There are probably two questions in your question. One is whether IRS collection action is stopped by the filing of a bankruptcy. The answer is yes: the automatic stay applies to the IRS as well as any other creditor. Upon filing, the IRS must cease attempts to collect any unpaid taxes.
The second question is whether taxes are discharged at the end of the bankruptcy case. The answer is "sometimes". The rules are complex. The shortened version permits discharge of income taxes which meet all three tests:
the return for the tax year was last due without penalty more than 3 years before the bankruptcy was filed;
if the return was not filed when it was due, it has been on file for at least two years; and
the taxes were assessed more than 240 days before the bankruptcy was commenced.
If the tax is not dischargeable, it continues to accrue interest. If a penalty relates to a year more than three years before the filing, the penalty is dischargeable.
There are many other minor rules that deal with intervening bankruptcies, offers in compromise, etc. that alter the application of these rules. Get experienced bankruptcy counsel if you are considering a bankruptcy where taxes make up a significant part of the debt.
