What This Letter Means
Letter 3171, Notice of Federal Tax Lien Additional Filing, tells you the IRS filed another Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL) for the same tax debts already covered by an earlier lien notice. A copy of the new filing, Form 668(Y)(c), is enclosed. It shows where it was filed.
The IRS does this for a few reasons:
- It found property in another county or state and filed there too.
- It amended an earlier lien notice to fix your name, taxpayer ID number, assessment date, or dollar amount.
- It released a lien by mistake, revoked that release, and filed a new notice.
The lien secures the government's claim to your current and future property until the balance is paid or the IRS can no longer legally collect it. A lien notice is a public record. Lien notices no longer appear on credit reports, but lenders can still find them in public records.
Your Appeal Rights
You were offered a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing when the first lien notice for these taxes was filed (Letter 3172). This additional filing does not give you a new CDP hearing for the same assessments. Your options now:
- Ask for a conference with the IRS employee's manager.
- If that doesn't resolve it, request review by Appeals through the Collection Appeals Program using Form 9423.
- Depending on when the original lien notice was filed, a CDP or equivalent hearing may still be available.
What to Do
- Pay the balance, or set up a payment plan, an offer in compromise, or a hardship delay.
- Ask about lien relief. In certain cases a lien notice can be withdrawn, or specific property discharged or subordinated.
- Once the debt is paid in full, the IRS generally issues a certificate of release within 30 days.
Deadlines
This letter has no new hearing deadline. Every month the debt stays open, the lien stays in place.
If the IRS filed a tax lien against you and you want it resolved or released, call us at (813) 229-7100.