There are three common types of debts that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. The first type of nondischargable debt is income tax liability. The general rule is that if you incurred income tax liability within the last three tax years, the debt will not be discharged in bankruptcy. The second type of nondischargeable debt is child support. Liability to pay child support arrears and to continue making payments on court-ordered child support is not discharged in bankruptcy. The third type of nondischargeable debt is student loan debt. This exception to discharge applies to all federally backed student loans. In chapter 13 bankruptcy, repayment of student loans is deferred until after the debtors complete their bankruptcy plan or until after the case is dismissed, but the debt will not be discharged and eventually the debtors will have to pay back student loan creditors.
There are a few other exceptions that aren’t as common as the three described above. All court fees and court-ordered judgments related to any criminal activity cannot be discharged. Similarly, judgments or debts incurred as a result of personal injury or death to others caused by negligence or criminal activity cannot be discharged. Any debt that the court finds was obtained fraudulently or illegally will not be discharged. For example, if a debtor uses a dischargeable credit card to pay off nondischargeable debts, the court may decide that the debtor must repay the credit card company.
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