Some debts survive a Chapter 7 discharge no matter how the case goes. Child support and spousal support, recent income taxes, most student loans, criminal fines and restitution, and debts from drunk driving injuries all come out the other side intact.
This is the page competitors bury. You should read it first, because if the debt crushing you is on this list, Chapter 7 may not be the right tool at all.
Never discharged, no exceptions worth counting on
- Child support and spousal support, current and arrears
- Criminal fines, restitution orders and most court-imposed penalties
- Debts for personal injury or death caused by driving while intoxicated
- Most recent federal and California income tax, plus all payroll trust fund taxes
- Government-backed student loans, absent a successful undue hardship showing
- Debts you failed to list, in a case where there were assets to distribute
Support obligations
Domestic support is the hardest debt in the system to touch. Chapter 7 does not reduce it, does not pause the Department of Child Support Services, and does not stop a license suspension based on arrears. Chapter 13 cannot discharge it either, but a plan can pay the arrears over five years while the collection machinery stands down, which is why support arrears push a lot of people toward 13.
Property settlements are the exception people miss
A property division obligation from a divorce (equalizing payments, an agreement to pay the joint Visa) is treated differently from support. It survives Chapter 7 but can be dischargeable in Chapter 13. Two chapters, two answers, same debt.
Debts a creditor has to fight for
A second category is not automatically excepted. The creditor has to sue you inside the bankruptcy, in an adversary proceeding, within roughly 60 days of the 341 meeting, and if they miss the deadline the debt discharges. These filings are less common than the internet implies. In a routine consumer case built on credit cards and medical debt, almost nobody sees one.
- Debt obtained by false pretenses or a false financial statement, such as an inflated income figure on a loan application
- Fraud committed while acting in a fiduciary role, embezzlement, larceny
- Willful and malicious injury to another person or their property
“The single most common near-miss I see is someone who stated a household income on a credit application that never existed. It is fine right up until a bank pulls the application and compares it to the schedules.”
Naomi Reyes-AshfordQuestions we get asked
Are all taxes non-dischargeable?
No. Older income taxes can be discharged if the return was due more than three years ago, was actually filed more than two years ago, and was assessed more than 240 days ago. Payroll taxes and fraud penalties never discharge.
What about a DUI that only damaged property?
The statutory exception covers personal injury and death. A property-only claim from a DUI can be dischargeable, though a creditor may still argue willful and malicious injury.
Can I discharge parking tickets and traffic fines?
Generally no. Fines payable to a government unit for a violation are excepted from discharge in Chapter 7.
Does an unpaid rent judgment survive?
No. An ordinary unpaid rent balance or an eviction money judgment is regular unsecured debt and it discharges like a credit card.
What to do next
Sort your debts into two columns using the lists above and total the second one. If you owe $9,000 in credit cards and $60,000 in support arrears, a Chapter 7 solves 13 percent of your problem, and that is worth knowing before you pay a filing fee. If the surviving column is the bigger one, call (310) 555-0184 and ask specifically about Chapter 13.