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 […]
Tax Deductions Hidden In Chapter 13
Don’t miss the tax deductions hiding in your Chapter 13 plan payments. The same, very important debts that your Chapter 13 plan pays are often tax deductible. And you are still the person who’s paying, even if the trustee writes the check. Deductions in bankruptcy Let’s look at some common deductions lurking in the Chapter […]
Unfiled Tax Returns Are A Life Sentence
Unfiled tax returns upset all the normal rules about discharging taxes in bankruptcy. This story tells you why. Two clients, each with $200,000 in tax debt, came to my office this week. One can escape it all now; the other is facing several years before bankruptcy will do anything for him. What’s the difference? Filed […]
How To Make Mortgage Lender ‘Fess Up
What have they been doing with my mortgage payments? The client has been making a mortgage payment according to the HAMP formula for almost 18 months of her Chapter 13. Yet without a 1098 form, her very capable tax preparer told her she couldn’t deduct mortgage interest on her tax return. Never fear. We have a new […]
Avoid Paying Taxes On That 1099 Form, Legally
It’s tax time and the mails are full of IRS form 1099. If you managed a short sale of your property; suffered a foreclosure; filed bankruptcy; or settled your debt for less than you owed, you probably got a 1099. But that’s not the end of the tax story. Receipt of the form does not […]
10 Things Tax Professionals Need To Know About Bankruptcy
Tax season approaches. Tax preparers stand a good chance of encountering clients who either have filed bankruptcy, or who may benefit from a bankruptcy filing. Here’s my list of bankruptcy nuggets that a good tax professional should have at hand. Debts discharged in bankruptcy don’t trigger cancellation of debt income– One of bankruptcy’s compelling features […]
Bankruptcy Busts Taxes If The Timing Is Right
Got unpaid taxes for 2016? Three tax discharge timing rules control when those taxes can be wiped out in bankruptcy. On April 15, 2020 those taxes reached the end of the line as priority claims in bankruptcy. Or, the magic date may be October 15, 2020, if you got an extension to file the return. […]
Don’t File Bankruptcy In December
Bankruptcy can provide tax relief, if your timing is right. Tax troubles are at the heart of so many bankruptcy filings. It makes sense: bankruptcy is a powerful and predictable tool to get out of tax debt. File bankruptcy before the end of the year and you fix only a part of your tax problems. […]
Tax Liens Live On After Bankruptcy, Unless….
You mean the tax liens won’t go away when I get a bankruptcy discharge? The client was startled that the lien would live on beyond his bankruptcy. So, if all my debt doesn’t go away, what do I get from the bankruptcy discharge? he asked. I thought the tax debt went away when I filed. […]
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