A bankruptcy court has held that a debtor can’t avoid an IRS tax lien, even though the lien was attached to real property and would impair the debtor’s entitlement to a state homestead exemption. Some states, such as Oklahoma, where the taxpayer resides, allow residents to designate their houses and land as their “homesteads.” A homestead is then exempt from execution by creditors for certain debts in bankruptcy. The taxpayer asked the bankruptcy court to void the lien. She asserted that the lien on her residence, which she claimed as exempt in her bankruptcy filings, impaired her homestead exemption. The court denied the motion, stating the lien is statutory, not judicial. (DC OK 10/14/19)