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Archive | 2015

The Most Popular Articles on WashingtonBankruptcy.com in 2015

Last year, we compiled and published a list of the most popular articles on washingtonbankruptcy.com over the year. It proved to be popular, and we hope that it was useful to those of you who read it. We have done the same compilation this year. As was the case last year, the articles cover a breadth of topics, and represent the kind of valuable free advice that we strive to provide to you through email, our site, and other digital media.

We especially want to take this opportunity to thank you for being a loyal subscriber to our newsletter this year, and we hope to provide it to you as a free information source for you in 2016 and for the years to come. We are pleased to warmly offer this year-end issue to you in the hope that it will help inform and advise you and those who you care for during this Holiday Season.

Thanksgiving Blessing

Best wishes to you and yours during the holiday season from everyone at our firm

Each post title listed below contains the link to each article so that you can easily click them. The direct link follows the title of each post so that you can copy and paste them to share with friends and family individually if you like, or simply send a link to this page so that they can see the breadth of information we cover throughout the year. The articles are listed in descending order of popularity, with the title of the page followed by the direct link.

Bankruptcy FAQ — Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Filing Bankruptcy in Washington State
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/bankruptcy-faq/

Chapter 7, Chapter 11, & Chapter 13 Bankruptcy — An Explanation of Chapter 7, Chapter 11, & Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/bankruptcy-chapter/

Start Fresh: Begin Building Your Financial Future Now! – This page provides an overview of the bankruptcy process, and how to get your case started as quickly as possible with our firm
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/bankruptcy-basics/

Reviews — Our Clients Review the James H MaGee Law Firm on various sites around the Internet
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/reviews/

You Can Add Points to Your Credit Score by Beating the “Charge off Date” Scam
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/you-can-add-points-to-your-credit-score-by-beating-the-charge-off-date-scam/

I Didn’t List All of My Creditors in My Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing. What Will Happen to My Case?
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/i-didnt-list-all-of-my-creditors-in-my-chapter-7-bankruptcy-filing-what-will-happen-to-my-case/

What Happens if My Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan is Dismissed Because I Can’t Afford the Payments?
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/what-happens-if-my-chapter-13-bankruptcy-plan-is-dismissed-because-i-cant-afford-the-payments/

Debt Consolidation Scams – This page provides useful consumer information about “Credit Repair” & “Debt Consolidation” swindles that seem to come and go in different forms every year
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/debt-consolidation-scams/

What Difference can my Choice of Attorney Make? – This article answers the question, “Why choose the Law Offices of James H. MaGee, Washington bankruptcy attorney?”
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/cheap-attorneys/

Do You Know These Eight Used Car Buying Scams?
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/do-you-know-these-eight-used-car-buying-scams/

There is Life After Bankruptcy – We published a series of articles to help our clients understand key questions and concerns, including “What has happened to people who file bankruptcy?”
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/there-is-life-after-bankruptcy/

How to Avoid the Loss of Inherited 401k and IRA Funds to Creditors in Your Bankruptcy Case
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/avoid-the-loss-of-inherited-401k-and-ira-funds-to-creditors-in-your-bankruptcy-case/

What is the Bankruptcy Process Really Like? – Another article in our series about life after bankruptcy that provides a detailed walk through of a typical personal bankruptcy case
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/what-is-the-bankruptcy-process-really-like/

How Do Bankruptcy Exemptions Function to Protect Some of My Property from Sale by A Bankruptcy Trustee?
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/how-do-bankruptcy-exemptions-function-to-protect-some-of-my-property-from-sale/

Student Loan Debt Archives – One of the areas that clients continually ask about is the ability to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy. You’ve no doubt heard discussions of student loan financing in the Presidential primary coverage, and some discussion from a federal legislative point of view. This series of articles will equip you with the best information available about the state of student loan debt and federal bankruptcy to date.
https://washingtonbankruptcy.com/category/student-loan-debt-2/

If you find any of this confusing, please make an appointment to come in and discuss your situation. We are here to help you through your bankruptcy—before, during, and after the filing and completion of your case.

We’re With You. All the Way Back.

I have compiled a record of service to my clients that is based upon my determination to be of help to them long after their case is over. Most of the articles on my site and the newsletters I’ve authored contain financial planning advice, including those linked above. The newsletter archive is posted on my site in case you would like to review previous editions at a later time. I am both proud and humbled by the comments my clients say in person and the reviews they’ve freely left about my staff and I on the web. I am committed to helping my clients resume their lives on a solid footing—all the way back after bankruptcy.

