Tax Liens and Credit Score

[Anonymous]

I have (3) tax liens from prior years (02,03, & 04) and (2) have been released. The 02 was whiped out in BK, 03 Lien Survived BK, and 04 has been paid. I have not paid off the 03 Tax Lien out of laziness and because the state is not allowed to collect on it. I am afraid because of my lack to pay it off that it is hurting my credit score. Currently my EQ cr is stating released on 2007, the Experian is stating NA on released day, and I have not checked the TU yet. Two questions here 1) is the tax lien hurting the credit score by not being satisfied and 2) how long do tax liens stay on CR?

Thank you in advance for all your help and advice.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have (3) tax liens from prior years (02,03, & 04) and (2) have been released. The 02 was whiped out in BK, 03 Lien Survived BK, and 04 has been paid. I have not paid off the 03 Tax Lien out of laziness and because the state is not allowed to collect on it. I am afraid because of my lack to pay it off that it is hurting my credit score. Currently my EQ cr is stating released on 2007, the Experian is stating NA on released day, and I have not checked the TU yet. Two questions here 1) is the tax lien hurting the credit score by not being satisfied and 2) how long do tax liens stay on CR?

Thank you in advance for all your help and advice.

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Any PR is considered a major derogatory and is definitely hurting your scores.

City, county, state, and federal tax liens: Unpaid tax liens remain 15 years from the filing date. Paid tax liens remain seven years from the paid date of the lien.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Anonymous]

For the paid tax liens that are at 7 years or over will they be cleaned from my CR or do I need to initiate the process with EQ, TU, & ExP?

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

For the paid tax liens that are at 7 years or over will they be cleaned from my CR or do I need to initiate the process with EQ, TU, & ExP?

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It should be automatic but always check and make sure.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Momof5]

I do want to correct something already posted....unpaid tax liens will stay forever. 

Also, here is the issue with the paid tax liens.... the State or Federal government does not tell the court what the date of payment is and even worse, some states require that you request a release of the lien - even though it has been paid.  Since the court doesn't have the paid date, the CRAs use the date of release. (In one case for me by the time I requested the release of the lien, 8 years had passed since I had already paid the tax lien!!!!  It took a lawsuit threat to get the PR off my CR.

My personal advice to folks with liens is pay them ASAP and make sure that the release is filed promptly.

The CRAs should remove the paid liens as they age, but watch them to ensure that they do.

[MarineVietVet]

I stand before you humbly corrected. Unpaid tax liens can remain forever. I was looking through some older threads and saw the 15 year number and stopped there without looking any further.

It clearly states all that here: http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/Questions/Negative-Items-On-Credit-Report.aspx

My apologies for posting bad information. 

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".