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Department of Taxation and Finance

Tax warrants

A tax warrant is equivalent to a civil judgment against you, and protects New York State's interests and priority in the collection of outstanding tax debt. We file a tax warrant with the appropriate New York State county clerk’s office and the New York State Department of State, and it becomes a public record. A filed tax warrant creates a lien against your real and personal property, and may:

  • allow us to seize and sell your real and personal property,
  • allow us to garnish your wages or other income,
  • affect your ability to buy or sell property, or
  • affect your ability to obtain credit.

To search for a tax warrant, visit the New York State Department of State's Tax Warrant Notice System.

Questions about a child or combined child and spousal support warrant? See How do I resolve a child or combined child and spousal support warrant for more information.

What happens

If you fail to timely resolve your tax debt, your past due tax debt becomes fixed and final and we may file a tax warrant against you. Before we file a tax warrant, we will send you notice of the debt, and give you an opportunity to resolve it.

When we file a tax warrant, we send you a copy of the warrant. If you fail to resolve your warranted balance, we will proceed with further collection action.

If your total warranted balance is paid in full, we will send the county clerk a Satisfaction of Judgment stating your warranted debt has been paid in full. The clerk will file the Satisfaction of Judgment, and we will send you a copy. You should retain this copy for your records. We will also notify the Department of State that the tax warrant has been satisfied.

How to resolve

You must pay your total warranted balance in full to satisfy your tax warrant. If you can’t pay your tax debt in full, you may be able to set up an installment payment agreement (IPA) to prevent additional collection action. If you set up an IPA, the warrant will remain on file and continue to be a lien on your real and personal property until your total warranted balance is paid in full.

Pay your bill in full

Request proof your warrant has been paid in full

If you need proof that your warrant has been paid in full, we can send you one of the following:

We can only provide a copy of your Satisfaction of Judgment if the warrant satisfaction has been filed with the county clerk.

A Notice of Pending Warrant Satisfaction verifies we are in the process of satisfying your tax warrant. Most title companies will accept this as proof a lien will be removed. Only you or your authorized representative may request this notice.

We can send you a Notice of Pending Warrant Satisfaction if:

  • we receive payment in full in guaranteed funds (certified check, bank check, wire transfer, money order, cash); or
  • you made payment in full by credit card and the warranted balance is zero; or
  • your payment has posted to our system and you supply proof (such as a bank statement) showing the payment has cleared your account.

Call us at 518-457-5893 during regular business hours and speak with a representative to request we send proof your warrant has been paid in full, or if you have other questions related to a tax warrant. Be sure to enter your taxpayer ID number when prompted.

Warrant payoff letter

If you need a warrant payoff letter, we can provide you an Outstanding Judgment Balance Due letter, which lists all outstanding warrants and the balance due projected to a specified date. Call us at 518-457-5893 during regular business hours and speak with a representative to request this letter.

If you are unable to pay your warranted balance in full, and you are attempting to obtain a loan using your property as collateral, or selling your property and the proceeds will not be enough to pay your warranted balance in full, see Release or subordination of lien.

Questions about your credit report? See How do I remove a warrant from my credit report for more information.

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