Debt discharged in bankruptcy is tax free, even if you get a 1099 claiming otherwise. It’s unnerving when you get a 1099 after you thought the debt, and all its complications, were gone. But for bankruptcy clients, the answer is simple: Debt discharged in bankruptcy is not taxable. Tax on cancelled debt The tax code […]
4 Compelling Reasons To File The Tax Return Even If You Can’t Pay
Should you file the tax return if you can’t pay the tax? You got to the bottom of your tax return and the amount you owe is bigger than your checkbook balance. Nope. It doesn’t work that way. The IRS does not start harassing nonpayers for money immediately after a return is filed. Or even […]
7 Keys To Keeping Your House: Chapter 13 After You File
You filed filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy to keep your house and stop the foreclosure. You’ve protected your home, for the moment. Bankruptcy gets you a sheltered legal environment to address the problems with your mortgage. You heave a sigh of relief. But the fight to keep your house isn’t over, just because there’s a stay. […]
How The Bankruptcy Liquidation Tests Really Work
Is the Chapter 7 trustee going to sell your house when there’s $5000 in non exempt equity? Do you have to pay the total of the equity in your assets to creditors in Chapter 13 under the liquidation test? Far from it. Just because you have equity on paper does not mean a bankruptcy trustee […]
When Your Bank Account Is Seized: California Action Plan
Time is short when you get a notice that a creditor has levied your bank account. California has protections that may allow you to recover money that’s been seized. But success in getting your money back depends on prompt action and following the procedures. Bank levy basics A creditor with a judgment is entitled to […]
Take Credit For The Tax Deductions That Hide In Chapter 13
It’s tax time: don’t overlook tax deductions in Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. Tax deductions lurk in the most unlikely places. If your Chapter 13 plan is catching up home loan arrears, there’s a deduction hiding in the trustee’s disbursement records. Most likely, the lender’s filed proof of claim in the bankruptcy case is full of […]
Real-world Values for Assets Critical in Bankruptcy World
Valuing your assets when filing out your bankruptcy schedules can be challenging. After all, what is a closetful of clothes or a garage full of tools worth? You are tempted to ask: why does it matter? Asset value matters in several different contexts in a bankruptcy case. Using the wrong measure of value or over-estimating […]
What’s The Income Limit for Filing Bankruptcy
Actually, there’s no income limit for filing bankruptcy. None, nada, no way. Instead, there’s the infamous means test, an awkward and complex formula, written by Congress, to identify individuals who are entitled to file Chapter 7. Not everyone has to take the means test. The means test doesn’s apply to individuals whose debt is primarily […]
Will recent credit card use sink my bankruptcy
If I’ve used credit cards before filing bankruptcy, do I have to wait? Too many people considering filing think there is some sort of waiting period between financial activity and filing bankruptcy. So, let’s look at the issues in play surrounding recent credit card charges and seeking bankruptcy relief. There’s no 90 day rule Everyone […]
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