{"id":29287,"date":"2026-10-25T15:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T19:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/bankruptcy-income-tax-3-2-240-infographic\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T15:03:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T19:03:01","slug":"bankruptcy-income-tax-3-2-240-infographic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/bankruptcy-income-tax-3-2-240-infographic\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Bankruptcy Wipe Out Income Tax? The 3-2-240 Rules (Infographic)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The tax-relief industry loves to make IRS problems sound impossible without them. They&#039;re not. I&#039;m Darrin Mish. I&#039;ve been representing taxpayers before the IRS for 32 years. Let me explain how this actually works.<\/p>\n<p>Tax attorney Darrin Mish put this one-page guide together from official sources. Save it, print it or share it with someone who needs it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bankruptcy-3-2-240.png\" alt=\"Can bankruptcy wipe out income tax? Infographic from tax attorney Darrin Mish.\" width=\"1080\" height=\"2076\" class=\"wp-image-29286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bankruptcy-3-2-240.png 1080w, https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bankruptcy-3-2-240-156x300.png 156w, https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bankruptcy-3-2-240-533x1024.png 533w, https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bankruptcy-3-2-240-768x1476.png 768w, https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bankruptcy-3-2-240-799x1536.png 799w, https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bankruptcy-3-2-240-1065x2048.png 1065w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2>What the infographic says<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Can bankruptcy wipe out income tax?<\/strong> Sometimes. The Bankruptcy Code sets timing tests. Each tax year is tested on its own, counting back from the day you file bankruptcy.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The 3-year rule.<\/strong> The return&#x27;s due date, including extensions, must be more than 3 years before you file bankruptcy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The 2-year rule.<\/strong> You must have filed the return. If you filed it late, you must have filed it more than 2 years before you file bankruptcy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The 240-day rule.<\/strong> The IRS must have assessed the tax more than 240 days before you file bankruptcy. Tax not yet assessed generally does not qualify.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fraud or evasion blocks it.<\/strong> Tax is not discharged if you filed a fraudulent return or willfully tried to evade or defeat the tax.<\/li>\n<li><strong>An IRS-prepared return does not count.<\/strong> A substitute return the IRS makes for you under IRC 6020(b) is not treated as your return.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The clocks can be paused.<\/strong> A pending offer in compromise, a prior bankruptcy, or a collection hearing and appeal can extend these time periods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Meeting the timing tests does not guarantee a discharge. Other conditions apply, so have your transcripts reviewed before you file.<\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/USCODE-2024-title11\/html\/USCODE-2024-title11-chap5-subchapI-sec507.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/USCODE-2024-title11\/html\/USCODE-2024-title11-chap5-subchapI-sec507.htm<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/USCODE-2024-title11\/html\/USCODE-2024-title11-chap5-subchapII-sec523.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/USCODE-2024-title11\/html\/USCODE-2024-title11-chap5-subchapII-sec523.htm<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Checked October 2026.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a question about your own situation, call tax attorney Darrin Mish at (813) 229-7100.<\/p>\n<p><em>Attorney advertising. General information, not legal advice. Every case is different; follow the instructions and deadlines on your own notice.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can bankruptcy wipe out income tax? Infographic from tax attorney Darrin Mish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_linkwrite_keywords":"","_linkwrite_no_autolink":false,"_linkwrite_no_inbound":false,"_linkwrite_exclude":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irs-help","category-tax-debt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29288,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29287\/revisions\/29288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}