The newsletters and articles I write are free, and will remain so. You can rely on a regular series of updates throughout the year. I am motivated to write new articles that directly address questions asked by clients, to help them clarify questions they have, and relieve some of the worries that they feel. Day by day, I listen to my clients’ concerns and questions, and author articles with what I learn from these conversations.

Introducing Our Annual Financial Review Program

One of the services that we recently introduced is an annual financial plan review for clients who have completed their bankruptcy case. The program is an opportunity for you to schedule an in-person appointment to go over your personal financial circumstances, post-bankruptcy. We want to help you avoid pitfalls, and to make your life after bankruptcy the best it can be.

Make your appointment by calling us at (253) 383-1001, or by contacting us through our website, and keep the positive energy and momentum going in your life after bankruptcy.

Do you know what you need to be aware of when it comes to tax planning and bankruptcy?

The date of the first result found in a search of Google for “2015 tax year planning” is January 22nd of this year. That is pretty early, considering that the end of the year is less than two months away as I write this. There is still time to make sure that you prepare before the opportunity to take actions that might help you this year is gone.

What do I need to be aware of when it comes to tax planning and bankruptcy?

  • Most important: file all of your tax returns on time if you possibly can.
  • Second: avoid under withholding or under payment of your quarterly tax obligations.
  • Third: if you are in a Chapter 13 plan, and you owe more than $1,500 in taxes for a year after the filing of the case, you pay your tax debt off quickly if you possibly can. If you cannot, please come in to see me for a consultation. Read on to learn more about the steps that we may decide to take later in this article.

In this article, we will primarily cover tax-planning advice that is applicable to most people, regardless of income or assets.

Tax Return documents

Higher Contribution Limits in 2015 are Accompanied by Limits on IRA and FSA Rollovers

Investopedia summarized “Five Tax Law Changes in 2015 You Need To Know”  that apply to savings plans, including IRA, 401(k), and Flexible Savings Accounts for healthcare. Most of the news is good; limits have been raised on contribution to retirement savings plans. However, employees are now limited to a single IRA roll over in any twelve-month period. And If you have a balance in your FSA at the end of 2014 and you carry over $500 of it into 2015, you will be ineligible to participate in a HSA in 2015. This restriction does not apply to FSAs for specific uses, such as dependent care or dental expenses.

The IRS Lays out Changes in 2015

The article, “In 2015, Various Tax Benefits Increase Due to Inflation Adjustments”, lists changes in bullet point form, including tax rates, deductions, and exemptions. These inflation-based increases mean that you will keep more of your money, or be able to claim higher level of deductions than in previous years.

What do These Changes Mean? Ideas for Action this Year

While most of these changes are generally good news, they do not eliminate the requirement to file federal income taxes.

  • If you are in the midst of a bankruptcy filing, or if you are in a chapter7, chapter 13, or chapter 11 plan, then according to IRS Publication 908, Bankruptcy Tax Guide, the Bankruptcy Code requires a debtor to file an individual tax return, or request an extension. If this does not happen, the bankruptcy case can be converted or dismissed.
  • In addition, the bankruptcy trustee is required to file an estate tax return, form 1041, for the bankruptcy estate. However, this is usually not a concern to the vast majority of my clients, as it usually involves “big” cases
  • In the case of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the debtor pays disposable income into a monthly “plan” to pay creditors. In this case, you as the debtor are obligated to file your taxes on time, and, if you are directed to do so, to provide your returns to the trustee along with any refunds for payments to creditors during the bankruptcy repayment period.
  • There are a number of other helpful articles and resources on my website. This article, “How to Prepare and File your Federal Income Taxes for Tax Year 2014” contains a number of recommendations and resources that are as applicable today as they were when originally published on my site. If your concerns are more technical in nature—for example, on the tax consequences of property sales during foreclosure—I wrote a series of articles that are available on my site here.

Tax planning in bankruptcy can be complicated for some, but not most, of my clients. Remember the most important point I mentioned at the beginning of this article:failure to file your taxes on time can lead to new problems that you will have to deal with.

If you are in a Chapter 13 repayment plan with my firm, and you owe the IRS money for a year after the year in which you filed Chapter 13, you must file your return on time, and then come talk to me. We need to let the Chapter 13 Trustee know that you are facing an obligation, and that you going to see a professional to get into a tax repayment plan. For some people, we might even be able to lower the Chapter 13 plan payment a little while you are in a repayment plan for the taxes that you incurred.

