The U.S. Internal Revenue Service just announced that it will allow homeowners to apply to make their mortgage loan the primary lien against their homes and if they have a tax lien on the home as well, it can become the secondary lien.

A lien is a claim that another party has on your property. Your property is the collateral for that loan. The IRS may place a lien on your home if you owe back taxes.

Taxpayers may also request the dismissal of IRS’s claim (lien) if the home is being sold for less than the balance of the mortgage loan.

For more information visit IRS.gov and read publications 783 and 784. Publication 4235 provides addresses where you can send the application for the tax lien discharge or subordination.

It takes 30 days for these requests to be processed.

According to IRS, currently, there are more than 1 million federal tax liens outstanding tied to both real and personal property. The IRS issues more than 600,000 federal tax lien notices annually.

Dec. 16, 2008.