Owe back taxes in a state I no longer reside in

[mmancuso2]

I owe back taxes in California and moved to Maine in 2020. I have been on a payment plan with them but it is too high and I cannot afford it. I tried to reason with them but they will not lower the amount. What would happen if I cut off my payment plan and payed them back what I could afford to each month? Would they still put a lien against me? What does a lien mean exactly? Thanks.

[Critter-3 · Accepted solution]

You will have to talk to the state to get an exact answer but  expect any federal or state refunds to be intercepted by CA until the debt is paid in full.  They might be able to garnish wages, pensions or SS benefits.  They can put a lien on any properties you may own which means you cannot refinance or sell the property until the lien is satisfied first. 

[Carl]

What does a lien mean exactly?

When a lien is placed on your property, that means if you sell it, any proceeds from the sale would go to the lien holder first. But more than likely you would not be able to sell or refinance the property until the debt was paid and the lien was removed.

It's also possible in some situations that when their is a lien on your property, once a certain amount of time has passed and if the debt is high enough, the lien holder may be able to foreclose on your property and basically take it from you. Then they can sell it and use the proceeds towards the debt. When it comes to real estate property, foreclosure by a 3rd party does not release you from your liability to the mortgage holder either.

In other words, your life will get extremely complicated.