I am aware that unpaid tax liens remain on your credit report indefinitely.

However, I was informed some years ago (by Experian Credit) that there is an exception to this rule for residents of California.

They stated that "all tax liens in California come off your credit report in 7 years".

I am mostly concerned with an IRS lien.

Can someone verify this?

From Equifax https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/w...pgFAQCredit.jsp

"California State Residents Only: All tax liens remain 7 years from the date filed."

So, anyone with old unpaid tax liens, move (your bills) to California.

Thanks for the response Christine.

Thats interesting.

I have a copy of that same document from Equifax I got several years ago and it states "California State Residents Only: All tax liens remain for 7 years from the date filed".

The new one you referenced says 10 years.

It must have changed in the last couple years.

I just re-read the document you referenced and it does say that tax liens remain for 7 years for California residents under the heading "How Long do you keep my credit information?"

But under the heading "Why is an account I paid in full still on my file" it says "unpaid tax liens remain for 10 years" for California residents.

This is a bit confusing but I think they mean that only "Unpaid" tax liens remain for 10 years. "Paid" tax liens remain for 7 years.

You are right, it does say 10 years for unpaid tax liens in California.

BUT, it sure is weird that they would also state that ALL tax liens remain for 7 years. Why not say PAID tax liens instead of ALL?

I was going to look it up in the Cal. code, I just don't have time. There are references to credit in the Civil Procedures as well as Civil Code:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html

When I spoke to Experian some years back they told me 7 years but didn't distinguish between paid and unpaid liens.

I will be able to tell for sure in November of this year.

Thanks for your help.

I recently disputed a 1994 California State tax lien that appears on my credit report with Experian. They denied my claim stating that "unpaid tax liens remain for 7 years AFTER paid". This lien was paid in 2000 which means it would remain until 2007 (thirteen years after being filed).

I have information (from Equifax) that ALL tax liens remain for only 7 years after the date filed for California residents, which I am. I also have information (from Equifax) that UNPAID tax liens for California residents remain for 10 years. This is a bit confusing but in either case my tax lien should be removed from my credit report if this is correct.

Can someone refer me to the actual California Civil Code section that states this so I can further dispute the issue with Experian.

I have been fighting my way back from a (Chapter 11) Bankruptcy in 1992 and now have a 785 FICO (With the bankruptcy and tax lien still showing on my credit report). Any help would be appreciated.

I would REALLY like to know too.

Try this link http://www.lawdog.com/state/laws.htm

I just don't have time to look for it right now, but it must be somewhere in the code.

I took your advice and did some searching and the news is not good.

The following website corroborates what Experian said about tax liens remaining for 7 years after being paid, EVEN in California. (Despite what Equifax says).

http://www.carreonandassociates.com/reportingtime.htm

There's just something very wrong here!!

We would have been better off NOT paying the tax lien and letting the 10 years (for unpaid liens) run out. Now our statute of limitations is 13 years. It would have been 17 years if we paid it right before the 10 year statute was to run out. (????????????)

I wonder if a felony conviction is any worse than having "PAID" a tax lien?

Went to your link and didn't see that.

Why not go to the Cal. Code and look it up?

I was referring to this paragraph ,,,,,,,,,,,,

I did try to pile my way through the California Civil Code but I am not an attorney and also not an expert in the Credit reporting field. This code is very large and written in "legalese". Perhaps there is a particular section of the code I should be looking at.

The website I cited appears to be knowledgable in the credit field, and more particularly in the California statutes that apply.

From http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/d...1786.10-1786.30

" (4) Paid tax liens that, from the date of payment, antedate the
report by more than seven years."

Now, everybody go to the above link, search the page for "tax lien" (edit/find for IE)

I can't find any reference to the 10 years. Where is it?

THAT definitely can't be right, because IF there is a 10 year limitation for unpaid liens, the 10 years should be the maximum any lien is on the report.

And, mrfico, what are your 4 reasons for your outstanding 785 score?

Now that I merged the "old" February discussion, this makes more sense. Is Experian our ONLY source for the "10 years?"

I even looked at the FCRA, and then AGAIN read the California Code. Found one more, and probably very important sentence:

(8) Any other adverse information that antedates the report by
more than seven years.

In absence of any reference to the 10 years, I'd say that ANY tax lien can only be reported for 7 years, whether paid or unpaid.

Does this make sense?

What am I missing?

This is very confusing. Everywhere you look you get a different story.

Here's what experian says.



Acording to Experian (above) its 15 years for an unpaid lien and 7 years AFTER YOU PAY OFF a lien. That means if you were to pay it right before the 15 year unpaid period is up it would appear for another 7 years for a total of 22 years.

You don't get that kind of sentence for manslaughter!!

My Personal Credit Score (PCS) of 778 (not 785) was as reported by Experian. I began working on this right after I got through my Chapter 11 in 1993. I pay every bill at least 1 week early and follow what I have read about improving credit scores as much as possible. Despite the high PCS score I still cannot get a new retail store credit card. Retail store Credit agencies care more about the BK and the Liens than they do about the high PCS score. I had very little trouble in getting a $200,000+ mortgage at a competitive interest rate, though, even with the BK and the Tax Lien. (You can purchase a house even though you have a Tax lien but you can't sell or re-finance it without having to pay the lien off or the SOL expires.)

The credit reporting industry does not make "Getting a fresh start" easy.

Don't even waste your time LOOKING at that Experian score. Nobody cares about that score because nobody uses it.

First of all, I need to apologize for EVER referring to a credit bureau for an answer to rely on. Big mistake right there.

Now, do you have in writing that Experian will not remove the tax lien because of it's age?

I submitted a Credit Report Dispute Form and this was their answer.

They stated:



The "previous page" they refer to is the one I included in my last post.

They also state that I can "Request an Investigation" by going to their website. Thats what I need some legal backup for.

I found a citation from the Cal Civil Code which deals with the 7 year paid lien issue and the 10 year overall reporting issue.

See the following website and particularly CCC 1785.13, Items 4 and 7d.

I think 7d refutes Experians 15 year requirement.

http://www.cardreport.com/laws/cali...-1785-19-5.html

I wonder if 7d over-rides 4? If it doesn't, that could mean that a lien might essentially be on the report for 17 years.

Oh, I hadn't realized that the previous pic was their response to YOUR dispute.

15 years.

I just searched the entire FCRA for "15" Lots of hits, but none pertaining to any reporting time.

Last night I looked at the California codes and I'll look again tonight to see about 7d.