part5-99

Managing the lien process encompasses many aspects.

Reviewing lien documents for completeness, for example, ensuring there
is a name, address, balance due, and tax period information on each NFTL.

Ensuring lien documents are timely processed, including:

Inputting court recording data timely.

Responding to requests for information on lien documents.

Providing copies of lien documents to employees and taxpayers generated
by the ALS system.

Ensuring timely resolution of ALS generated reports.

Establishing positive lines of communication with internal and external
customers. For example:

.

Establishing a lien quality review process for the creation of liens.

Establishing quality review procedures for processing lien documents
prior to mailing, to determine if the following actions were taken:

Quality review processes should also be established for payoff and telephone
assistance. The review process and methodology will be developed by Compliance
Services, Case Processing.

Certifying payment of recording fees.

Master file updates its systems during the middle of December through
the first week of January, each year. This period is known as the ”
dead cycles”
. During this time, master file does not provide Status
12 extracts or DIAL downloads to ALS.

Systemic releases do not occur until the Dead Cycles are complete.

Lien releases can be manually input to ALS during this time.

Document processing will continue in accordance with established time
frames.

Certificates of release must be processed within the established 30
day time frame. Therefore, when master file is back on line, immediate processing
must occur, including printing and mailing of certificates of release.

Transaction codes 582 and 360 for work processed during this time period
will be posted when master file resumes processing.

While Collection Policy governs most aspects of the ALS system, the
ALS Functional Coordinator ensures permissions are accurate and current using
information provided by functional managers. NOTE: See
IRM 5.12.6.1(1) for employees requesting Omni access.

An On-line (OL) 5081 (in rare instances – paper Form 5081) must be approved
by the appropriate manager. This is used to request user additions, name changes,
or deletions. If a paper Form 5081 is submitted, ensure all required signatures
have been obtained prior to forwarding the form to the system administrator
and maintain a copy of the paper form.

The OL5081 for new users should indicate the types of permissions or
capabilities the employee requires; i.e., research, create, approval, temporary
access vs. permanent access, etc. Subsequent changes affecting the users
account, with the exception of a name change or deletion, may be accomplished
via e-mail, memorandum, or OL5081 forwarded by the manager or his designee
to the functional coordinator. Functional coordinators names and phone numbers
are located on SERP/Automated Lien System, Who/Where.

Updates to user profiles and issuance of passwords must be made by CLU
within three (3) days of receipt of request.

The functional coordinator works with the employees manager and/or
the Policy Lien Program Analyst, when necessary, to ensure proper permissions
are given. See Exhibit 5.12.6-1, ALS Permissions Chart

Functional managers will create and provide an IDRS TSIGN number for
all employees added to ALS. (See ADP Handbook, Section 11, Collection, for
guidance.) Employees cannot be added to ALS without a TSIGN. ALS uses the
TSIGN number to associate lien requestor (and approver) information with lien
documents. Therefore, ensure employee Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS)
TSIGN numbers are included on ALS access requests. ALS access requests cannot
be processed unless employee TSIGNs are provided.

When removing or requesting employee permissions employee, provide the
following employee information:

Retired or resigned employees will be removed from the database immediately
upon notification. The OL5081 process or e-mail may be used.

Generally liens are systemically created on ALS from ICS or ACS data.
Employees in the walk-in, correspondence, Appeals, Examination (Innocent Spouse
examiners) and toll free areas do not have ALS access.

Lien documents received by CLU from these employees will be created
within five days of receiving the request.

Appropriate forms, such as, Form 12636 will be secure e-mailed to CLU
for preparation of NFTLs by employees without ALS access. The information
outlined in 5.12.6.3(2) will be provided in all requests.

The employee requesting the NFTL will provide the appropriate employee
identification number and contact telephone number for their particular location.
This information is not available in CLU.

Provide entity information regarding the spouse, POA, partners, etc.

Follow up CDP actions will be ACS Supports responsibility, for employees
identified in (1) above.

As a general rule there are two conditions that require a manual NFTL.
ICS users see IRM 5.12.6.3.2.2

Manually prepared NFTLs will be kept to a minimum. The information described
in IRM 5.12.6.3 will be used to prepare the NFTL.

All employees will research IDRS or ALS before inputting NFTL requests
to ensure duplicates are not requested. If CLU is inputting the NFTL, notify
them immediately.

If research indicates a previously recorded NFTL exists, do not request
a new lien. If CLU is inputting the NFTL, notify the requesting employee.

If a duplicate NFTL is recorded, issue Letter 2440, Notification of
Duplicate Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing to notify the taxpayer when duplicate
liens are filed. CLU or revenue officers may issue L2440.

Regardless of the reason for a duplicate lien filing, the last document
recorded will be withdrawn.