If you find any of this confusing, please make an appointment to come in and discuss your situation. We are here to help you through your bankruptcy—before, during, and after the filing and completion of your case.

We’re With You. All the Way Back.

I have compiled a record of service to my clients that is based upon my determination to be of help to them long after their case is over. Most of the articles on my site and the newsletters I’ve authored contain financial planning advice, including those linked above. The newsletter archive is posted on my site in case you would like to review previous editions at a later time. I am both proud and humbled by the comments my clients say in person and the reviews they’ve freely left about my staff and I on the web. I am committed to helping my clients resume their lives on a solid footing—all the way back after bankruptcy.

Did The US Supreme Court Just End Your Ability To Wipe Out Your Second Mortgage In Bankruptcy?

No. What the Supreme Court did in its ruling announced on June first, 2015 was to clarify that you can wipe out your second mortgage by filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy case on your primary home, or the “20 part” of your 80/20 mortgage, or your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). You cannot file a Chapter 7 case to get rid of any of the debts mentioned above. The case that the Supreme Court ruled on, Bank of America v. Caulkett, was a Chapter 7 filing.

Q: When can you wipe out a second mortgage?

A: If the amount that you owe on the first mortgage is greater than the market value of the house, then you can file a Chapter 13 house and “strip off” the second mortgage. In fact, if you owe large balances in delinquent property taxes and you are delinquent on your first mortgage, you can use these delinquencies in combination to “boost” your chances of wiping out a second mortgage in a Chapter 13 case.

Photo courtesy of dbking. See more of David's work at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/

Photo courtesy of dbking.See more of David’s work at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/

Q: Could you give us an example of a situation where a lien strip might be allowed in a Chapter 13 case?

A: What follows is an example that illustrates how delinquent Homeowners’ Association dues and delinquent property taxes “boost” your chances to succeed in a Chapter 13 lien strip of your second mortgage that wipes out the second mortgage forever:

Jack and Diane owe $12,000 in delinquent property taxes. They also have a mortgage that is 12 months behind on payments of $2,100 monthly, of which $2,000 monthly is interest and $100 is principal paid on the loan. They also owe $3,000 in delinquent Homeowners’ Association dues. The principal balance of the mortgage is $190,000, the second mortgage home equity line of credit is $40,000, and the appraised value of the house is $210,000.

Total debt superior to the second mortgage: $229,000

– $3,000 HOA dues

– $12,000 Delinquent Property Taxes

– $24,000 Delinquent Interest

– $190,000 first Mortgage Principal Balance

As we said, the value of the home according to a certified appraiser is $210,000. However, the tax assessed value according to the county is $240,000.

After considering the facts, the judge in Jack and Diane’s chapter 13 bankruptcy case allowed the stripping and non-payment of the second mortgage balance of $40,000 because the appraised value of the home is less than the debts owed against the home that are superior to the second mortgage. The judge correctly found that it is irrelevant that the county tax assessed value of the home is $240,000. In such a case, the judge will say “So what?” that the county thinks the house is worth $240,000 – what matters here for a lien strip is the opinion of the certified appraiser hired by the Chapter 13 debtor about the value of the home.

Q: Can the second mortgage lender whose debt will be cancelled fight back in court against the Chapter 13 termination of the second mortgage debt?

A: You bet! Once the appraiser renders their professional opinion against the position of the second mortgage holder, then the second mortgage holder usually settles quickly or gives up. Sometimes a credit union lender will try to run the clock out a bit and frustrate you, but in the end they usually settle as well. Most of the big commercial lenders use better sense than a credit union and reach a settlement or give in.

Q: Can I file a Chapter 13 to get rid of my second mortgage even if I have recently had a Chapter 7 case?

A: For now, yes. Most of our local judges have ruled that back to back cases–a chapter 13 following a recently filed Chapter 7–are permissible. This might change, though. We will have to see what the future brings in these cases.

Q: Let’s say that I file a Chapter 13 case to get rid of my second mortgage now. Suppose that in 18 months after filing, the value of my home increases, can my efforts to wipe out my second mortgage be reversed by the judge at the request of the second mortgage lender?

A: No.

Q: In Chapter 13 I have to repay 100% of my debts, right?

A: No. Some people who file chapter 13 bankruptcy pay back one percent or even less of their credit cards, car repossession balance, and medical bills in their chapter 13 case. The remaining unpaid balance is discharged forever in chapter 13.

Q: Will my monthly payments in a 36 – 60 month Chapter 13 plan be large, and force me to pay back a big percentage of my debt?

