Tax Liens, Question 14c
If you are not sure if the I.R.S. has filed a tax lien against your property, you can find out by calling the IRS Centralized Lien Unit at 800-913-6050. You can learn more about tax liens here: Understanding Federal Tax Liens.
I.R.S. liens are recorded in the County Recorder's Office. You can usually check the recorder's website using the address, a legal description or owner's name. You should check in all counties where the lien could have been recorded.
Taxes, Questions 15a and 15b
If you need an exact copy of your previous tax returns, you can fill out an I.R.S. form 4506. There is a $50 fee per tax return requested and be sure to order past returns early to allow plenty of time for processing. The turn around time can take up to two and a half months. Look at I.R.S. Form 4506 General Info for more assistance.
A cheaper way to obtain older tax records is to check with the person who prepared your taxes or if you prepared them yourself with a commercially available tax preparation software such as Turbo Tax, you can sign in and retrieve your past tax returns. You might be tempted to get a tax return transcript (form 4506-T) instead since it is free, but a tax return transcript will only show the line amounts of your tax return, not addresses, not W-2 information, and it only goes back four years. A link to a sample copy of form 4506-T is provided in the box below.
