Tax Litigation in Bankruptcy Court

The initiation of a bankruptcy proceeding will not necessarily bring a halt to tax controversy and litigation matters. Depending on a variety of factors, the IRS may continue to pursue the assets of a taxpayer that has a case pending in a United States Bankruptcy Court, or the representative of the bankruptcy estate may seek to initiate an action against the United States.

There are a host of unique legal and strategic considerations to dealing with the IRS in bankruptcy court, and the bankruptcy statutes are structured in such a way as to allow for the initiation of full scale litigation with a trial, witnesses, and discovery (e.g., depositions and document production). As such, it is imperative that a taxpayer dealing with tax controversy issues in the context of a bankruptcy proceeding hire legal counsel adept at handling matters involving these two distinct disciplines.