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Seizure: The act of levying a tangible asset, like real estate, motor vehicles, office equipment and inventory.

Self-employed: Someone who works for himself/herself instead of as an employee of another person or organization, drawing income from a trade or business. Self-employment is sometimes a precursor to forming a small business with employees.

In its simplest form, the individual and his business are one and the same existence. This makes the owner personally liable for all the debts of the business. To avoid this, he may choose to incorporate his business, protecting his personal assets from creditors or others taking legal action against the business.

Special Agents: Employed by the Criminal Investigation Division, Special Agents conduct investigations involving criminal violations of Internal Revenue Law.

Statutory Lien: Arises against a taxpayer upon the assessment of a tax delinquency by the IRS. However, in order to initiate seizure action the lien must be perfected, in other words, filed in the Recorder of Deeds office. (Also see Notice of Federal Tax Lien)

Substitute for Return (SFR): A formal way for the Internal Revenue Service to make an educated guess about how much taxes you might owe. The whole purpose of a Substitute for Return is to arrive at a definite dollar amount of your tax liability, so that the IRS can begin collection efforts. The IRS uses its substitute tax return to issue a proposed assessment of taxes you owe. If you don't respond to the proposed assessment, that assessment may become final. Once the assessment becomes final, the IRS can now legally collect on the tax for a period of ten years.