TAX NEWS - JUNE 2009

Delaware tax: Releasing a Judgement

The Delaware Department of Revenue will issue a release of the Notice of Judgement within 30 days after you satisfy the tax due (including interest and other additions to the tax) by payment or adjustment.

In addition, you must pay all fees charged by a state for both filing and releasing the judgement. These fees will be added to the balance you owe.


Automatic Release Of A Judgement

A judgement shall automatically continue for a period of 20 years from the date of its entry.


SPECIAL RELEASE OF TAX JUDGEMENT-APPLICATION FOR DISCHARGE OF JUDGEMENT AGAINST PROPERTY

Each request for a discharge of a tax judgement releases the effects of the judgement against one specific piece of property , such as when you sell your home, you may request the discharge.

You may be discharged if any of the following circumstances apply: (1) If you have other property, subject to the judgement, that is worth at least two times the total of the tax you owe, plus any additions to the tax you owe and any other debts you owe on the property, such as a mortgage. (2) The Delaware Department of Revenue receives the value of the government's interest in the property and you are giving up ownership. (3) The property in question is being sold, and there is a dispute as to who is entitled to the sale proceeds, and the proceeds are placed in escrow while the dispute is being resolved.

When applying for a discharge, you must send your request to the Delaware Department of Revenue, Bureau of Tax Collections.


WHEN THE Delaware Department of Revenue JUDGEMENT IS SECONDARY TO ANOTHER LIEN-SUBORDINATION

Subordination is made at the discretion of the Delaware Department of Revenue. It means that the Delaware Department of Revenue has allowed its judgement to take a lower place than someone else's lien.

The Delaware Department of Revenue may let its judgement take a lower place than a "junior judgement"; (someone whose judgement originally had a lower place than the Delaware Department of Revenue judgement) if it receives the dollar value of the judgement in the property that the junior judgement is acquiring, for example, a second mortgage.


INCORRECT JUDGEMENT-YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL

You may appeal the filing of a Notice of Judgement if you believe we filed the judgement in error. A judgement is incorrect if:

You paid the entire amount you owed the Delaware Department of Revenue before we filed the judgement.

We filed the judgement when you were in Bankruptcy and subject to the automatic stay during bankruptcy;

We made a procedural error in making an Assessment; or the time to collect the tax (called the statute of limitations) expired before we filed the judgement.

Note:

You may not appeal this Notice of Judgement if you are challenging the underlying debt that generated the filing of the judgement.

If we agree with your appeal, we will release the Judgement within 14 days after we determine that the judgement was filed incorrectly. We will issue a statement of release of an incorrect judgement that includes a statement that we filed the Notice of Judgement in error.