When duplication occurs at the recording office because both copies
of the NFTL are recorded or duplicate notices were mailed, CLU will submit
a request for withdrawal to Collection Advisory. Do not use ALS to prepare
the withdrawal. Use the Intranet fillable form (Form 10916(c).

Revenue officers who inadvertently record a duplicate NFTL will submit
and obtain approval of the withdrawal through Advisory. When approval is received,
they will secure e-mail the prepared and signed withdrawal to CLU. Recording
information for the second recorded NFTL will be placed on the withdrawal.

If the originator is no longer assigned the case, forward the request
to the Advisory area where the taxpayer resides for approval.

Recording fees for withdrawals will not be posted to the taxpayers
account.

The priority of the federal tax lien amongst other creditors is determined
by the filing date and time. In regard to a federal tax lien that attaches
to real property, state law may impact the priority accorded to the lien if
it requires that the document filed also be indexed and arranged in local
records in such manner that a reasonable inspection of the index will reveal
the existence of the notice of federal tax lien. Most recording offices provide
recording or indexing data which includes the date, time, book number, page
number, and time of the recording. It is important to accurately and timely
input correct recording office data. Recording data (book number, page, etc.)
differ amongst recording offices, i.e., some use the recording number, some
use the book and page, some use the serial numbers, some use a combination
of the above. The court input data screen is set by the ALS functional coordinator.

Immediately input recording data (daily) when received, but no later
than 2 business days after receipt. If ALS access is not available secure
e-mail or fax the recording data to the CLU.

If the employee has appropriate ALS permissions, input the recording
data by taking the following steps:

When inputting recording data, review the lien to verify that the county
identified on the lien matches the county where the lien was filed. This is
very important since it establishes our lien priority.

If the (filing location) counties dont match, contact the appropriate
lien team for assistance with the correction. The team will assist with any
corrective action they deem appropriate. The lien may not be properly released
in the correct county if the appropriate information is not found on ALS once
the tax liability is satisfied.

Add an ALS history with an explanation of the error.

The ALS database should always contain NFTL records that mirror information
filed at recording offices. Exceptions are documents not created by ALS or
changed after generation.

An error may be corrected prior to the NFTL being mailed (normally within
2 days of request) for recordation. Contact CLU by secure e-mail to request
the correction.

Changes will not be made to the document after it has been mailed for
recordation without managerial approval. The NFTL must be amended.

If changes were made after generation, add an ALS history item explaining
the change.

Amending NFTLs occurs after the NFTL has been mailed. Recording data
must be input to ALS before an NFTL can be amended.

Use ALS to amend recorded NFTLs. Field employees with ”
Amend”
permissions may elect to correct the NFTL or secure e-mail the
appropriate information to be amended to CLU.

NFTLs should be amended within five days of receipt of request by the
appropriate lien team. Contact the appropriate CLU team if the amended lien
is not on ALS.

Request an amended NFTL if:

ALS will generate a new CDP notice for amendments to the tax period.

For NFTLs not generated by ALS (nominee, alter ego, transferee liens),
the requesting employee will prepare the amended lien document. Secure e-mail
scanned documents to the appropriate lien team for processing.

CLU procedures are found in 5.19.12.2.2.

The U.S. tax treaties with Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, and
Sweden provide that the treaty partner may request assistance from the IRS
in collecting taxes owed to the treaty partner by individuals residing in
the United States.

To request collection assistance, the treaty partner sends a Mutual
Collection Assistance Request (MCAR) to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner
(International), LMSB, who serves as the U.S. Competent Authority under tax
treaties.

The Office of the Director, International (LMSB) forwards the MCARs
to the MCAR Coordinator, SB/SE International, Group 19.

For general procedures in processing MCARs, see IRM 5.1.8.

NFTLs will be printed within 5 calendar days of input to ALS.

Liens are printed on Tuesdays and Thursdays ONLY.

Documents are normally sent to recording offices by close of business
the next business day.

The taxpayers copy, is printed with the CDP notice.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.3.

CLU mails NFTLs within 2 business days, starting the day after the NFTL
is printed.

Most local officials accept the NFTL (for filing) by mail.

The CLU is responsible for preparing a transmittal, Form 3915, Processing
Notices and Releases of Federal Tax Lien and Other Related Certificates, that
accompanies Parts 1 and 2, if necessary.

Part 2 of the NFTL is mailed to the recording office, when appropriate,
unless an agreement exists between IRS and the recording office to issue one
copy.

The Service bears the cost of obtaining the court recording data by
including a self-addressed postage paid envelope, E-25C, for the return of
Part 2, when required.

If the NFTL is not accepted by mail or circumstances dictate immediate
action, the NFTL will be delivered personally to the proper recording official.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.3.6.

