Federal Income Taxes Owed?

[bigdrov1x]

Are past due Federal Taxes a priority unsecured debt? Do I need to list them on my usecured creditors owed? I lost my 6 figure job in 2009, and could not begin to pay my taxes. I have just been paying the taxes back whenever I can, but am not really putting a dent into them. I think I owe like 5k. Can this be liquidated? How do I go about listing this on my priority debts? Thanks for any help.

[LadyInTheRed]

It worries me when I see somebody who is filing pro-se ask this kind of question. I want to be helpful, but if you can't find the answer to this question, I really don't think you should be filing pro-se. Do you have a BK guide, like the one from Nolo Press? Have you looked at the bankruptcy code for a list of priority debts? Have you read the bankruptcy forms? If you check these sources, you should be able to determine whether taxes are priority unsecured debt and where to list them on your petition. Then you can ask more specific questions if needed.

Somebody else may come along answer your question. But, you'd be better off if you learn to find the answer yourself and then come back and get confirmation that you are correct.

[justbroke]

Do you have a guidebook, such as NoLo's Guide to Bankruptcy? I highly recommend that you obtain this book. Taxes are a special area of bankruptcy and it is possible to even discharge taxes if they fit the statutory requirements (3 years since due, 2 years since filed, 240 days since assessed).

The reason we are reluctant to just say put on form X, is because the tax would be either Priority Unsecured or General Unsecured. You need to understand your back taxes and figure out whether they are priority or not. It is possible that a portion of those taxes, or maybe even none of those taxes are dischargeable. Second, you must pay the priority debt in plan if filing a Chapter 13.

I don't even know what chapter of bankruptcy you are going to file. If it's only taxes, have you even looked at just doing an On-line Payment Agreement (OPA) with the IRS?

[bigdrov1x]

I looked it up in the codes. If the taxes in question are 3 or more years old, then they can be discharged. This is the case for simple back income taxes from wages earned from a job. I dont know about farming wages and other stuff. They need to be listed in the NON-priority unsecured debts. This is weird because I would have thought that these would need to be a priority debt. Anyways, I listed them on the Non priority list. I will keep posted about the disposition of this specific debt.

[justbroke]

It's three conditions. Three years since due without penalty (not simply 3 years), 2 years since filed, and 240 days before assessed. Also, if the IRS filed a "Substitute" tax return on hour behalf, they is likely to be considered as "not filed" for purposes of dischargeability -- even if you did finally file a Form 1040. If it passes all three of those conditions and there is no tax lien, they would be dischargeable. I will repeat this; the IRS is very good about doing the right things in the majority of cases.