Bankruptcy Attorney New Bedford MA

For many people living in New Bedford, MA filing bankruptcy is the last resort. However, it happens due to medical bills, unemployment, or other personal financial reasons. These are often unforeseen and unplanned but they still cause you to fall behind on payments. With the help of the highly qualified bankruptcy attorneys from the Law Office of Brian R. Lewis, you can relax knowing that your personal bankruptcy case or business bankruptcy case will be handled with care and personal attention.

Possibly one of the most difficult concepts surrounding bankruptcy to understand is taxes ” what can be discharged and what cannot be discharged. Although in most cases you are still responsible for tax debt following a bankruptcy case, bankruptcy laws in New Bedford, MA does allow the discharge, or elimination, of tax debts in some situations.

While your questions regarding bankruptcy and taxes can best be answered by a bankruptcy lawyer, here are some simple guidelines about what may and may not qualify for discharge during a bankruptcy proceeding.

• Personal income taxes are often discharged. However, payroll taxes, sales taxes and other non-personal incomes taxes are not typically dischargeable.
• You must have filed a legitimate tax return on time, or if filed late, it must have been at least two years prior to the filing of bankruptcy in New Bedford, MA.
• The tax debt is from a return that was originally due a minimum of three years prior to your bankruptcy filing.
• The IRS or state taxing authority must not have assessed the tax debt within 240 days prior to the bankruptcy filing. If the IRS or state taxing authority suspended collection activity during bankruptcy negotiations, the applicable date may be extended.
• In the event you committed willful tax evasion your tax debt will not be discharged. Tax evasion actions can include changing your social security number, your name, or the spelling of your name, repeated failure to pay your taxes, filing a blank or incomplete tax return or withdrawing your money from a bank account and hiding it.
• If your tax return contains no information that was intended to defraud the IRS or state taxing authority, your tax debt may be eliminated.

Furthermore, when filing for bankruptcy in New Bedford, MA you have four different options to choose from, which could affect your tax debt being discharged. Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy are the two most common types of bankruptcy filed. The other two are Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Chapter 12 bankruptcy.

To fully understand the different types of bankruptcy you can file, it is best that you discuss your financial situation with a bankruptcy attorney from the Law Office of Brian R. Lewis. They will be able to review your financial situation, including your tax debt, and help you determine which type of bankruptcy filing will best suit your needs.

They will also be there to help you during the entire process ” from the moment your file your bankruptcy, to the day that it is completely settled. They will answer any questions you have regarding filing bankruptcy in New Bedford, MA or any other Massachusetts area.