Though we’re nonetheless a few months away, the April 15th tax deadline shall be right here earlier than you already know it, and in case you already owe revenue taxes for earlier tax years, you may be dealing with a good bigger tax debt when the mud settles.  

The IRS is a infamous creditor and, in case you determine to bury your head within the sand, the IRS will begin garnishing wages, seizing financial institution accounts, and begin putting liens on your house and different private property. Nonetheless, you continue to produce other choices. Chapter is a good device that can assist you reduce your present tax debt and this weblog will discover how chapter may help you eliminate a few of that undesirable tax debt. 

Completely different Forms of Tax Debt 

First, it is best to start to grasp the several types of tax debt and the way they’re categorised pursuant to the Chapter Code.  

I.  Secured Tax Debt

In case you’ve incurred substantial tax debt and have didn’t pay these taxes previously, the IRS has the flexibility to file a tax lien towards an individual’s private and actual property. As soon as the IRS information this tax lien, the tax debt turns into secured by the property you personal. Nevertheless, this tax lien is barely secured to the extent there’s fairness in an individual’s private or actual property. For instance, you’re presently financing a automobile that’s value $10,000 and you continue to owe the finance firm $5,000. Right here, the automobile would have an fairness of $5,000 (worth of car minus any liens) which the IRS can connect a lien to. 

II.  Precedence Tax Debt

These are taxes that you simply owe from the earlier three (3) tax years which have come due. As of the date of this weblog, this refers to tax debt owed for the tax years of 2018, 2019, and 2020 (2021 doesn’t develop into a part of this calculation as a result of 2021 taxes aren’t due till April 15, 2021). If we’re previous the April 15th deadline, the “precedence tax years” could be 2021, 2020, 2019. In a Chapter 7 chapter, this “precedence tax debt” is non-dischargeable, and the debtor shall be liable to pay these taxes after the chapter case is over. In a Chapter 13, the debtor should pay these taxes by a Chapter 13 Plan.  

III. Normal Unsecured Tax Debt

Unsecured tax debt is tax debt that’s neither secured nor precedence tax debt as defined above. If an individual can meet the necessities outlined within the subsequent section, these taxes are dischargeable in a Chapter 7 chapter. Nevertheless, in a Chapter 13 chapter, the debtor might must pay again a small share of the final unsecured tax debt.  

Eliminating Tax Debt in a Chapter 7 Chapter 

In a Chapter 7 chapter, normal unsecured tax debt could be discharged if the next necessities are met: 

1. The tax debt have to be from revenue taxes

Taxes have to be from revenue earned. Different kinds of taxes resembling gross sales and use tax, payroll taxes, and so forth. or are thought-about non-dischargeable taxes that can not be eradicated by a chapter. 

2. The debtor has not dedicated tax fraud or willful evasion of taxes

If in case you have been discovered responsible of tax fraud for falsifying data in your tax returns, or have willfully evaded paying revenue taxes, taxes can’t be eradicated by a chapter. 

3. The tax debt have to be no less than 3 years outdated

Let’s say that you simply file your 2015 revenue taxes on time (earlier than April 15, 2016) and you find yourself owing the IRS $10,000 for the tax 12 months of 2015. The next 12 months, you file your 2016 revenue taxes (earlier than April 15, 2017) and you find yourself owing the IRS an extra $10,000 for the tax 12 months of 2016. Lastly, the next 12 months, you file your 2017 revenue taxes (earlier than April 15, 2018) and also you owe the IRS an extra $10,000. Now you owe the IRS $30,000 for the tax years of 2015 by 2017. You enter into an settlement with the IRS to pay again these taxes, however as you proceed to file your taxes each subsequent 12 months, your tax debt continues to extend, and now the tax debt has develop into insurmountable.  That is the place the submitting of a chapter may help.  

In accordance with Chapter Code Sec. 507(a)(8)(A)(i), following the state of affairs above, if this explicit particular person filed for chapter at the moment, and so they have filed taxes all of their taxes on a time, they’d be eligible to remove the tax debt from 2015 by 2017 (assuming that the taxes aren’t secured by private or actual property and haven’t been audited by the IRS at any level). That’s $30,000 of tax debt that might presumably be discharged by chapter.  

To ensure that revenue taxes to develop into dischargeable in a chapter, the Debtor should meet the next guidelines: 

4. The debtor should meet the “2-Yr Rule”

In accordance with Chapter Code Sec. 523(a)(1)(b)(ii), you may discharge tax debt as long as the tax returns are filed no less than two years earlier than the submitting of a chapter. Even in case you filed your taxes late, you may nonetheless discharge tax debt as long as there’s a two-year hole between the submitting of the taxes and the submitting of the chapter. 

5. The debtor should meet the 240-Day Rule

The revenue tax debt will need to have been assessed by the IRS no less than 240 days earlier than the submitting of the chapter.  

To place all of it collectively – if 1) you could have filed all your taxes on time from 2015 by 2017; 2) your taxes had been assessed by the IRS on or across the time that the taxes had been filed; 3) you haven’t dedicated tax fraud or willful evasion of taxes; and 4) these taxes stem from revenue taxes – you may be eligible to discharge any normal unsecured tax debt related to these tax years.  That is useful for anybody who’s presently carrying a heavy tax burden which will increase each tax 12 months.  

Chapter 13 Reimbursement Plan and Remedy of Taxes 

A Chapter 13 chapter permits people with common revenue to formulate a compensation plan whereby the Debtor proposes to pay all or a portion of their money owed in a interval of three to 5 years. As I mentioned beforehand, Precedence Tax Debt and Secured Tax Debt have to be paid again in full by a Chapter 13 compensation plan. Nevertheless, you’ll solely pay again the Secured Tax Debt to the extent that this tax debt is secured by non-exempt fairness in any actual or private property.  

We Can Assist

Owing taxes shouldn’t be a scary factor – it occurs to most of us and can occur to you at one level in your life. Owing taxes isn’t the top of the world and all it takes is educating your self about your choices. Whether or not it’s worthwhile to i) utterly remove your tax debt by Chapter 7 chapter; ii) formulate a compensation plan in a Chapter 13; or iii) in case you’re contemplating chapter and aren’t positive in case your tax liabilities are dischargeable, please contact me instantly so I can consider your particular person case. We’re effectively certified as a full-service chapter regulation agency for folks on this county and different New Jersey counties: Passaic County, Hudson County, Essex County, Bergen County, Morris County, and Sussex County. Name us at the moment at 973-870-0434 or toll free 888-412-5091.