This guide addresses the problem of Ohio tax liens (also called judgment liens). These are liens for unpaid income, payroll or business taxes. Unpaid property taxes are beyond the scope of this guide. The State of Ohio can obtain a judgment lien against a taxpayer when a tax has been assessed, but has not been paid and is past due. A judgment lien attaches to a taxpayer’s real property when the state of Ohio obtains a judgment against a taxpayer in the Common Pleas Court where the taxpayer resides. Many taxpayers do not realize there is a judgment lien on their property until they try to buy, sell or refinance a residence, or when transacting some other financial activity requiring a credit check.
For more information about tax law, see my libguide, Tax Law Research: Federal.and Ohio.
Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated
Call Number: KFO 30 .A24 Contains the statutory law and case notes on the statutes.
Baldwin's Ohio Tax Law and Rules
Call Number: KFO 470 .A6 B323 Publication Date: 2012
Guidebook to Ohio Taxes by Edward J. Bernert and Kelvin M. Lawrence
Call Number: KFO 470 .A73 Publication Date: 2017
Ohio Jurisprudence 3rd
Call Number: KFO 65 .O3543An encyclopedia of Ohio law. Also available from Lexis on the Franklin County Law Library's public computers.
Ohio Real Estate Law by Kenton Kuehnle and Jack Levey
Call Number: KFO 112 .O35Useful explanation of the different kinds of liens and how they can effect the marketabilty of real property.
Ohio Real Property Law and Practice by Robert Curry and James Geoffrey Durham
Call Number: KFO 112 .C87Also available as an ebook for Central Ohio attorneys with a Franklin County Law Library library card and from Lexis on the Franklin County Law Library public computers.
Page's Ohio Revised Code Annotated
Call Number: KFO 30 .P3 Reserve(Available for use in the Library only). Also available on Lexis on the Franklin County Law Library public computers. Central Ohio attorneys with a Franklin County Law Library card may also access the ebook at https://lawlibrary.franklincountyohio.gov/.
Attorneys with a Franklin County Law Library card may check out these books. Other members of the public may use them in the Franklin County Law Library.
These unpaid taxes can result in a tax/judgment lien.
Employers to file return and pay withholding. Responsible individual in a business entity may be held personally liable in cases where the entity withheld taxes, but did not pay over the sales or employee income taxes to the Department of Taxation.
School District Income TaxTo challenge the assessment an Ohio taxpayer must file a Petition for Reassessment with the Ohio Tax Commissioner, by registered mail, within 60 days after receiving the notice of a proposed Ohio tax assessment. The form for Petition for Reassessment is the first link in the Forms box of this guide
After an assessment becomes final, if any portion of the assessment remains unpaid, including accrued interest, a certified copy of the tax commissioner's entry making the assessment final may be filed in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas in the county in which the employer's, taxpayer's, or qualifying entity's place of business is located or the county in which the party assessed resides.
Immediately upon the filing of the entry, the clerk shall enter a judgment against the party assessed in the amount shown on the entry. The judgment shall be filed by the clerk in one of two loose-leaf books, one entitled "special judgments for state and school district income taxes," and the other entitled "special judgments for qualifying entity taxes." The judgment shall have the same effect as other judgments. Execution shall issue upon the judgment upon the request of the tax commissioner, and all laws applicable to sales on execution shall apply to sales made under the judgment.
The attorney general shall cancel or cause to be canceled an unsatisfied claim on the date that is forty years after the date the claim is certified, unless the attorney general has adopted a rule under division (F)(5) of this section shortening this time frame with respect to a subset of claims.
This chapter governs the whole procedure for filing and executing on judgment liens.This is statute that the Ohio Attorney General's office uses to file the tax lien in common pleas court.
Attorney General's Office need only refile a tax lien every 15 years in Common Pleas Court to keep the lien operative against the tax debtor. A lien must be canceled after 40 years, per Oh. Rev. Code Sec. 131.02.
These forms are useful for challenging an initial tax assessment. They cannot be used after the judgment lien has been filed.
Official Department of Taxation form. File with the Ohio Tax Commissioner, by registered mail, within 60 days after receiving the notice of a proposed Ohio tax assessment.
The Franklin County Clerk of Courts Office is not associated in any manner with any credit reporting agency. If you have questions regarding the information appearing on your credit report, please contact one of the credit reporting companies.
Washington Post 3/8/17 In a little-known policy shift, the three national credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — plan to stop collecting and reporting substantial amounts of civil judgment and tax lien information on public records affecting millions of American consumers starting July 1.