Refiling the NFTL maintains the Services priority established by the
original lien filing when the collection statute is extended.

Requests for refiles will be input through ALS.

Employees who do not have ALS permissions to refile liens will request
the NFTL be refiled by submitting a request (Form 12636) to CLU.

Include all information that must be updated, i.e., dollar amount, address,
CSED.

If employees have ALS refile permissions, refer to the ALS User Guide
for guidance on how to create these documents.

CLU prints and mails refiled documents.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.2.2.5.

A NFTL filing request received for a recording office outside your lien
team area is described as an out-of-area lien.

These liens can be input by your team, but will be printed by the lien
team that is assigned the area where the recording office is located.

Upon receipt, but not later than 5 business days after receipt, the
NFTL will be input to ALS, printed and mailed.

Employees will enter the zip code (in Create) where the property is
located. ALS will display the corresponding filing jurisdiction.

The appropriate CDP notice will be generated and printed at the centralized
print site.

Not to be filed liens (NTBFL) are created by CLU when the TIN and/or
MFT were incorrect on a recorded lien and are input only by the lien unit.
The information sharing between IDRS and ALS relies on the correct TIN, MFT
and name control. In order for IDRS to pass information such as updated CSED
or full payment to ALS, a lien must be created with the matching information
from the original lien but with the corrected TIN and/or MFT.

Requests should be submitted using Form 13946.

The ALS name control can be corrected without creating a NTBFL.

The history screen is documented listing the original liens SLID number
and the NTBFL SLID number.

NTBFLs are not mailed to recording offices. These liens are for internal
use only.

When the lien modules are satisfied on IDRS the notification will come
down to ALS updating the NTBFL. Once all the modules are satisfied the NTBFL
will generate a release to the print queue.

When the release is printed the lien clerk will be alerted to the NTBFL
status of the release and will take steps to immediately release the corresponding
original lien.

If a NTBFL is sent to the recording office in error, and you become
aware of the filing, immediately the lien unit so that they may contact the
recording official via telephone to retrieve the notice.

Advisory must approve a withdrawal.

Advisory will approve or deny withdrawals within five business days.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12..2.3.

When a NFTL has been requested in error, the requesting employee may
request that the NFTL be removed from documents being mailed to the recording
office.

Employees who request lien filings will contact the CLU, by calling
the internal toll free number or via secure e-mail, to have the lien removed
after a request for lien filing has been made.

Requests must be received and CLU actions completed by 8:00 PM EST on
the day after the lien is printed (Wednesday or Friday). Timely requests eliminate
the generation of the CDP notice.

Request that CLU document the reason the lien is being removed and keep
the documentation.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.2.7.2.2.

CLU will not pay fees for certified copies or faxes of lien documents.

Employees who require certified copies will:

Invoices received from recording offices will be forwarded to the group
manager for resolution. The group manager will be responsible for ensuring
the invoice is paid within 10 business days of receipt.

Recording offices will be provided the name, phone number and mailing
address of the group manager to pursue fee collection.

As a precaution to further payment request from recording officials,
CLU may annotate the location of the invoice and retain a copy in their files.

ALS systemically creates certified mail numbers and listings for domestic
mail. Listings have the following information:

Within 5 business days of printing the
NFTL, the CDP notice will be mailed.

The day after the lien is printed, the CDP notice is generated and forwarded
to the Correspondence Production Services (CPS) Branch for scheduled printing
and mailing.

CPS encloses:

See IRM 5.12.6.4.1.2 for registered mail procedures.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.1.1.

IRC 6320 requires that taxpayers be provided one appeal opportunity
per tax period, per assessment.

A new CDP notice (L3172) is required when the tax period is corrected.
A new 30 day response due date is required.
EXAMPLE: The taxpayers name
is misspelled, i.e., Jane Smith the correct spelling is Smyth and the tax
period on the lien is 2000. The correct tax period is 2002. The taxpayer is
entitled to a hearing for each tax period. The incorrect spelling of the taxpayers
name should also be corrected. A correction of the name only will not create
a new CDP notice. A L3171, will be created.

ALS will generate the appropriate CDP notice. The notice will be printed
and mailed from the Correspondence Production Services sites

If an NFTL is amended manually, the CDP notice must be mailed within
five business days of the NFTL filing.

The requesting employee will send the new CDP Notice (L3172) by certified
mail or registered mail (foreign addresses) to the taxpayers last known address
not more than five business days after the 3 business days allotted for delivery
of the NFTL to the recorders office (i.e., the deemed filing date).

The new CDP notice (L3172) may, alternatively, be delivered to the taxpayer
in person or left at his home or usual place of business (which includes his
place of employment).

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.2.2.

