When an individual or company falls behind on taxes, the government can make a claim against property owned by the individual or business. The government's claim is a tax lien. A tax lien does not mean that the government is seizing your property or that it will necessarily demand that you sell the property to pay off your tax debt. Instead, it simply means that should you sell the property in the future, the government is entitled to receive a portion of the proceeds, based on the amount of the lien.