A tax lien is a lien imposed by law upon a certain property to ensure the payment of taxes. It can be enforced due to delinquent taxes owed on real or personal property, or as a consequence of not paying income taxes.

Having a tax lien against you can be detrimental to your credit and severely impair your ability to borrow money, sell your house, get a loan, a credit card, etc. When it comes to real estate, even if the tax obligation was incurred by the previous owner, as the new owner of such a property you would still be responsible for paying the difference.