For Chapter 13 and consumer Chapter 11 attorneys
A Chapter 13 plan can survive a job loss. It rarely survives a tax problem nobody caught until the confirmation hearing.
I’m Elan Becker, an Enrolled Agent who works where bankruptcy and tax meet. I do the tax analysis your case needs, then work alongside you or your co-counsel to build it into the plan.
- Bankruptcy and tax, togetherTax returns, IRS claims and discharge timing handled with the bankruptcy strategy in view.
- Seven practitioner guidesWritten for EAs, CPAs and attorneys on Chapter 13, liens, the automatic stay, §505 and §523.
- CPE and CLE instructorOn-demand programs for MyCPE One and MyLawCLE, and the American Bar Association in December.
Here are the six points where the tax side of a Chapter 13 case usually goes wrong.
Bankruptcy lawyers who don’t understand tax compliance miss it from one side. Tax resolution practitioners who don’t understand bankruptcy procedure miss it from the other. The client gets caught in the middle and pays for both.
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Before the petition
Four years of returns have to be filed §1308
Chapter 13 debtors must file all tax returns for the four prior tax years. Missing returns give the trustee and creditors grounds to move for dismissal, before the first plan payment is even due.
What I do: review the IRS transcripts, find the unfiled years and get the returns prepared before you file.
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The IRS claim
The unfiled years become a priority claim §507(a)(8)
Every dollar of tax from those years is a priority claim. Until the returns are filed nobody knows how big it is, and substitute returns prepared by the IRS can inflate it.
What I do: value the tax liability correctly before it goes anywhere near the plan.
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The plan
Priority tax has to be paid in full §1322(a)(2)
Priority claims are paid in full through the Chapter 13 plan. There are no exceptions and no cramdowns, so a plan payment built without the real tax number is already wrong.
What I do: work with you to build the actual tax liability into the plan payment.
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Confirmation
A plan the debtor can’t fund gets dismissed §1325(a)(6)
The moment the returns are filed and the IRS locks in its proof of claim, an underfunded plan payment balloons. That’s how a case ends up on two separate tracks toward dismissal.
What I do: make sure the tax numbers hold up when the trustee and the court look at them.
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During the case
The stay doesn’t stop everything §362 §505
The automatic stay halts IRS collection, but not audits or deficiency notices. A trust fund recovery penalty assessment can still show up mid-case, and post-petition returns still have to be filed on time.
What I do: keep the debtor compliant for the life of the plan, and use §505 when an IRS assessment needs to be challenged in front of the bankruptcy judge.
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Discharge
Whether the tax debt goes away depends on three clocks §523(a)(1)
The three-year, two-year and 240-day rules decide which tax debts are dischargeable, and offers in compromise, prior bankruptcies and CDP hearings can pause those clocks.
What I do: work out the dates from the transcripts before anyone promises the client a clean fresh start.
Fractional tax advisor for consumer bankruptcy firms
I work as the tax advisor on your bankruptcy team, before filing and for the life of the case.
Unfiled returns, a priority tax debt that wasn’t valued correctly, a trust fund penalty that appears mid-case. These aren’t edge cases. They’re the reason plans get modified, dismissed or refiled, and they’re rarely the attorney’s fault. Bankruptcy counsel isn’t supposed to be a tax expert, and most tax resolution firms don’t understand bankruptcy strategy.
I sit at that intersection. You keep the legal role. I take the tax work off your desk and keep you informed.
- Tax liabilities valued correctly before they derail your plan, not after.
- §362, §505 and §502 used as strategic tools, not just cited in a motion.
- Fewer surprise assessments, fewer failed confirmations, and more completed plans and clean discharges for your clients.
How the engagement works
- Prepare
I review the client’s filing history and prepare the returns the case needs before the petition goes in.
- Manage
Through the Chapter 13 plan or consumer Chapter 11 case, I handle tax preparation, planning and compliance.
- Coordinate
You and your co-counsel know where the tax work stands at every point, so nothing surfaces late and eats your time.
Bring your case volume and the tax problems your clients usually arrive with. We’ll work out whether a retained tax resource makes sense for your firm.
I also work directly with taxpayers, and with litigators who need a tax expert.
