[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 18]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR301.6323(f)-1]

[Page 246-249]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 301_PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION--Table of Contents
 
                               Collection
 
Sec. 301.6323(f)-1  Place for filing notice; form.

    (a) Place for filing. The notice of lien referred to in Sec. 
301.6323(a)-1 shall be filed as follows:
    (1) Under State laws--(i) Real property. In the case of real 
property, notice shall be filed in one office within the State (or the 
county or other governmental subdivision), as designated by the laws of 
the State, in which the property subject to the lien is deemed

[[Page 247]]

situated under the provisions of paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
    (ii) Personal property. In the case of personal property, whether 
tangible or intangible, the notice shall be filed in one office within 
the State (or the county or other governmental subdivision), as 
designated by the laws of the State, in which the property subject to 
the lien is deemed situated under the provisions of paragraph (b)(2) of 
this section.
    (2) With the clerk of the United States district court. Whenever a 
State has not by law designated one office which meets the requirements 
of subparagraph (1)(i) or (1)(ii) of this paragraph (a), the notice 
shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the U.S. district court for 
the judicial district in which the property subject to the lien is 
deemed situated under the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section. 
For example, a State has not by law designated one office meeting the 
requirements of subparagraph (1)(i) of this paragraph (a), if more than 
one office is designated within the State, county, or other governmental 
subdivision for filing notices with respect to all real property located 
in such State, county, or other governmental subdivision. A State has 
not by law designated one office meeting the requirements of 
subparagraph (1)(ii) of this paragraph (a), if more than one office is 
designated in the State, county, or other governmental subdivision for 
filing notices with respect to all of the personal property of a 
particular taxpayer. A state law that conforms to or reenacts a federal 
law establishing a national filing system does not constitute a 
designation by state law of an office for filing liens against personal 
property. Thus, if state law provides that a notice of lien affecting 
personal property must be filed in the office of the county clerk for 
the county in which the taxpayer resides and also adopts a federal law 
that requires a notice of lien to be filed in another location in order 
to attach to a specific type of property, the state is considered to 
have designated only one office for the filing of the notice of lien, 
and to protect its lien the Internal Revenue Service need only file its 
notice in the office of the county clerk for the county in which the 
taxpayer resides.
    (3) With the Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia. If the 
property subject to the lien imposed by section 5321 is deemed situated, 
under the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section, in the District 
of Columbia, the notice shall be filed in the office of the Recorder of 
Deeds of the District of Columbia.
    (b) Situs of property subject to lien. For purposes of paragraph (a) 
of this section, property is deemed situated as follows:
    (1) Real property. Real property is deemed situated at its physical 
location.
    (2) Personal property. Personal property, whether tangible or 
intangible, is deemed situated at the residence of the taxpayer at the 
time the notice of lien is filed.

For purposes of subparagraph (2) of this paragraph (b), the residence of 
a corporation or partnership is deemed to be the place at which the 
principal executive office of the business is located, and the residence 
of a taxpayer whose residence is not within the United States is deemed 
to be in the District of Columbia.
    (c) National filing system. The filing of federal tax liens is to be 
governed solely by the Internal Revenue Code and is not subject to any 
other federal law that may establish a national system for filing liens 
and encumbrances against a particular type of personal property. Thus, 
for example, the Service is not subject to the requirements established 
by the Federal Aviation Agency for filing liens against civil aircraft 
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
    (d) Form--(1) In general. The notice referred to in Sec. 
301.6323(a)-1 shall be filed on Form 668, ``Notice of Federal Tax Lien 
Under Internal Revenue Laws''. Such notice is valid notwithstanding any 
other provision of law regarding the form or content of a notice of 
lien. For example, omission from the notice of lien of a description of 
the property subject to the lien does not affect the validity thereof 
even though State law may require that the notice contain a description 
of the property subject to the lien.

[[Page 248]]

    (2) Form 668 defined. The term ``Form 668'' generally means a paper 
form. However, if a state in which a notice referred to in Sec. 
301.6323(a)-1 is filed permits a notice of Federal tax lien to be filed 
by the use of an electronic or magnetic medium, the term ``Form 668'' 
includes a Form 668 filed by the use of any electronic or magnetic 
medium permitted by that state. A Form 668 must identify the taxpayer, 
the tax liability giving rise to the lien, and the date the assessment 
arose regardless of the method used to file the notice of Federal tax 
lien.
    (e) Examples. The provisions of this section may be illustrated by 
the following examples:

