The dischargeability of and the ability to collect taxes by the IRS in a consumer bankruptcy case often turn on the issue of whether and when the taxpayer filed the relevant returns, thereby determining when the statute of limitations on assessment began to run. In this case, the IRS assessed the taxpayer, James Quezada, in 2014 for tax deficiencies arising for tax years 2005-2008. Quezada filed for bankruptcy in 2016. The IRS filed a claim for the alleged 2005-2008 tax deficiency. Over the taxpayer’s objection, the Bankruptcy Court held that the limitations period never began to run because Quezada never filed “the return,” and the District Court affirmed. As a result, the taxes were deemed not dischargeable, and the IRS’s claim was upheld.
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