Collection Actions

The Minnesota Department of Revenue must provide advance notice, called due process, to you before taking any enforced collection action on a debt. For more information, see Due Process.

If the Minnesota Department of Revenue believes you are leaving Minnesota or liquidating and concealing your assets to avoid payment of your debt, we are allowed to take jeopardy collection action. We will demand immediate payment and expedite enforced collection action. (See Minnesota Statutes, section 270C.36, subd. 2, and section 297D.12.)

If we take jeopardy collection action, we send you a written explanation why we determined the collection of your debt is in jeopardy. You have 30 days to request an administrative review of the action.

A levy is a legal action the Department of Revenue may use to take money or property to collect unpaid taxes and other debts. We may take money from your bank account, wages, or other income. For more information, see Levies and the Collection Process.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue may file a claim (lien) against your property with the Office of Secretary of State or county recorder. This allows us to take your property to pay your tax or other debt we are collecting. For more information, see Liens and the Collection Process.

We may take (offset) certain government payments to pay your debt. For more information, see Offsets.

If a business fails to pay its debt, the Minnesota Department of Revenue may hold owners, officers or directors, managers, and certain others responsible for the debt. For more information, see Personal Liability Assessments.

If you evade filing or paying taxes to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, it is a criminal offense. We pursue tax evaders in court.

If you are convicted, a judge may order you to pay restitution and outline how to pay us. The order may require you to comply with an audit.

If you do not pay, we will contact the court, who may order you to:

• Pay the court, who will pay us on your behalf

• Pay us directly. If you refuse, we will contact your probation officer. We may take enforced collection actions.

The Statute of Limitations is a time limit set by law for us to take legal actions to collect a debt. For more information, see Statute of Limitations.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue may issue subpoenas to compel a person to provide certain information as part of the collections process. For more information, see Subpoenas.

If you buy or acquire a business or the stock of goods of a business, you are a successor. You must notify the Minnesota Department of Revenue before the transfer takes place or it may increase your liability for debts we are collecting from the business. For details, see Successor Liability.

When assets are transferred for less than fair market value, the Department of Revenue can hold the transferee (recipient) liable for tax debts owed by the transferor (person or business transferring the assets). For details, see Transferee Liability.

When a debt becomes uncollectible, the Minnesota Department of Revenue may stop active collections on that debt. For details, see Uncollectible Debt.