A federal tax lien is the government’s legal claim against your property if you don’t pay a tax debt. The lien protects the government’s interest in your property and may include real estate, financial assets, and personal property. While it has serious financial consequences, one oft-forgotten problem is the negative hit to the person’s credit score, dropping it as much as 100 points. Even once the debt to the IRS is satisfied and the lien withdrawn, it doesn’t mean the negative reporting will disappear from the credit report – unless you proactively file to have it removed. If a Federal tax lien (5 comments)