The fraudulent conveyance statute of limitations is generally four years from the date of the transfer, with a one-year extension running from discovery when the claim is based on actual intent to defraud. That baseline comes from the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, which most states have adopted in some form. Separate and often shorter clocks apply when the debtor files bankruptcy, when the IRS is chasing a tax debt, or when a state has layered on an outer statute of repose. The right deadline for your situation depends on which law applies and what kind of fraud you are alleging.
The Four-Year State Law Deadline
Under Section 9 of the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (formerly the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act), a creditor typically has four years after the transfer was made to sue. That window covers both kinds of voidable transfer the act recognizes: transfers made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors, and constructive-fraud transfers where the debtor received less than reasonably equivalent value while insolvent or became insolvent because of the transaction.
For constructive fraud, the four years is a hard line. There is no intent requirement to begin with, so there is nothing to “discover” later. If the debtor sold a $200,000 house to a cousin for $5,000 while already drowning in unpaid bills, that transaction is attackable on its economic terms alone, but only if the creditor files within four years.
The clock starts when the transfer is “made.” For real estate, that generally means the date the deed is recorded. For financial accounts and personal property, it is when the transfer becomes complete and enforceable against third parties. Insolvency under the act means total debts exceed total assets at fair valuation, or the debtor has stopped paying debts as they come due.
The One-Year Discovery Extension for Actual Fraud
Claims based on actual intent to defraud get more room. Under Section 9(a), a creditor can sue within four years after the transfer or within one year after the transfer was discovered or reasonably could have been discovered, whichever is later. If a debtor funnels cash into an offshore account and the creditor only learns about it six years later during a deposition, the creditor still has one year from that discovery to file.
Two limits on this extension matter. First, it only applies to actual-fraud claims, not constructive fraud. Second, the creditor has to have been reasonably diligent. Courts routinely treat a recorded deed as constructive notice to the world: once a transfer appears in the county records, the discovery clock is generally considered to have started whether or not the creditor actually checked. The discovery rule gives the most protection where transfers were genuinely hidden, such as transfers into shell entities, unreported offshore holdings, or undocumented hand-offs between insiders.
Statutes of Repose: The Outer Wall
Some states layer an absolute outer limit on top of the four-year rule. These statutes of repose typically run around seven years from the date of the transfer, and once that period expires, the claim is gone no matter when it was discovered. The uniform act itself does not contain a repose provision, so whether one applies depends entirely on how a particular state enacted its law.
Federal courts have confirmed that equitable tolling does not apply to statutes of repose. Even active concealment by the debtor will not stop the clock. Courts have described these provisions as absolute bars that cannot be tolled or otherwise extended. The policy is to protect the stability of completed transactions, especially for third-party buyers and heirs. A transfer that still looks reachable under the discovery rule may already be out of reach under a state-level repose period, so older transfers deserve a careful look at local law before any filing.
Bankruptcy Changes the Clock
When the debtor files for bankruptcy, the trustee takes over the avoidance analysis and operates under federal deadlines that run alongside state law.
The Two-Year Federal Lookback
Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code lets the trustee void any transfer made within two years before the petition date. It reaches both actual fraud and constructive fraud, including transfers where the debtor received less than reasonably equivalent value while insolvent or was left with unreasonably small capital.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 548 – Fraudulent Transfers and Obligations The two years is measured backward from the filing date, not from discovery or trustee appointment.
Reaching Older Transfers Through Section 544
Section 544 lets the trustee step into the shoes of an unsecured creditor and use state fraudulent transfer law.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 544 – Trustee as Lien Creditor and as Successor to Certain Creditors and Purchasers That matters because the state four-year window, plus any discovery extension, often reaches further back than the federal two years. A transfer made three years before the filing is outside Section 548 but still live under Section 544.
The Trustee’s Own Filing Deadline
Trustees do not have unlimited time to sue. Under Section 546, an avoidance action must be filed by the earlier of two years after the order for relief or the date the case is closed or dismissed.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 546 – Limitations on Avoiding Powers If the first trustee is appointed well into the case, they get at least one year from appointment, provided that appointment falls within the initial two-year window. Equitable tolling has occasionally extended this deadline where a debtor actively concealed transfers, but trustees treat the two-year cap as effectively absolute.
Preference Payments: 90 Days and One Year
Preference payments are a related clock readers often confuse with fraudulent transfer deadlines. A preference is a payment to one creditor shortly before filing that gives that creditor better treatment than they would receive through the bankruptcy distribution. Under Section 547, the trustee can claw back preferences made within 90 days before filing for ordinary creditors, with the lookback extended to one year for insiders such as family members, business partners, and officers.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 547 – Preferences The payment must have been made while the debtor was insolvent and must have given the creditor more than they would have received in a Chapter 7 liquidation.
IRS Transferee Liability Runs on Its Own Timeline
The IRS pursues people who received assets from a taxpayer owing back taxes under a separate schedule. Section 6901 of the Internal Revenue Code lets the IRS assess tax liability against a transferee within one year after the normal assessment period expires against the original taxpayer.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 6901 – Transferred Assets For an initial transferee, that generally means one year beyond the standard three-year assessment period against the debtor, roughly four years total.
Where property passes through multiple hands, the IRS can pursue each subsequent transferee within one year after the limitations period expires for the preceding transferee, but no later than three years after the period expires for the original taxpayer. If the IRS files a court proceeding against any transferee in the chain before the deadline, the assessment period extends to one year after execution is returned in that case. Parking assets with a chain of relatives does not run out the clock, because each link restarts a fresh window.
IRS transferee liability runs independently of state fraudulent transfer law and bankruptcy avoidance powers. A transfer that is time-barred under the state four-year rule can still expose the recipient to IRS collection if the underlying tax debt remains open, and the IRS does not need to prove traditional fraud; it can pursue transferees on the theory that the transfer left the taxpayer unable to pay.
Criminal Exposure Has a Separate Clock
Fraudulent conveyance is primarily a civil matter, but it can become criminal. Under 18 U.S.C. 152, knowingly concealing assets or making fraudulent transfers in connection with a bankruptcy case is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison, and it reaches both debtors and third parties who help carry out the scheme.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 152 – Concealment of Assets; False Oaths and Claims; Bribery Some states have their own criminal statutes covering fraudulent conveyance outside bankruptcy. The criminal statute of limitations runs separately from the civil deadlines, so a transfer too old to void in civil court can still support prosecution.
Picking the Right Deadline for Your Situation
Before filing, work through the clocks that apply. Start with the state version of the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act: four years from the transfer, with a one-year discovery extension if you are alleging actual intent to defraud. Check whether your state adds a statute of repose that caps the discovery extension. If the debtor has filed or is likely to file bankruptcy, factor in the trustee’s two-year reach under Section 548, the longer state-law reach available through Section 544, and the trustee’s own two-year deadline under Section 546. If unpaid federal taxes are in the picture, assume the IRS has its own four-year-plus window under Section 6901 that does not care whether the civil fraudulent transfer claim is still alive. The earliest applicable deadline is the one that controls your filing date.