The First Circuit recently joined the Tenth and Fifth Circuits in determining that untimely tax returns are not “returns” for purposes of discharging tax debt. The Court in In re Faheyreviewed the four bankruptcy court decisions concerning the dischargeability of state tax liabilities where the debtor filed the return untimely. The returns at issue were Massachusetts state tax returns that were filed late, but more than two years before the filing of the bankruptcy petition.

On June 1st, the Supreme Court of the United States released an opinion which settles a controversy in the lower courts over lien stripping in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases.  With Bank of America, N.A. v.