You have some wiggle room if you either want to get out of your bankruptcy case or change to the other Chapter.
Each spouse in a marriage with significant tax debt has his or her self-interest, which may need a different solution than the other spouse.
Filing bankruptcy with or without your spouse affects the discharge of debts you each receive, and also affects whether you file under Chapter 7 or 13.
Filing bankruptcy with or without your spouse affects the protection from creditors each of you receives, and also affects whether you file under Chapter 7 or 13.
Chapter 7 often protects you from creditors well enough. But if need be, Chapter 13 protects you longer.
If your business has failed or is about to, it does NOT likely need a bankruptcy. But YOU personally might.
It sure helps in understanding the two main bankruptcy options if you know the cast of characters in each one.
In deciding between Chapter 7 and 13, get this question out of the way right away: "Can I keep everything I own if I file a Chapter 7 case?"
Chapter 13 costs much more than Chapter 7, takes about 10 times as long, so you do a Chapter 7 if possible, right?
Too much debt can disqualify you from filing under Chapter 13.
The amount of your income may not disqualify you from Chapter 7.
If you don't qualify for either Chapter 7 or 13, do you have to do a very expensive Chapter 11 reorganization? Or could you still qualify after all?
If you were already on the financial edge and just found out you owe a bunch of income taxes, here is how bankruptcy can help.
If you need bankruptcy protection but already filed a bankruptcy case within the last few years, you may still be able to file a new one now.
If you're behind on child or spousal support, the support enforcement agency can be extremely aggressive. Chapter 7 doesn't help much. Chapter 13 CAN.