Eligibility

• You are only eligible to file for bankruptcy, whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, if you are current in filing your annual federal tax returns. If you have not filed your tax return for the most recent tax year, then you must do that before you can file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
  
  

Chapter 7

• You only need to file one tax return, which is your most recent tax return, in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you don't have a copy of your most recent tax return then you can request a transcript from the IRS. The transcript is an IRS document that gives a summary of your tax return and provides proof that you filed your tax return. If you don't file either your tax return or transcript at least one week before your first creditors meeting, then the bankruptcy court can dismiss your case.
  
  

Chapter 13

• Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires you to prepare a repayment plan and to persuade the court that you have the ability to comply with the payment schedule in that plan. To do this, you must prove to the court that you have sufficient income to meet your repayment obligations. The court makes this analysis and determination by looking at your income history. For that reason, you must file copies of your four most recent tax returns with the bankruptcy court when you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
  
  

Tax Debt

• The other information you will need when you file either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is an accounting of any past taxes that you owe. You need this for several reasons. In a Chapter 7, the trustee will need to identify what amount of those taxes, if any, the bankruptcy trustee can pay out of the liquidation proceeds. Additionally, some of your tax debt may be eligible for discharge if it includes income taxes that are more than three years old. The court also needs your total tax debt under Chapter 13 so that the amount can be included in the court's analysis of whether you will be able to pay it off under a debt repayment plan.