Rhode Island General Laws Title 44. Taxation § 44-19-21. Taxes as debt to state--Lien on real estate

(a) The amount of any taxes, interest, and penalties imposed upon any taxpayer under the provisions of chapters 18 and 19 of this title is a debt due from the taxpayer to the state, is recoverable at law in the same manner as other debts, and until collected constitutes a lien upon all the real property of the taxpayer located in this state and the lien takes precedence over any other lien or encumbrance on the property except as provided in this section. The tax administrator may file a notice of the tax lien with the records of land evidence for the city or town where the property is located and it is the duty of the recorder of deeds or the city or town clerk having custody of those records to receive, file, and index the notice under the name of the taxpayer. Any of the preceding provisions of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, the lien imposed by this section is not valid with respect to property in any city or town as against any bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, or lessee, whose interest in the real property appears of record in that city or town prior to the time of filing of that notice of tax lien in that city or town.

(b) The notice of the tax lien filed shall be in writing; shall contain the name and last known address of the taxpayer, and shall state that the taxpayer is indebted to the state under chapters 18 and 19 of this title for which the tax administrator claims a lien; the notice does not need to describe the taxpayer's property, or specify the amount of taxes owed, or the period of time covered by the delinquency. When the notice is filed in a city or town by the tax administrator, it, unless sooner discharged or released, also applies to property in the same city or town acquired by the taxpayer during a period of six (6) years from the date of filing and the filing does not need to be repeated for each successive delinquency of the taxpayer. The notice shall expire six (6) years from the date of filing unless renewed by again filing a notice on or before the expiration date. The tax administrator is obliged to discharge or release the notice of lien when the taxpayer is no longer delinquent in the payment of any of the taxes, interest, or penalties, whether incurred prior or subsequent to the date of filing of the notice, or upon request, following the expiration of the statutory lien period, as described in this subsection.

(c) For the filing of a notice of lien or discharge of lien, the recorder of deeds or the city or town clerk shall be paid out of any money appropriated for expenses of tax administration, a fee of one dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) for a completed entry.

(d) The authority granted in this section to the tax administrator to file a notice of lien shall not be held to repeal or amend in any other respect the provisions of § 44-19-30.