Many people think taxes can’t be discharged in bankruptcy but that is not the case.
Some taxes can be discharged but it’s important to know how old the taxes are and what kind they are to determine whether bankruptcy can be used to eliminate tax debt.
Here is a shorthand way to determine whether taxes can be discharged
There are four questions to ask and the correct answer is in parentheses following the question.
1. Are these income taxes? (Yes.)
2. When was the tax return due? (More than three years ago –remember that tax returns are due on April 15th of the following tax year.)
3. When was the tax return filed? (More than two years ago.)
4. When was the tax assessed by the IRS? (More than 240 days ago — the date of assessment can only be obtained from an IRS tax transcript.)
If all four answers are correct than the taxes should be dischargeable.
Property taxes assessed before bankruptcy, sales taxes and withholding taxes are never dischargeable.