About the Course
Introduction
This CLE webinar will offer guidance to attorneys representing debtors for managing, reducing, or eliminating tax liabilities through bankruptcy. The panel will address how bankruptcy may help both individuals and small businesses with tax obligations. The program will also be of interest to creditors' counsel who may benefit from reducing or eliminating priority claims.
Description
How taxes and tax liens are treated in bankruptcy and what types of tax debts are eligible for discharge are typically misunderstood, anxiety-inducing topics. But understanding these issues is critical because even if tax debt cannot be discharged, it can often be significantly reduced or managed in a way that provides a measure of relief.
To advise a client with serious tax issues, a bankruptcy attorney needs to evaluate the situation, understand the best options, and create a strategy for working through these matters. Counsel need to know the right questions to ask to get relevant information and documents. Discharging tax debts through bankruptcy may require carefully timing the bankruptcy to fit within the "3-2-240 Rule."
Listen as our panel of bankruptcy practitioners outlines how tax debts can be cleared or managed in bankruptcy.
Presented By
Ms. Morgan is a bankruptcy and debt attorney, nationally recognized consumer finance expert, and founder of Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC. Admitted to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Bar, she is also licensed in the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Ms. Morgan has devoted the majority of her practice to representing both individuals and business debtors. She handles Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings, tax debt resolution, creditor negotiations, and non-bankruptcy alternatives. Ms. Morgan works closely with clients to preserve assets and minimize liability, while also preventing future issues.
Mr. Staeven works with distressed individuals and businesses. His insolvency-based bankruptcy practice does workouts, restructuring, negotiations, and bankruptcy for consumers and entities. Mr. Staeven also works on real estate transactions representing the buyer or banking institution in a property transaction or properties in distress.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
- schedule
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
I. Overview of tax priorities in bankruptcy
II. Treatment of tax liens vs. tax debt
III. Requirements for discharging tax debt in Chapters 7, 13, or 11 (including Sub. V)
IV. Pre-filing planning
V. Strategies for dealing with partially discharged tax debt
The panel will discuss these and other important questions:
- Are state income taxes or property taxes affected?
- What is the effect of a substitute for return being filed?
- How can the IRS be prevented from setting off tax refunds?
- What is the bankruptcy court's jurisdiction over tax determinations?
