Tax Debts in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Many people filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy want to know what happens to their tax debts in bankruptcy. If you owe money to the IRS or another taxing authority, you can get rid of that debt in bankruptcy in very limited circumstances. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, if your tax debt meets certain criteria, you can discharge it. In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can pay your tax debts through your repayment plan.
Find out which tax debts can and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, how the automatic stay helps stop IRS collection temporarily, and other ways bankruptcy might help with tax debt.
Most taxes can't be eliminated in bankruptcy, but federal income tax can be erased if it meets bankruptcy discharge requirements.
In most cases, you can't "discharge" or wipe out recent tax debts in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Instead, you repay your tax debts through the life of your Chapter 13 repayment plan, which could last either three or five years. But there are exceptions. Filers can often eliminate old tax debt in Chapter 13. Whether it's discharged or you pay it, Chapter 13 bankruptcy clears tax debt by the end of the plan.
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