What Happens to Liens in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?
Chapter 13 bankruptcy provides a powerful tool for individuals who need to reorganize their debts, protect essential assets, and return to solid financial footing. However, the impact of a lien—especially a tax lien—within a Chapter 13 case can present some unique challenges for the taxpayer. The Bankruptcy Code defines a lien as a “charge against…
What can Tax Attorneys do to eliminate tax debt when filing bankruptcy?
The tax attorney is important in ensuring tax debt’s proper discharge or elimination. Since the dischargeability (elimination) of tax debt requires that each tax claim satisfy a complex set of rules under the US Bankruptcy Code, tax attorneys are most suited to ensure each rule is met and provide a detailed analysis in support of…
Don’t file an IRS Offer in Compromise for Tax Relief – Here’s Why
Why not you ask? Most applicants do not qualify, and there are often more viable options. In addition, the Offer-In-Compromise (“OIC”) will only address IRS tax claims, and there very often is additional non-tax debt that will remain unaffected. A tax bankruptcy can eliminate everything and provide an actual “fresh start.” Often, a partial-pay installment…
All About Filing Bankruptcy on State Tax Debt
The US Bankruptcy Code does not differentiate between Federal and state tax claims. Instead, the nature and type of tax claim dictate its treatment in a bankruptcy case. We will outline the terms in which state income and other state taxes are assessed, within this article. For state income tax claims, these rules apply: State…
All About Including IRS Debt in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Before considering Chapter 7 as a means of wiping out your tax debt, you must review each tax claim with a qualified Tax-Bankruptcy attorney. The last thing you want to do is file a bankruptcy and later discover that your tax debt was not eliminated. If done right, the bankruptcy filing can be an effective…
Overpayments and the timing of the bankruptcy filing – Debtor Beware!
A popular planning objective for taxpayer-debtors who are anticipating a bankruptcy filing while expecting a refund, is to make an election to apply the overpayment to a subsequent year. A taxpayer can elect to have an overpayment refunded or applied to the subsequent year’s estimated tax payment. This election, once made, is generally irrevocable (Sec.…
Can Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Discharge State Sales Taxes?
Chapter 7, colloquially known as “straight bankruptcy,” is the “operative” chapter of the Bankruptcy Code that normally governs liquidation of a debtor. Liquidation is a form of relief afforded by bankruptcy laws that involves the collection, liquidation and distribution of the nonexempt property of the debtor and culminates, if the debtor is an individual, in…
The 2019 Global Extension to File Returns – Don’t let it Impact your Bankruptcy Discharge
Generally, in order to convert an income tax claim from priority status to a general unsecured claim eligible for discharge in bankruptcy, an individual must satisfy the three-year rule. That is, the filing of bankruptcy must occur more than three years from when the tax was due, including any extensions. If the debtor timely applied…
Confirmation in Individuals’ Chapter 11 Case and the Automatic Stay
In Cochran v. Commissioner, 159 T.C. No. 4 (2022), the Tax Court rendered a precedential decision and ruled that the enactment of 11 U.S.C. § 1141(d)(5) created a limitation to the Tax Court’s prior holding in Moody v. Commissioner, 95 T.C. 655 (1990) with respect to the effect under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c) of a confirmation of…
It’s Preferential To Pay Trust Fund Taxes Before Bankruptcy Because It’s Not a Preferential Transfer
Certain transfers made within 90 days of a bankruptcy filing can be set aside by the bankruptcy trustee if a creditor received an interest in a debtor’s property on account of a pre-existing debt while the debtor was insolvent, and the transfer puts the creditor in a better position than it would have been in…