All undelivered mail (including registered mail) will be returned to
the requesting employee or the office designated by the function for address
verification. All returned mail will be researched and resolved within 5 days
of receipt.

Check IDRS to verify the address.

In cases where a new address is found, employees may use the ALS NOTADD
option to ensure a new L3172 is created.

Employees receiving undelivered lien CDP notices will:

If the reissued CDP notice is returned, there is no need for additional
research because the reissued notice was mailed to the last known address
at the time, based on prior research.

If the address is incomplete, the correct address will be input and
reissued with a new 30 day response due date. ALS will systemically generate
a new response due date for notices corrected through the system.

If the address is complete, and the employee requesting the NFTL has
a recent address change, a substitute notice will be issued.

CLU will request input of the appropriate IDRS transaction and action
codes for any mail they process.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.6.4.

CPS returns certified and registered mail CDP notices with bad addresses
to CLU through the FORT for resolution. Once the FORT is notified of the bad
address, CPS no longer has responsibility for ensuring that mailing occurs.
Responsibility reverts to CLU.

Incorrect/bad address notices returned by CPS is resolved by CLU immediately.

If the address is correct, the notice must be mailed.

CLU will:

Use ALS NOTADD to create new notices when a new address is found or
the address format can be corrected.

If the address is correct (verified by IDRS research), but CPS software
doesnt recognize it as a good address, use the L3172 Intranet macro to create
a new CDP notice. A new CDP must be issued. DO NOT create the notice on ALS.
CPS software will continue to reject the notice.

Compute the taxpayers 30 day response due date beginning the day after
the CDP notice is issued.

Send the notice certified using USPS Form 3877, Certified Mail List
or USPS Form 3800, Certified Mail Receipt, from CLU.

.

CLU researches and verifies the IDRS address for incorrect/bad address
notices issued to taxpayers living outside the USA. CDP notices issued to
taxpayers living outside the USA are sent registered mail. Notices will be
corrected in the same manner as described above. However, registered mail
receipts, USPS Form 3650, will be used for mailing.

Employees with the appropriate ALS permissions, should use ALS to create
CDP notices for the taxpayers representative, POA and co-obligors.

Employees without ALS permissions or ICS must submit a request, via
secure e-mail within 2 business days of requesting the NFTL, to the lien processing
unit.

Requests forwarded to the CLU for the issuance of POA CDP notices must
be requested by secure e-mail and include the name and address of the representative
as well as the taxpayers name, TIN, and tax period.

If CLU is not notified, employees responsible for making lien filing
determinations are responsible for ensuring that the appropriate persons receive
a copy of the CDP notice and all enclosures (Publications 594, 1450, 1660,
Form 668(Y)(c), Form 12153).

Employees, other than those in ACS and revenue officers, must use secure
e-mail to forward the name and address to the CLU. CLU will use the information
to prepare the CDP notice for co-obligors. Examples of co-obligors are: ex-spouse,
spouse living at a different address, and partners in a partnership, power
of attorney and taxpayers representatives.

Upon receipt, the information will be immediately added to ALS. Information
received by the CLU prior to the taxpayers CDP notice being generated, will
be mailed the same day as the taxpayers notice.

ACS POA information is input directly into ALS by ACS Support. If this
method is not used, the information must be secure e-mailed to CLU. Notices created for co-obligors will be printed and mailed the next
business day.

In no instance will the notice be mailed later than 5 days after receipt
of the POA/taxpayers representatives information.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.2.1.1.

There are four other notices issued that relate to collection due process.
These notices explain whether the taxpayer is entitled to a CDP hearing.

The employee requesting the NFTL is responsible for ensuring that the
appropriate notice is prepared and mailed.

L3886 must meet the 5 business day mail requirement.

There is no requirement to send the remaining letters using certified
mail.

Systemically generated CDP notices are printed and mailed from CPS.

CLU is not responsible for printing or mailing notices not systemically
generated.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.2.1.1.

Lien CDP notices will be sent certified mail unless the taxpayer has
a foreign address. If the taxpayer has a foreign address, the notice will
be sent registered mail.

ALS creates United Stated Postal Service (USPS) mail registers when
the L3172 is printed. The form lists the SLID, taxpayer name and address,
certified mail cost, and certified mail number for each notice being mailed.

Legible receipted (date stamped by the U.S. Post Office) copies of registers
are maintained by the CLU.

Registers are retained in date order by year.

In cases where the post office (USPS Form 3800) certified mail receipt
or (USPS Form 3650) registered mail receipt, is used, the CLU will retain
the stamped receipted copy.

Forms will be retained in date order by year and taxpayer name.

Registers and receipts for outgoing registered and certified mail may
be destroyed 10 years after the end of the processing year.

CLU procedures are found in IRM 5.19.12.6.1.