2006 Minnesota Statutes

270C.63 LIEN FOR TAXES.
    Subdivision 1. Creation of lien. Tax, and interest and penalties imposed with respect
thereto, including any recording fees, sheriff fees, or court costs that may accrue, shall become a
lien upon all the property within this state, both real and personal, of the person liable for the
payment or collection of the tax, except property exempt under subdivision 8, from and after
the date of assessment of the tax.
    Subd. 2. Filing of liens necessary for enforceability against certain persons. The lien
imposed by subdivision 1 is not enforceable against any purchaser, mortgagee, pledgee, holder
of a Uniform Commercial Code security interest, mechanic's lienor, or judgment lien creditor
whose interest has been duly perfected or is a conveyance or interest entitled to protection against
judgments and attachments under section 507.34 or under any other applicable provisions of
state law, until a notice of lien has been filed by the commissioner in the office of the county
recorder of the county in which real property is situated, or in the case of personal property in
the Office of the Secretary of State.
    Subd. 3. Method of filing. Notices of liens, and lien releases, transcriptions, and renewals, in
a form prescribed by the commissioner, may be filed with the county recorder or the secretary of
state by mail, personal delivery, or by electronic transmission by the commissioner or an agent
of the department into the computerized filing system of the secretary of state. The secretary of
state shall transmit the notice electronically to the office of the county recorder, if that is the place
of filing, in the county or counties shown on the computer entry. The filing officer, whether the
county recorder or the secretary of state, shall endorse and index a printout of the notice in the
same manner as if the notice had been mailed or delivered.
    Subd. 4. Entry of information into central database. County recorders and the secretary of
state shall enter information relative to lien notices, transcriptions, renewals, and releases filed in
their offices into the central database of the secretary of state. For notices filed electronically with
the county recorders, the date and time of receipt of the notice and county recorder's file number,
and for notices filed electronically with the secretary of state, the secretary of state's recording
information, must be entered by the filing officer into the central database before the close of the
working day following the day of the original data entry by the department.
    Subd. 5. Conformity with federal Lien Registration Act. The filing and indexing of all
notices must be in accordance with the filing and indexing of notices of federal liens, certificates
of release, and refiled notices under section 272.483.
    Subd. 6. Payment of recording fees. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the
department is exempt from payment of fees when a lien, lien renewal, or lien transcription is
offered for recording. The recording fees must be paid along with the release fee at the end of the
month in which the release of lien is recorded, after receipt of a monthly statement from a county
recorder or the secretary of state. The department shall add the recording fees to the delinquent
tax liability of the taxpayer. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the fee for filing or
recording a notice of lien, or lien release, transcription, or renewal is $15.
    Subd. 7. Appropriation. There is appropriated to the commissioner an amount representing
the cost of payment of recording fees to the county recorders and the secretary of state. The
commissioner shall keep a separate accounting of the costs and of payments for recording fees
remitted by taxpayers, and make the records available to the legislature upon request.
    Subd. 8. Exempt property. The lien imposed on personal property by this section, even
though properly filed, is not enforceable: (1) against a purchaser with respect to tangible personal
property purchased at retail in the ordinary course of the seller's trade or business, unless at
the time of purchase the purchaser intends the purchase to or knows the purchase will hinder,
evade, or defeat the collection of a tax; or (2) against the personal property listed as exempt in
sections 550.37, 550.38, and 550.39.
    Subd. 9. Period of limitations. The lien imposed by this section shall, notwithstanding any
other provision of law to the contrary, be enforceable from the time the lien arises and for ten
years from the date of filing the notice of lien, which must be filed by the commissioner within
five years after the date of assessment of the tax or final administrative or judicial determination
of the assessment. A notice of lien filed in one county may be transcribed to the secretary of state
or to any other county within ten years after the date of its filing, but the transcription shall not
extend the period during which the lien is enforceable. A notice of lien may be renewed by
the commissioner before the expiration of the ten-year period for an additional ten years. The
taxpayer must receive written notice of the renewal.
    Subd. 10. Enforceability of lien. The lien imposed by this section shall be enforceable by
levy as authorized in section 270C.67, or by judgment lien foreclosure as authorized in chapter
550.
