The Surprising Benefits: Chapter 13 Handles an Income Tax Lien on A Tax that Can’t Be Discharged

Chapter 13 can be the best way to deal with a nondischargeable tax debt with a recorded lien: it buys more time, protection, and flexibility.

Last week we discussed how Chapter 7 handles a recorded tax lien on a tax that bankruptcy CAN’T discharge. The tax debt already can’t be discharged (legally written off in bankruptcy). So you can’t get out of paying it. The prior recording of a tax lien just adds another reason you have to pay the tax. If you fail to pay the IRS/state can take your assets that are subject to the recorded tax lien.

Filing a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case can be a better way to handle such a tax debt than a Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” one.

Buys Time

Whether you file under Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 does not affect whether you must pay this tax. But filing a Chapter 13 case can often buy you more time.

After completing a Chapter 7 case you must pay the not-dischargeable tax as fast as the IRS/state demands. Otherwise all the powerful tax collection tools can be used against you. With a recorded tax lien already on your real and/or personal property, the IRS/state has even more leverage against you.

What if you can’t pay the tax as fast as demanded? Among other things the IRS/state could garnish your wages and/or bank accounts, and seize your property.

Chapter 13 could prevent all of that because you’d be given as much as 5 years to pay the tax. You and your bankruptcy lawyer would incorporate that tax debt into your Chapter 13 payment plan. You’d pay the IRS/state along with any other special debts that you must pay. Often, you’d pay only a small portion of your remaining debts. Sometimes you’d pay nothing on such debts. As a result you can focus your financial energies for 5 years on your tax debt.

Buys Protection

During that 5 years (which can be as short as 3 years), your paycheck, your checking/savings and other financial accounts, and your property are protected. Bankruptcy’s valuable “automatic stay” protection from collection lasts only 3-4 months in a Chapter 7 case. But this protection lasts the full 3-to-5 years of your Chapter 13 case. The peace of mind that comes from this extended protection is often invaluable.

Buys Flexibility

Sometimes what you need more than time is flexibility in how you pay a tax debt.

You may have some other even higher-priority debt that your financial future depends on. If you’re behind on a vehicle loan you may need to catch up so you’ll have transportation to your job. Or, if you’re late on child support catching up may be crucial to avoiding wage garnishment. Chapter 13 can let you pay some debts ahead of taxes, even nondischargeable taxes with a recorded tax lien.

Or if you can’t pay the taxes until some event in the future, Chapter 13 can buy you that flexibility. The event can even be a few years into the future. For example, if you plan on selling your house and moving away in two years, say, after a child graduates from high school, you may well be able to delay paying all or most of the tax debt until that house sale.

Conclusion

Chapter 13 can be a much better way to deal with a nondischargeable tax debt with a recorded lien. It often gives you more time to pay it, protects you many times longer than Chapter 7, and gives you flexibility that could be crucial in your unique circumstances.