One creditor that can cause more hassles in a Chapter 7 New York bankruptcy than others is the government, specifically the IRS, New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance, or municipal revenue agencies. The bankruptcy code is kinder to the IRS than other creditors, but while tax debts generally receive “priorities” in bankruptcy—meaning they can’t be discharged and must be repaid—there are conditions in which the bankruptcy code allows a discharge.
Debts to the IRS must meet five criteria:
(1) The debt must be at least three years older than the tax deadline of the year it was due, including extensions.
(2) Petitioners must have filed a tax return including that debt more than two years before filing bankruptcy. If they’ve filed more recently, they will be denied a discharge.
(3) The petitioner must have filed a non-fraudulent tax return the year the debt was due.
(4) The IRS must assess the tax at least 240 days before the petitioner files bankruptcy.
(5) The petitioner is not guilty of tax evasion.
After their bankruptcy cases begin, petitioners must then prove that they filed income tax returns for the previous four years before the 341 meeting with the creditors. If creditors request it, petitioners will have to file the returns with the bankruptcy court and provide them to other creditors or the Trustee if requested.
The critical issue is point three, that the petitioner must have filed a tax return with the debt. The reason is that the IRS will assess tax on unfiled returns, meaning petitioners can’t simply decline to file a return. Rather, they must file a return and not pay the full amount. Consequently, finding oneself in the circumstances that allow a discharge of a tax debt can be quite difficult to meet. Obviously, the government will do everything it can to collect its revenue. This is why hiring an experienced New York bankruptcy attorney is important to handling a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
For more questions about tax debt, bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer Brooklyn NY Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.