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Search Results for: tax liens

Q&A: How long will a tax lien linger on a credit report?

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Dear Liz: You wrote an article about how the credit bureaus are removing civil judgments and tax liens from people’s credit reports. I’ve been denied credit due to a few tax liens. Creditors won’t negotiate, even though the IRS has already deemed me unable to pay due to my disability. (I’m receiving Social Security disability income.) My question now is, how can I be sure it is being removed? Do I need to call the bureaus? Order another credit report?

Answer: Your unpaid tax liens may disappear, or they may not.

Starting in July, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion began removing liens and judgments when those records lack enough personally identifying information to ensure that the negative marks wind up on the right people’s reports. Another new requirement is that the records be properly updated, so that accounts that have been paid or resolved aren’t still showing as unpaid.

The error rate for these records was high, leading to many complaints, disputes and lawsuits. The bureaus expect to purge virtually all civil judgments but only about half of the tax liens.

If your liens aren’t purged and you can’t pay them, you may have to wait a while for them to fall off your credit reports. Paid liens are subject to the seven-year limit on how long most negative items can appear on credit reports. Unpaid liens can technically remain indefinitely, although the bureaus typically remove them after 10 years.

Q&A: How to handle cash savings of deceased parents

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Dear Liz: My mother passed away a little over a year ago, and my father about 18 months prior to her. I discovered that my parents saved up quite a lot of cash (in the six figures), and I’m afraid to deposit it without triggering the IRS. My parents routinely saved anywhere from $5,000 to up to $20,000 per year for the last 30 years. I read my mom’s handwriting on the envelopes with the dates. How can I deposit all this without triggering the IRS? Some of the bills are “vintage” so I will keep them to see if they’re worth more than face value. I also thought about using it to buy real estate.

Answer: You mention “triggering the IRS” as if your deposit might set off an explosion of audit notices and tax liens. In reality, you’re far more likely to cause yourself grief by trying to avoid IRS notice than you are by simply depositing the money.

Banks report large cash deposits — typically those of $10,000 or more — to the IRS as a way to combat money laundering. Anti-money-laundering rules also have been extended to real estate deals. Banks are looking for smaller deposits that could add up to more than $10,000, so don’t think spreading out the deposits will help you avoid scrutiny.

“Depositing the money all at once would probably arouse less suspicion with the bank than making a continuing series of deposits just under $10,000,” says Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.

Luscombe suggests retaining all those envelopes with your mother’s handwriting. If you are questioned by your bank or the IRS, the envelopes could help show your parents were gradually saving the money over time rather than engaging in some money-raising scheme on which taxes were never paid.

You didn’t mention if your parents had wills or other estate documents, or if there are other beneficiaries. Consult with an estate planning attorney to see if the cash needs to be deposited in the name of your mother’s estate.

Jennifer Sawday, an estate planning attorney in Long Beach, Calif., recommends going in person to your bank to ask for an appointment to make a large cash deposit. Ideally, you can discuss the situation and disclose the source of the funds in a private office, where you can’t be overheard. Ask if the bank can hire an armored courier to pick you up at your home to reduce the chance you’ll be robbed en route, Sawday suggests.

Please don’t delay, since theft isn’t the only concern. Cash also can be lost to fire, floods and other disasters. (One can only imagine how many bank-averse people lost cash in the recent Los Angeles fires.) Plus, cash tends to lose value over time thanks to inflation–the vast majority of “vintage” bills are worth much less than when they were printed. You’ll want to at least start earning some interest on the money, and perhaps put it to work in other investments.

Q&A: Changing credit scoring formulas will help some — but not everyone

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Dear Liz: I read that the credit bureaus have started deleting black marks from people’s credit reports. This is good news for me. I have never been late on a house payment in 30-plus years, but my credit is in the low 600s due to a loan I co-signed for an ex-girlfriend who has been chronically late.

Answer: The records the credit bureaus are deleting won’t help improve your scores.

The three bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — are removing virtually all civil court judgments and many tax liens from credit reports. Tax liens result from unpaid state or federal tax bills and civil judgments are court rulings from lawsuits filed over old debts, unpaid child support, evictions and other non-criminal disputes.

