The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found that, under section 501(c), a debtor could file a protective proof of claim for a tax debt that became due and payable post-petition. Michigan Dept. of Treasury v. Hight (In re Hight), No. 10-2103 (6th Cir. March 5, 2012). While the court agreed with the Michigan DOT that the debtor could not file the POC under section 1305, as that section only permits the creditor to file, it went on to find that section 1305 was not exclusive. The debtor could file the claim under section 501(c) if the claim is of the type specified in section 502(i) which permits treatment of post-petition claims as pre-petition if they have priority under section 507(a)(8)(A). Because the claim came due after three years before the filing of the bankruptcy petition, it had priority under section 507(a)(8)(A)(i), and section 502(i) applied. Therefore, the debtor was permitted to file the proof of claim under section 501(c).