A: Probably not. I have some clients who pay as little as $155 each month for 36 months to wipe out $40-50,000+ in second mortgage debt.

Q: I already just recently completed a Chapter 13. Am I excluded from filing a new Chapter 13 to get rid of my second mortgage?

A: No.

I Can Prove That After Filing, There Is Life After Bankruptcy

I hope that you have made use of the content on my site to learn about:

If you persevere, and fulfill all the requirements of the bankruptcy process, then you will emerge with a new lease on life, a discharge of your dischargeable debts.

Over the course of my over 20 years in practice, I’ve learned a lot about bankruptcy. The practice of bankruptcy law, the roles of the court, trustees, and creditors. Most of all, I’ve learned a lot about how my clients fared before, during, and after filing bankruptcy.

When a client first talks with me, almost every one of them is afraid of filing for bankruptcy. Many are painfully conflicted over whether it is the “right” decision. Will they regret the decision because they can’t get credit for seven years, or more?

I give an identical reply to each of these clients. I say, “If your bankruptcy filing ends up being a big life mistake. If as a consequence of filing bankruptcy, you lose your job, or your security clearance. If you are evicted from your home, or if you can’t buy or rent a home nor can you buy a car. If any of these consequences happen to you, then please come back and tell me.” In over twenty years, not one single client has ever returned with a tale of post-bankruptcy woe.

I’ve compiled material on my site that will help explain what life after bankruptcy is like, and why it’s important that you understand that bankruptcy, though a process that must be carefully executed according to federal law, is not the end of your life, but is the beginning of a new chapter:

By filing bankruptcy, you can eliminate debt and reduce your expenses. After bankruptcy, you will be in a much better position to manage credit. You can rebuild a solid credit profile that you can manage comfortably as long as you have a steady income. You can look to the future, towards long-delayed goals, like saving money for a better car, or a vacation, or putting away money for retirement.

Most people start by obtaining a secured credit card with a low limit. After six months to a year after your Chapter 7 discharge, your credit score will bounce back enough to make you a viable borrower for a car.

And how about buying a house? In fact, the Federal Housing Administration’s Back to Work – Extenuating Circumstances mortgage loan program shortens the waiting period to buy a home to as little as one year after you’ve had a bankruptcy, foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or short sale.
After filing bankruptcy, there is life after bankruptcy

We’re With You. All the Way Back.

I have compiled a record of service to my clients that is based upon my determination to be of help to them long after their case is over. Most of the articles on my site and the newsletters I’ve authored contain financial planning advice, including those linked above. The newsletter archive is posted on my site in case you would like to review previous editions at a later time. I am both proud and humbled by the comments my clients say in person and the reviews they’ve freely left about my staff and I on the web. I am committed to helping my clients resume their lives on a solid footing—all the way back after bankruptcy.

The newsletters and articles I write are free, and will remain so. You can rely on a regular series of updates throughout the year. I am motivated to write new articles that directly address questions asked by clients, to help them clarify questions they have, and relieve some of the worries that they feel. Day by day, I listen to my clients’ concerns and questions, and author articles with what I learn from these conversations.

Introducing Our Annual Financial Review Program

One of the services we are planning to offer our clients in the future is an annual financial plan review for clients who have completed their bankruptcy case. The program is an opportunity for you to schedule an in-person appointment to go over your individual financial circumstances, post-bankruptcy.  We want to help you avoid pitfalls, and to make your life after bankruptcy the best it can be.

We are taking appointments now, during tax season, our busiest season of the year. Each appointment is at least an hour in length, and is offered at a flat rate of $100. During April, we’re offering post-bankruptcy financial review appointments at a discounted rate of $75/hour. Make your appointment by calling us at (253) 383-1001, or by contacting us through our website, and keep the positive energy and momentum going in your life after bankruptcy.

Let me show you how to start a great annual tradition that can save you money and your reputation, and it’s free!

Even after you have filed your bankruptcy case and started to build a solid financial future, erroneous and outdated information can creep into your credit report, driving down your credit score without any justification.

Now is a good time to check your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the free credit report source. I think you should check your credit report every single year. Tax Time is a great memory trigger to take a few minutes to make use of your free annual credit report review. It is easy and smart to check this all important rating to protect your reputation against errors and inaccuracies.

Couple listing their creditors for their bankruptcy filing

How to Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report

If you find mistakes on your credit report, you should dispute the errors by writing each of the credit bureaus. The Federal Trade Commission provides a helpful article on writing credit report dispute notices at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0151-disputing-errors-credit-reports. The FTC provides a sample form letter that you can change and use at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0384-sample-letter-disputing-errors-your-credit-report.