Judgments and liens caused a lot of disputes and complaints about accuracy because the records were often missing key identifying information and weren’t regularly updated. The bureaus are removing the records that don’t include minimum identifying information such as Social Security numbers or dates of birth in addition to names and addresses. The records must also have been updated within the previous 90 days.

The deleted records are expected to lead to small credit score increases for most of the 12 million to 14 million people who have such black marks on their credit reports.

Your issue is different. Because you co-signed, the loan appears on your credit reports as well as your ex’s. Every late payment hurts your credit scores. If your ex had simply stopped paying, your scores would have plunged even more — but then would have begun to improve as your responsible use of credit began to offset the default.

After seven years and 180 days, the defaulted loan would no longer show up on your credit reports or affect your scores. Because your ex keeps paying, albeit late, your credit scores sustain fresh damage each time. Each late payment also resets the clock on how long the negative marks show up on your credit reports. You won’t begin to get relief until the loan is paid off or refinanced.

Black marks fall off credit reports in July

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Starting July 1, the credit scores of up to 14 million people could begin to rise as credit reports are scrubbed of nearly all civil judgments and many tax liens.

Consumer advocates hail the data’s deletion as a long-overdue victory for people whose scores were unfairly dinged by inaccurate information. Others worry the changes could inflate the scores of risky borrowers and have a catastrophic impact on lenders.

People shouldn’t expect an immediate jump in their scores, however.

In my latest for the Associated Press, how the process will work and when you can expect to see changes.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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debt collectorsToday’s top story: How a single missed student loan payment can damage your credit. Also in the news: Finding a financial advisor who won’t rip you off, how tax liens can affect a spouse’s credit, and seven fall budget moves you need to make before the holidays begin.

Most Students Don’t Get How Bad It Is to Miss Loan Payments
A single missed payment could take a severe bite out of your credit score.

How to Hire a Financial Advisor Who Won’t Rip You Off
Due diligence is key.

Life Insurance Agents and Commissions: What You Should Know
Beware the sales pitch.

How Tax Liens Affect a Spouse’s Credit
Community property states mean trouble for both credit scores.

7 Fall Budget Moves You Need to Make Now
Get busy before the holidays.

News you can use right now

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Here’s a round-up of good recent stories tied to Tax Day (deadline’s tomorrow) and one of my favorite topics, credit scores.

Can’t pay? Amy Feldman’s article “What if you can’t pay your taxes?” for Reuters walks you through what to do if you’re facing a big bill, rather than a refund. Bottom line: don’t ignore the problem.

Tax liens and credit scores. The IRS has many ways to make your life miserable if you don’t pay your taxes. One weapon used by the IRS and other tax authorities is the tax lien, which can trash your credit scores and which is one of the few negative items that can show up on your credit report indefinitely if you fail to pay. Learn more from Tom Quinn’s column “Not paying your taxes can hurt your credit score” on Credit.com.

Plan to buy a car with your refund? If you’re one of the many getting money back from Uncle Sam and considering using it to buy another car, beware. Dealers know you’re coming, and you don’t want to have a big red target on your back. “Dealers are well aware that buyers may suddenly have an influx of cash on hand this time of year, so it’s not uncommon to see promotions and offers tied to tax season,” says Carroll Lachnit, Consumer Advice Editor at Edmunds.com. “And while there are good deals to be had on new cars, we strongly encourage consumers to take advantage of every research tool at their disposal before they plunk down their refunds as down payments.” For more, read Edmunds.com’s “Do your research before spending tax refund dollars at the car dealership.”

Good credit scores and a fat down payment may not be enough. You’ve heard that it’s harder to get mortgage these days, but you might be surprised at how much harder it is. Real estate columnist Kenneth Harney details the average FICO scores, down payments and debt-to-income ratios of those who did and didn’t get a mortgage in February. Most shocking: the group that got turned down had numbers that would have made them great candidates for loans just a few years ago.

Unexpected ways to better your numbers. Speaking of credit scores, Daniel Bortz wrote “6 surprising ways to boost your credit score” for U.S. News. I’m quoted, along with Beverly Herzog of Credit.com, Bill Hardekopf of LowCards.com and Anthony Sprauve of FICO.