    Example 1. The law of State X provides that notices of Federal tax 
lien affecting personal property are to be filed in the Office of the 
Recorder of Deeds of the county where the taxpayer resides. The laws of 
State X also provide that notices of lien affecting real property are to 
be filed with the recorder of deeds of the county where the real 
property is located. On June 1, 1970, in accordance with Sec. 
301.6323(f)-1, a notice of lien is filed in county M with respect to the 
delinquent tax liability of A. At the time the notice is filed, A is a 
resident of county M and owns real property in that county. One year 
later A moves to county N and one year after that A moves to county O. 
Because the situs of personal property is deemed to be at the residence 
of the taxpayer at the time the notice of lien is filed, the notice 
continues to be effectively filed with respect to A's personal property 
even though A no longer resides in county M. Furthermore, because the 
situs of real property is deemed to be at its physical location, the 
notice of lien also continues to be effectively filed with respect to 
A's real property.
    Example 2. B is a resident of Canada but owns personal property in 
the United States. On January 4, 1971, in accordance with Sec. 
301.6323(f)-1, a notice of lien is filed with the Office of the Recorder 
of Deeds of the District of Columbia. On January 2, 1973, B changes his 
residence to State Y in the United States. Because the residence of a 
taxpayer who is not a resident of the United States is deemed to be in 
the District of Columbia and the situs of personal property is deemed to 
be at the residence of the taxpayer at the time of filing, the lien 
continues to be effectively filed with respect to the personal property 
of B located in the United States even though B has returned to the 
United States and taken up residence in State Y and even though B has at 
no time been in the District of Columbia.
    Example 3. The law of State Z in effect before July 1, 1967, 
provides that notices of lien affecting real property are to be filed in 
the office of the recorder of deeds of the county in which the real 
property is located, but that if the real property is registered under 
the Torrens system of title registration the notice is to be filed with 
the registrar of titles rather than the recorder of deeds. The law of 
State Z in effect after June 30, 1967, provides that all notices of lien 
affecting real property are to be filed with the recorder of deeds of 
the county in which the real property is located. Accordingly, where the 
Torrens system is adopted by a county in State Z, there were before July 
1, 1967, two offices designated for filing notices of Federal tax lien 
affecting real property in the county because one office was designated 
for Torrens real property and another office was designated for non-
Torrens real property. Because State Z had not designated one office 
within the State, county, or other governmental subdivision for filing 
notices before July 1, 1967, with respect to all real property located 
in the State, county, or governmental subdivision, before July 1, 1967, 
the place for filing notices of lien under this section, affecting 
property located in counties adopting the Torrens system, was with the 
clerk of the U.S. district court for the judicial district in which the 
real property is located. However, after June 30, 1967, the place for 
filing notices of lien under this section, affecting both Torrens and 
non-Torrens real property in counties adopting the Torrens system is 
with the recorder of deeds for each such county. Notices of lien filed 
under this section with the clerk of the U.S. district court before July 
1, 1967, remain validly filed whether or not refiled with the recorder 
of deeds after the change in State law or upon refiling during the 
required refiling period.
    Example 4. The law of State W provides that notices of lien 
affecting personal property of corporations and partnerships are to be 
filed in the office of the Secretary of State. Notices of lien affecting 
personal property of any other person are to be filed in the office of 
the clerk of court for the county where the person resides. Because the 
State law designates only one filing office within State W with respect 
to personal property of any particular taxpayer, notices of lien filed 
under this section, affecting personal property, shall be filed in the 
office designated under State law.
    Example 5. The law of State F provides that notices of lien 
affecting personal property are to be filed with the clerk of the 
circuit court in the county in which the personal property is located. 
State F has conformed state law to federal law to provide that all 
instruments affecting title to an interest in any civil aircraft of the 
United States must be recorded in the Office of the Federal Aviation 
Administrator (FAA) in Oklahoma City,

[[Page 249]]

Oklahoma. On July 1, 1990, a tax lien arises against ABC airline, which 
owns aircraft situated in State F. The Internal Revenue Service files a 
Notice of Federal Tax Lien with the clerk of the circuit court in the 
county in which the aircraft is located but does not file the notice 
with the FAA in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Because the FAA system adopted 
by State F does not constitute a second place of filing pursuant to 
section 6323(f), the federal tax lien is validly filed.
    Example 6. Assume the same facts as Example 5 except that State F 
did not reenact or conform state law to the FAA requirements. The result 
is the same because the filing of federal tax liens is governed solely 
by the Internal Revenue Code, and is not subject to any other national 
filing system.

[T.D. 7429, 41 FR 35507, Aug. 23, 1976; 41 FR 41690, Sept. 23, 1976, as 
amended by T.D. 8234, 53 FR 47676, Nov. 25, 1988; T.D. 8557, 59 FR 
38120, July 27, 1994]