    Subd. 11. Notice of mortgage foreclosure or contract termination. In the case of a
mortgage foreclosure upon real property commenced under chapter 580, or a termination of
contract of sale of real property commenced under section 559.21, if the commissioner has filed a
lien under this section before the foreclosure sale or date of termination, notice of the mortgage
foreclosure or termination of contract of sale shall be mailed to the commissioner not less than
25 days prior to the foreclosure sale or date of termination. Provided, notice need not be given
pursuant to this subdivision if the lien of the commissioner has been filed within 30 days or
less prior to the foreclosure sale or date of termination. The notice must contain the following
information: (1) the name and address of the taxpayer; (2) a copy of the notice of mortgage
foreclosure or contract for deed cancellation; (3) a copy of the lien filed by the commissioner;
(4) the total unpaid balance of the mortgage or contract for deed; (5) a legal description of the
property; and (6) the fair market value of the property.
    Subd. 12. Filing entitlement. Execution of notices of liens or of other notices affecting state
tax liens by the original or facsimile signature of the commissioner entitles them to be filed,
and no other attestation, certification, or acknowledgment is necessary. For purposes of this
subdivision, transmission of notices under subdivision 3 constitutes execution.
    Subd. 13. Lien search fees. Upon request of any person, the filing officer shall issue a
certificate showing whether there is recorded in that filing office, on the date and hour stated in the
certificate, any notice of lien or certificate or notice affecting any lien filed on or after ten years
before the date of the search certificate, naming a particular person, and giving the date and
hour of filing of each notice or certificate naming the person. The fee for a certificate shall be
as provided by section 336.9-525 or 357.18, subdivision 1, clause (3). Upon request, the filing
officer shall furnish a copy of any notice of state lien, or notice or certificate affecting a state
lien, for a fee of 50 cents per page.
    Subd. 14. Limitation for homestead property. A lien imposed under this section upon
property defined as homestead property in sections 510.01 and 510.02 may not be enforced
against homestead property by levy under section 270C.67, or by judgment lien foreclosure under
chapter 550, but notwithstanding section 510.07, is enforceable against the proceeds from the
sale, conveyance, or transfer of the homestead.
    Subd. 15. Erroneous liens. After the filing of a notice of lien under this section on the
property or rights to property of a person, the person may appeal to the commissioner, in the
form and at the time prescribed by the commissioner, alleging an error in the filing of the lien
and requesting its release. If the commissioner determines that the filing of the notice of any lien
was erroneous, within 14 days after the determination, the commissioner must issue a certificate
of release of the lien. The certificate must include a statement that the filing of the lien was
erroneous. In the event that the lien is erroneous and is not released within the 14-day period,
reasonable attorney fees shall be paid. Damages must be paid in accordance with section 3.736,
subdivision 7 . Even if a lien is not erroneous, the commissioner may withdraw the lien if the
filing of the lien was premature or not in accordance with administrative procedures of the
commissioner, or withdrawal of the lien will facilitate the collection of the tax liability.
    Subd. 16. Lien release fee. A fee of $25 must be paid to the commissioner for each duplicate
of an original release of lien.
    Subd. 17. Forty-five day rule. A notice of tax lien filed under this section has priority over a
security interest arising under article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code that is perfected before
the date of filing of the lien imposed by this section, but only if:
(1) the perfected security interest secures property acquired by the taxpayer or advances
made by the secured party after the notice of tax lien is filed; and
(2) the property is acquired or the advance is made after the 45th day following the day on
which the notice of tax lien is filed, or after the secured party has actual notice or knowledge of
the tax lien filing, whichever is earlier.
    Subd. 18. Registered land. When a lien is filed with a county recorder under subdivisions
2 to 5, the county recorder shall search the registered land records in that county and cause the
lien to be memorialized on every certificate of title or certificate of possessory title of registered
land in that county which can be reasonably identified as owned by the taxpayer who is named
on the lien. The fees for memorializing the lien shall be paid in the manner prescribed by
subdivision 6. The county recorders, and their employees and agents, shall not be liable for any
loss or damages arising from failure to identify a parcel of registered land owned by the taxpayer
who is named on the lien.
    Subd. 19. Assignment of liens. The commissioner may sell and assign to a third party the
right of redemption in specific real property for liens filed under this section. The redemption in
the hands of the assignee shall not be enforceable by any of the collection remedies provided to the
commissioner by law. The assignee is limited to the same rights of redemption the commissioner
would have in any mortgage foreclosure proceeding, but in any bankruptcy proceeding does not
obtain the priority of the commissioner as a tax claimant. Should the taxpayer or its assigns
exercise the right of redemption the assignment by the commissioner is extinguished.
    Subd. 20. Attachment to proceeds of property. Any lien imposed under this section
attaches to the proceeds of property with the same priority that the lien has with respect to the
property itself. "Proceeds of property" means proceeds from the sale, lease, license, exchange, or
other disposition of the property, including insurance proceeds arising from the loss or destruction
of the property.
History: 2005 c 151 art 1 s 69,116; art 9 s 13