With tax break for short sales set to expire, bankruptcy cases offer a way out
Home values in the Lawrence, Methuen and Haverhill areas have been hit hard. Even Andover and North Andover homeowners have seen big drops in value and lots of negative equity. Many have turned to short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure to get out of their “problem house” when they need to move. Soon many more [...]
How to avoid a tax bill following a foreclosure
What could be worse than the foreclosure of your home? How about a whopper tax bill resulting from the “forgiveness” of the unpaid debt! Following a foreclosure that does not recoup the value of the property being seized — pretty typical, in today’s housing market — the foreclosure will generate a 1099 for the difference [...]
Everything you ever wanted to know about the tax consequenses of debt forgiveness in bankruptcy
Forgiving debt is basically good, right? I mean its a big part of the Lord’s prayer, just for starters. But wait until lawyers get a hold of the idea. This time it is tax attorneys that get to twirl their moustaches in the manner of Snidely Whiplash, and play the bad guy. In the twisted [...]
Chapter 13 bankruptcies might require you to do your taxes quickly
A reminder, if you are thinking about filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. You might want to consider doing your 2010 taxes quickly, and not putting it off until April 15th, or heaven forbid, October. One reason is that Chapter 13 plans have to pay priority claims in full. And the priority claim that is [...]
Tax refunds may not be so easy to get
If you like to file your income taxes early and get your refund as soon as you can — via what’s called a refund anticipation loan, offered by many tax preparation services — you might not find it quite so easy to do come January. That’s because the IRS has informed tax preparers that it [...]
Getting a tax refund? Great — just don’t put it on a pre-paid credit card!
I confess to being old enough to remember when getting your income tax refund meant being mailed a green check about two months after you filed — so sometime in June — and then walking down to the neighborhood bar, I mean bank, to turn it into cash. Now tax preparers seem to spend more [...]
Tax refunds in New Hampshire, redux
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire has reinforced its viewpoint that in Chapter 13 cases, income tax refunds belong to the trustee, and not the debtors. The latest twist involves low income debtors who file Chapter 13 cases. Typically, they will file a plan to pay down their debts over [...]
Who owns your tax refund?
If you decide to file a bankruptcy case, what happens to that tax refund check that you are expecting? In most cases, the the answer is simple: most debtors will be able to have their attorney fill out the bankruptcy forms so that the refund is declared “exempt.” Even if the IRS or DOR issues [...]