Tax planning for high net worth households and business owners
For $3M+ net worth or $300K+ income
A monthly retainer focused on the planning most CPAs skip: entity strategy, multi-layered structures, and positioning before a liquidity event or ownership decision rather than once-a-year filing. We meet at least quarterly, and I respond within 48 hours. If I miss that, the next month is free.
Book a free consultationTax resolution with direct IRS representation
For $50,000 or more in tax debt
Unfiled returns, liens, levies and collection pressure, federal or state. I review your full IRS position, find the options that fit the facts and represent you directly with the IRS. If bankruptcy could deal with part of the debt, we look at that too.
Book a free consultationExpert witness in tax matters
For plaintiff or defense counsel
Reports, depositions and trial testimony from an expert who can hold up under cross. Tax crimes, CPA and EA malpractice, botched tax resolution cases, tax issues in divorce, bankruptcy tax, and tax-based AI negligence.
Book a free consultationI’m an Enrolled Agent, not an attorney. I know exactly where that line is, which means you get tax analysis that holds up, and a clean hand-off to counsel the moment the case needs one.
Practitioner guides
I started writing guides because the answers my own cases needed weren’t in one place.
Each guide takes one high-stakes issue and gives EAs, CPAs and attorneys the IRS procedure, the bankruptcy rules, the citations and the case law in a structure you can work through with a live client matter.
$99 each as a PDF. Firm licensing is available for teams.
See all seven guidesI teach this to other tax and legal professionals.
I write and own every course I teach, and license them to CPE and CLE providers. They’re on demand for CPAs, EAs, attorneys and financial professionals.
A CLE webinar on captive insurance Tax Court cases, 831(b) elections and micro-captive compliance.
- Completed NTPI Level 1, National Association of Enrolled Agents
- Member, American Society of Tax Problem Solvers
- Corporate Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: Tax Traps, Trustee Strategy, and IRS Claim ChallengesMyLawCLECo-presented with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee, for debtor bankruptcy attorneys
- Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Tax Advisors’ Guide to DischargeMyCPE One
- Bankruptcy Estates and Form 1041: What Tax Advisors MissMyCPE One
- Tax Strategies for High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth IndividualsMyCPE One
- Captive Insurance: 831(b), 831(a) and Tax Court UpdatesMyCPE One
- C Corp vs S Corp: Tax Strategies for Client DecisionsMyCPE One
- Professional Liability Protection in CPA and EA FirmsMyCPE One
What attorneys, CPAs and clients say about working with me.
“Elan is a master at delivering great customer service and lives up to his promise of responding within 48 hours. I reached out to him regarding a tax issue on which I wanted his opinion. He responded within minutes with a thorough and well articulated answer.”
“What stood out even more than his technical depth was his willingness to take the time to clearly explain the key points. Elan didn’t just give an answer. He gave a framework for understanding the tax mechanics behind it.”
“I highly recommend Elan for his expertise in bankruptcy and debt restructuring navigation. Elan combines analytical skills with clear communication, making him a valuable asset in various financial scenarios.”
From LinkedIn recommendations. Testimonials reflect individual experiences and are not a promise, guarantee or prediction of any tax, bankruptcy, planning or advisory outcome.
Tax work doesn’t stop on April 15, and neither does mine.
I’ve spent more than a decade in accounting and tax. Before Enrolled Agent Concierge I ran my own e-commerce businesses, did due diligence on acquisitions, and prepared individual, trust and business returns through busy season at a CPA firm.
Today my practice runs all year. Prospects come to me before bankruptcy, after bankruptcy and in the middle of a divorce. Tax attorneys call me in July, because the IRS won’t consider currently not collectible status, a partial pay installment agreement or an offer in compromise until every return is filed. No compliance, no resolution.
The part of the work I value most is helping bankruptcy attorneys get more Chapter 13 and consumer Chapter 11 plans confirmed, and Chapter 7 cases closed clean, because the tax side was handled before the court ever asked.
- Credential
- Enrolled Agent, Internal Revenue Service
- Education
- BS Accounting, Towson University
- Practice
- Enrolled Agent Concierge, since 2023
- Also
- Expert, GLG network
- Works with
- Clients and counsel across the United States, remotely
If a client’s tax situation is putting a plan at risk, let’s talk before confirmation, not after.
Use the free 30-minute consultation to tell me what has happened so far, the question you need answered, and the deadline in front of you.
Call 817-520-4484Email elan@enrolledagentconcierge.com