Tax Debt Relief Group helps people in Orlando and across Central Florida find out whether their IRS debt can be wiped out in bankruptcy. Peter Kici, Enrolled Agent and USMC veteran, reviews your IRS records year by year and works alongside your bankruptcy attorney so the tax side is right.

Some tax debt can be discharged. Some never can.

Bankruptcy can eliminate older federal income taxes, but only when each tax year passes every one of the rules in the Bankruptcy Code. A year that misses one rule by a single day stays owed. That is why the dates on your IRS transcripts matter more than anything else.

The 3-year rule. The return was last due, including extensions, more than 3 years before the bankruptcy is filed (11 U.S.C. 507(a)(8)(A)(i)).
The 240-day rule. The tax was assessed more than 240 days before filing. A pending offer in compromise or an earlier bankruptcy can stretch this period (11 U.S.C. 507(a)(8)(A)(ii)).
The 2-year rule. A return was filed more than 2 years before the bankruptcy. If no return was ever filed, the tax cannot be discharged (11 U.S.C. 523(a)(1)(B)).
No fraud or willful evasion (11 U.S.C. 523(a)(1)(C)).

What never goes away: payroll trust fund taxes and the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty cannot be discharged. A return the IRS prepared for you (a substitute for return) does not count as your return. A federal tax lien that was already filed can survive the bankruptcy and stay attached to property you owned.

A Florida point: the federal appeals court covering Florida has held that a late-filed return can still count as a return for discharge purposes (In re Shek, 947 F.3d 770 (11th Cir. 2020)). Courts in other parts of the country disagree, so where you file matters.

What we do for you

Pull your IRS account transcripts and date every year: when it was due, filed and assessed.
Flag which years qualify now, which qualify later, and which never will.
File any missing returns so they start their clock.
Give your bankruptcy attorney a clean year-by-year tax analysis, and handle the IRS before and after the case.
If bankruptcy is not the right tool, resolve the debt another way: an offer in compromise, a payment plan, or hardship status. See all your options on our IRS tax forgiveness help page.

Who we help

Individuals and small business owners in Orlando, Oviedo, Winter Springs, Sanford, Casselberry and the rest of Central Florida, plus clients in all 50 states by phone and secure upload. Peter is an Enrolled Agent, a federally licensed tax practitioner authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS. He is not an attorney and does not file bankruptcy cases; he works with your bankruptcy attorney on the tax side.

Want to know which of your tax years could be discharged? Book a free consultation or call (407) 531-8705. Not ready to call yet? Get Peter’s free IRS Survival Guide.