Errors on Your Credit Report Can Do More Harm Than You Think

Your credit score can raise or lower the interest rates you pay on vehicle loans, mortgages and consumer accounts, and can affect the rates you pay for automobile and other insurance policies. Some employers “cull” job applicants based upon their credit scores.
The good news is that following a bankruptcy filing, your credit score can often increase in comparison to the level before you filed.

How to Spot Harmful Credit Report Errors

There are many credit score errors that you should look for on your annual credit report, including these:
1) Credit lines/cards that your report shows as open that you know to have been closed, paid off and canceled long ago.
2) Credit card reports that show high balances when the cards actually have much lower balances.
3) Debts that were discharged in bankruptcy that your credit report lists as open and unsatisfied obligations.
4) Debts that were discharged in bankruptcy that have been reposted on your credit report by a collection agency that is unaware of your bankruptcy filing.
5) Inaccurate information about delinquencies or late payments.

If You Live In the State Of Washington, We Can Help

Our law firm offers premier bankruptcy and debt representation in the Puget Sound and southwestern Washington areas and beyond. We have helped clients from the San Juan Islands and Bellingham to Vancouver, and eastward to Aberdeen and North Bend.
If you or someone you know is struggling with their debt load, we are here to help.

Spring Cleaning!

It happens. You had an appointment with us or scheduled an appointment that you could not make. We want to help you through financial difficulties that won’t go away. Now is the time to contact us to move forward on a bankruptcy case.

To serve you better, we now offer expanded spring hours during our busy tax season to help you get your case filed quickly, and to get those creditors off of your back right now!

Your Debts Won’t Go Away By Themselves

After filing for bankruptcy, many people can get a loan to replace their aging automobile not long after the case concludes successfully. You may soon be able to apply for a credit card to handle unexpected expenses.
But doing nothing will bring the wrong kinds of certainty. By doing nothing,

  • Your credit score will stay down indefinitely,
  • You will not get a car loan except at ridiculously high interest rates
  • You will not get a modest limit credit card, and worst of all,
  • Your creditors will continue to sue, harass and garnish you.

Those are the realities of doing nothing. Nothing will change for the better unless and until you take control of your future, and get your bankruptcy case filed.

Life After Bankruptcy Is Always Better Than Living in Fear and Dread of Debt

Call us at (253) 383-1001 during our expanded spring hours:
Monday 8 AM—7 PM
Tuesday 8 AM—7 PM
Wednesday 8 AM—5:30 PM
Thursday 8 AM—7 PM
Friday 8 AM—5 PM
Saturday 9 AM—3 PM
You can reach us by email at [email protected] with any questions you might have or to arrange your free, no obligation 30 minute consultation with the attorney. We care about your future, and we are here to help.

If All This Seems Confusing or Too Complicated,
Please Call Us for Help

Tax problems or long neglected debts can be complex and overwhelming. I may be able to help you understand your situation; I can certainly help you by discussing certain trade-offs and options concerning your situation with your debts, the IRS, and bankruptcy. Contact my office for a free, no obligation consultation right away!

How to Prepare and File your Federal Income Taxes for Tax Year 2014

As I write this, tax day for federal income tax year 2014 is only a few weeks away. You may have some unfinished business to clear up, whether it be to file your taxes for 2014, to make preparations to make for a smoother tax season next year, or to understand how to handle unpaid taxes. Let’s examine some topics that I hope you will find beneficial now and useful throughout the coming year.

Tax Return documents

The most important thing is to file your tax returns on time, and to prepare them correctly, even if you owe money to the IRS and can’t afford to pay the entire amount before April 15th. You should also let your tax return preparer know you have filed—or are thinking about—filing for bankruptcy protection.

Tax Preparation Software

According to an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal, “…more than three-fourths of all individual tax returns will be filed electronically [this year].” For those taxpayers who use their own computers and tax preparation applications, “Taxpayers who employ an accountant or other preparer have some protection from daunting penalties if the IRS finds mistakes. Software users who prepare their returns without help have little or no protection.”

Some pretty famous people have had problems, or claimed to have problems, with tax preparation software. According to the story, “During the confirmation hearings of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner three years ago, we learned that he failed to pay self-employment tax on income from the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Geithner partially blamed the oversight on the TurboTax software he had used…”

Today, the IRS and the tax court have not sided with taxpayers who claim “the TurboTax defense” like Secretary Geithner. In fact, the article states that, “So far the U.S. Tax Court has nearly always rejected the TurboTax defense. Only two cases have offered taxpayers penalty relief for software reliance.”

