Photo by Joshua Sukoff on Unsplash. An income tax lien creates challenges, so try to file bankruptcy to prevent one. Otherwise, bankruptcy can often help deal with a tax lien. This blog post continues a series about the smart timing of your bankruptcy filing. (It was interrupted by two blog posts updating federal unemployment benefits.) The last one in this … Read More
Timing Chapter 13 to Discharge Income Taxes
Photo by Bekky Bekks on Unsplash. You can discharge income taxes in a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case as you can in a Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy.” Here’s how it’s different. Our blog post of three weeks ago introduced the importance of timing your bankruptcy filing right. We gave a list of 15 examples where timing can make a … Read More
If You Have Unfiled Tax Returns
Photo by Olga DeLawrence on Unsplash. You’re considering bankruptcy, and you have some unfiled tax returns for the IRS and/or your state. Should you prepare and file them, and when? Our last two blog posts have been about what you should and should not do before filing bankruptcy. These are important to consider even if you hope to avoid bankruptcy … Read More
Bankruptcy Discharges Income Tax Debts (Some of Them)
Bankruptcy discharges income tax debts. They just need to meet some conditions, mostly based on when they were due and whether and when filed. Bankruptcy DOES Write Off Income Taxes There are certain very special debts that bankruptcy never discharges (writes off). Child and spousal support is a good example. See Sections 523(a)(5) and 101(14A) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Income taxes are … Read More
Resolve Your 2018 and Earlier Income Tax Debts through Chapter 13
Do your 2018 taxes just add to your earlier income tax debts, making it all the more unmanageable? Chapter 13 may be your best solution. Last week we got into a big advantage of filing a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case in early 2019. Doing so enables you to include 2018 income taxes into your Chapter 13 payment … Read More
Unexpected Benefit: Prevent the Recording of an Income Tax Lien with Chapter 7
The IRS’ or state’s recording of an income tax lien against you is dangerous. It often forces you to pay a tax that you could have discharged. If you owe income taxes, stopping the IRS or state record a tax lien can be a huge benefit of filing bankruptcy. How much of a benefit turns on details about the … Read More
12 Unexpected Benefits of Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy gives you immediate and long-term relief from your creditors. But there are many other unexpected benefits of bankruptcy. The next 12 blog posts will be about some of the most powerful and surprising benefits of bankruptcy. You’re likely considering bankruptcy because you need financial relief. You need immediate relief from debt collection pressures. You need long-term relief from having to pay … Read More
If You Have a Second Mortgage, Property Tax Debt, or Income Tax Lien . . .
Do you have a 2nd or 3rd mortgage, owe property taxes, or have an income tax lien on your home? Chapter 13 may be much better than Chapter 7. The last two blog posts were about situations in which a homeowner is current on the mortgage but has other debts on the home. We showed how Chapter 7 “straight … Read More
More Time to Deal with Multiple Years of Income Tax Debts through Chapter 13
A Chapter 13 payment plan gives you more flexibility, much more time, and other advantages to resolve multiple years of income tax debts. Stopping Tax Liens through Chapter 13 In our last blog post we showed how Chapter 7 might prevent an income tax lien from hitting your home. It stops the recording of the tax lien through the … Read More
Dealing with Multiple Years of Income Tax Debts through Chapter 7
If you owe some income tax which qualifies for discharge and some that doesn’t, can Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” help you? Tax Liens under Chapter 7 Last week we showed how Chapter 7 can sometimes permanently prevent an income tax lien from hitting your home. It does that by stopping the recording of the tax lien, and then discharging … Read More
Chapter 7 May Forever Stop a Tax Lien on Your Home
Filing a Chapter 7 case stops a tax lien recording on your home, and so may stop that tax from turning into one you must pay. Our last blog post was about how filing a Chapter 7 case buys you time with debts on your home. It’s worth expanding on one of those Chapter 7 benefits, one that can … Read More
Protecting Your Home from Special Debts that Can’t Be “Discharged” through Chapter 13
Bankruptcy can’t write off certain kinds of debts. Chapter 13 enables you to prevent liens hitting your home from those debts.
Protecting Your Home from Special Debts that Can’t Be “Discharged”
Bankruptcy can’t write off certain kinds of debts. Chapter 7 may give you enough help to avoid liens on your home from those debts.
Ten Ways to Keep Your Kentucky or Indiana Home through Chapter 13
These 10 tools, especially used in combination, can defeat your mortgage debt and other home-based challenges.
Stop a Creditor from Turning its Unsecured Debt into a Secured One
Because of Chapter 13’s much more powerful automatic stay, its ability to prevent judgment liens and tax liens is extremely valuable.