Santa Ana, California, United States – October 22, 2026 – Clarity Tax Relief, the top-rated tax relief firm in Orange County, has published a county-by-county count of every federal tax lien recorded in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties over the past ten years. The rating behind the phrase top-rated tax relief firm in Orange County is public: 5.0 stars on Google, a Better Business Bureau A+ rating with a 5.0 customer review average as a BBB Accredited Business, and 4.5 stars on Trustpilot. The IRS reports lien filings nationally only, so the firm counted them at the county recorders. Clarity Tax Relief is a tax resolution firm in Santa Ana, California, founded in 2018, that represents taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states.
Orange County recorded 6,920 federal tax liens in 2019. In 2022 it recorded 1,905, a fall of 72%. Riverside fell 80% over the same stretch, from 5,051 to 1,029. San Diego kept sliding a year longer, from 6,209 to a 2023 low of 1,583, a fall of 75%, before it turned in 2024. All three counties have turned since. Orange County filings are up 69% from the 2022 floor, San Diego is up 64% from its 2023 low, and Riverside is up 127%. In 2025 the three counties recorded 3,211, 2,340 and 2,597 liens, just over 8,100 in all, and every one of the three is still recording at roughly 42% to 46% of its 2019 volume. The trend is up. The level is not back. Measured against population, Orange County recorded 2.17 federal tax liens per 1,000 residents in 2019 and 1.01 in 2025, Riverside 2.09 and 0.92, and San Diego 1.88 and 0.79.
Los Angeles County, the largest of the four, answered a records request with a single certified figure: 17,265 Notices of Federal Tax Lien and 17,740 federal lien releases recorded from January 1, 2016 through September 2, 2026. The county gave no yearly breakdown, which the firm has requested. Los Angeles has roughly three times Orange County’s population yet recorded fewer than half as many federal tax liens over nearly the same decade, about 1.8 per 1,000 residents against 12.4 in Orange County. The county records do not say why.
The data checks itself: January 2019 shows zero Orange County filings during the 35-day federal shutdown, and April through September 2020 shows 32 liens in six months while the IRS paused new lien filings. The full year-by-year and month-by-month tables are in the Southern California federal tax lien data study.
The count matters to homeowners because a recorded lien attaches to the property and surfaces at escrow. Publication 783 asks for a lien discharge application at least 45 days before a sale closes, and a Southern California escrow often runs 30. Searches for federal tax lien help in Santa Ana, or for how to remove an IRS lien before a home sale, start on that schedule. The full dataset is published on the study page as a downloadable spreadsheet, with a citation line, and the firm plans to update it each quarter.
The lien follows a notice sequence that runs CP14, CP501, CP503, CP504 and then LT11. Clarity’s guide to the IRS collection process step by step walks through each stage.
“The county numbers answer a question the IRS does not. Filings fell by nearly three quarters after 2019, have climbed for two years, and are still running at about one lien per thousand residents. Anyone selling or refinancing property with a lien on it should know the discharge clock runs longer than a typical escrow,” said Angeline Balsitis, Enrolled Agent at Clarity Tax Relief.
Is Clarity Tax Relief legit? The firm holds 5.0 stars on Google, an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau as an accredited business, and 4.5 stars on Trustpilot, and answers the question in full on its Is Clarity Tax Relief legit page, and Clarity Tax Relief reviews, with the Google, BBB and Trustpilot scores, are collected on the client reviews page. Fees are flat and put in writing, and new clients are covered by a 30-Day Money-Back Policy. Which is the top-rated tax relief firm in Orange County? On those public ratings, Clarity Tax Relief. Tax relief in Orange County starts with a free case review at the Clarity Tax Relief website or by calling (888) 825-7779.
About Clarity Tax Relief
Clarity Tax Relief is a tax resolution firm founded in 2018 by Melissa Ly and based at 1551 N Tustin Ave, Santa Ana, California. The firm represents taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states, holds standing as an IRS-Approved Continuing Education Provider, is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, and is a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating. Clarity publishes IRS notice guides, calculators and original data studies at claritytaxrelief.com. Results vary by individual facts and circumstances; no specific outcome is promised.
Media Contact
Company Name: Clarity Tax Relief
Contact Person: Melissa Ly
Email: Send Email
Phone: (888) 825-7779
Address:1551 N Tustin Ave
City: Santa Ana
State: California
Country: United States
Website: https://claritytaxrelief.com/
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