Ideas for Action

  1. The primary responsibility for accurately preparing a return with tax preparation software still resides squarely on you, the taxpayer. Careful review of your return manually remains important, especially if your tax situation is complex.

How to Fix a Botched Return

Jonnelle Marte’s column on the MarketWatch site picks up the thread, and offers a good backgrounder on when and how to fix mistakes in a previously filed income tax return. According to the article, “Tax pros say you should come clean about mistakes on your tax return as soon as possible, but exactly how you do so depends on the mistake. In fact, not all errors require filing an amended return, the Internal Revenue Service says.”

Ideas for Action

  1. Don’t file another original return on IRS form 1040. Use IRS form 1040X, even if you’re amending a previously filed return.
  2. You have up to three years to refile a return that will produce a refund. The article explains the conditions that apply, and when the three year deadline ends for each tax year.
  3. Tax due situations are nothing to mess around with. If you owe a substantial amount, engaging a tax professional is a very good idea. According to the article, if the IRS discovers the error, “the government will bill you for: (1) the unpaid tax amount plus interest (currently at a 3% annual rate), (2) the additional failure-to-pay interest charge penalty (at a 6% annual rate), and (3) maybe other penalties too. But the IRS can waive penalties if you show you had a reasonable cause for the underpayment.”
  4. The article concludes by advising us to “be sure to use the current version of Form 1040X http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040x.pdf, which you can print out from the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/. (Right now, the current version is dated December 2014.) If you need to attach corrected or additional tax forms, be sure to use the forms for the year you’re amending. For example, if you’re filing Form 1040X to claim additional itemized deductions for 2011, you’ll need to attach a corrected 2011 version of Schedule A. The IRS website has prior-year tax forms too. Click the following link, http://www.irs.gov/app/picklist/list/priorFormPublication.html, then you’ll be able to search for the form(s) you need, or sort by headings, or simply page through the many, many forms to find the one(s) you need.

Budgeting

There are plenty of books, articles, software, and other media that explain how to establish a budget. Perhaps the hardest part is to commit to the plan you establish, regardless of how you intend to implement it. Thanks to the wealth of information about budgeting available today, at least the cost to establish a budget has gone down dramatically.

Intuit, the company behind Quicken and TurboTax, has a free online budgeting tool for families and individuals called Mint https://www.mint.com/. Intuit claims to have 10 million individual users. The product is pretty simple to use, and may be all that you need to help you see where your money is going, and help you perform some rudimentary tax planning to avoid surprises in tax years to come.

Columnists like Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and other “celebrity financial experts” all have good plans, and will sell you tools, books, and programs to manage them in some cases. Whatever approach you take, it is never too late, and never too early, to make a financial plan and follow through on it.

Ideas for Action:

  1. Always file your tax returns on time–even if you can’t pay. You can get an automatic six month extension to enable you to complete your tax return filing for the year. Here’s an article on the IRS web site with more details on the procedure.
  2. The IRS has a “Fresh Start” initiative to help struggling taxpayers. Here’s an article that describes the program.
  3. Tax problems can be complex. I may be able to help you understand your situation; I can certainly help you by discussing certain trade-offs and options concerning your situation with the IRS and bankruptcy.

What about Tax Consequences of Foreclosure Sales?

I published a series of articles on my web site that cover the tax impacts of foreclosure:

In this series of articles, I define some of the terms and situations that can trigger Federal Taxes on a foreclosure sale. This area requires expertise and experience that you may not find at firms that churn out bankruptcy filings using a factory approach. If you are concerned that you may have a complex foreclosure transaction as part of your bankruptcy case, please engage my firm to help you work through the details by contacting us right away. We can help!

IRS Debt and Bankruptcy

Generally speaking, taxes are exempt from discharge through bankruptcy. However, in some cases, you can discharge an IRS debt using a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The only IRS debts that can be discharged are those that are over three years old. There are certain conditions that must be met first. Read more about IRS and bankruptcy in an earlier article I posted on my site.

If All This Seems Confusing or Too Complicated, Please Call Us for Help

Tax problems can be complex. I may be able to help you understand your situation; I can certainly help you by discussing certain trade-offs and options concerning your situation with the IRS and bankruptcy. Contact my office for a free, no obligation consultation right away!