report from myFICO just now only to learn that my score did not change a single whit by having my IRS lien removed. Nary a point. It was from 2007 and had still been showing unpaid as I never filed the paperwork that I'd paid it. What a major disappointment.

The predictor says my best bet is to pay off my CCs which are up there right now (partly an experiment in credit scoring), so I'll do that over the next week or so to see how many points I get from that. I'm just crushed b/c I thought the IRS thing would be worth SOMETHING.

Starting Score: 10/1/2011 EQ 568 TU 593
Current Score: EQ 664 TU 700 EX 701 (FAKO)

Anonymous · ‎01-09-2012

That's terrible! I am so sorry to hear that the deletion of your IRS tax lien did not count for anything on FICO.

They DO say on here that carrying high credit card balances is the worst thing you can do to your FICO score and, if getting a lien deleted did not make any difference because your credit cards are currently reporting high balances, then -- it must be true. After you get your credit cards paid down to zero, I am anxious to hear if you will see your FICO score spike upwards. I certainly hope so!

Revelate · ‎01-09-2012

Yeah, I honestly don't know how much liens actually fit into the score after a certain period of time.

My EQ report, which had already airstruck my astonishing IRS lien on it when I last pulled, was lower than my TU (both from here) which did have the lien on it. The only advantage is that it's almost certainly a rebucketing without the lien on it, which is nothing but goodness in the long run.

Anonymous · ‎01-25-2012

This will be interesting, I paid down my cc's first, which did give me a 22 point bump, and now I am trying to get an IRS lien removed from my credit report which was released in 2009. So I should be able to confirm or share a different experience.

I often wonder if the scoring models didn't change once it became easier last Feb. to withdraw liens. Maybe put less emphasis on them now?

llecs · ‎01-25-2012

@Anonymous wrote:
I often wonder if the scoring models didn't change once it became easier last Feb. to withdraw liens. Maybe put less emphasis on them now?

Nope....none of the FICO formulas changed. Lenders and myFICO still use versions that are 3 years old or greater. IIRC, in the case of OP, there is at least one PR still reporting outside of IRS which would still have a major impact.