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Non-Dischargeable Debts

The debts a bankruptcy discharge does not erase - child and spousal support, most taxes, most student loans, criminal fines, debts from fraud or drunk-driving injuries - and the difference between those that survive automatically and those a creditor must ask the court to preserve.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

The Bankruptcy Code lists categories of debt that survive a discharge. Some survive automatically, whether or not anyone raises them: domestic-support obligations; most income taxes, depending on how old the tax year is, when the return was filed and whether it was honest; debts not listed in the schedules in time for the creditor to file a claim; criminal fines, restitution and most government penalties; debts for death or personal injury caused by driving while intoxicated; and debts left over from a prior bankruptcy case in which the discharge was denied or waived. These are simply outside the order.

Three categories survive only if the creditor sues in the bankruptcy court, within a short deadline after the meeting of creditors, and proves the ground: debts obtained by fraud, false pretences or a materially false written financial statement; debts for fraud or defalcation by a fiduciary, embezzlement or larceny; and debts for willful and malicious injury to a person or property. A creditor that misses the deadline loses the objection and the debt is discharged like any other. Credit-card charges and cash advances taken shortly before filing carry a statutory presumption of fraud that the debtor must rebut.

Student loans are the notable middle case: a loan made, insured or guaranteed by a government, or a qualified private education loan, is discharged only if the debtor files a separate proceeding and proves that repaying it would impose an undue hardship - a standard the courts have historically applied strictly, though the Department of Justice adopted a more predictable process for federal loans in 2022. In Chapter 13 a somewhat broader discharge is available at the end of a completed plan: certain property-settlement debts from a divorce and some other categories that survive a Chapter 7 discharge do not survive a Chapter 13 one.

Where this comes from

The exceptions to discharge are 11 U.S.C. § 523(a): support at (a)(5) and (a)(15), taxes at (a)(1) with the timing rules cross-referenced to § 507(a)(8), unscheduled debts at (a)(3), fines and penalties at (a)(7), drunk-driving injuries at (a)(9), student loans at (a)(8), and the creditor-initiated grounds at (a)(2), (a)(4) and (a)(6) with the deadline in § 523(c) and Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 4007(c). The presumptions for recent luxury purchases and cash advances are at § 523(a)(2)(C). Kawaauhau v. Geiger, 523 U.S. 57 (1998), Bullock v. BankChampaign, 569 U.S. 267 (2013), Husky International Electronics v. Ritz, 578 U.S. 355 (2016), Lamar, Archer & Cofrin v. Appling, 584 U.S. 709 (2018), and Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. 69 (2023), construe the fraud and injury exceptions. The Chapter 13 discharge is § 1328(a). The Department of Justice and Department of Education undue-hardship guidance was issued in November 2022. The dollar figures and look-back periods in § 523 are not stated here.

When people hire a lawyer for this

Which debts survive is the question that decides whether bankruptcy solves a person's problem or merely rearranges it, and it is not answerable from a list: whether a particular tax year is dischargeable, whether a divorce decree obligation is support or property settlement, and whether a student loan might clear the hardship standard each turn on facts a lawyer has to examine. A person facing a creditor's fraud complaint inside the case should not ignore it - a default in that proceeding makes the debt permanent - and a person who used credit heavily in the weeks before filing should say so before the trustee reads the statements.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Bankruptcy law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Bankruptcy & Debt” has no Bankruptcy listing yet and opens the broader page.

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Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

Automatic StayThe immediate, court-ordered halt to most collection activity that takes effect the moment a bankruptcy case is filed.
Bankruptcy DischargeThe court order that ends personal liability for the debts covered by a bankruptcy case - what it does, what it does not do to liens and co-signers, when it is entered, and how it can be denied or later revoked.
Bankruptcy ExemptionsThe property a person filing bankruptcy keeps - the home equity, vehicle, household goods, tools, retirement accounts and other assets the law places beyond the reach of the trustee and creditors - and the state-by-state choice of which exemption list applies.
Bankruptcy Means TestThe income calculation that decides whether a person may file a Chapter 7 case or is steered into a Chapter 13 repayment plan - a comparison of household income against the state median, followed if necessary by a line-by-line deduction of allowed expenses.
Bankruptcy Trustee and the Meeting of CreditorsThe person appointed to administer a bankruptcy case and the short, sworn examination every debtor must attend - what the trustee is looking for, who actually turns up, and what happens after.
Chapter 13 BankruptcyA reorganization bankruptcy for individuals with regular income: debts are repaid in part through a court-approved plan.
Chapter 7 BankruptcyA liquidation bankruptcy: non-exempt property may be sold to pay creditors, and qualifying debts are discharged.
Collecting a JudgmentWinning a case and being paid are two different things - the second is a separate process the winner has to start.
Preferences and Fraudulent Transfers (Clawback)The trustee's power to undo payments and transfers made before a bankruptcy was filed - a repayment to a relative, a property signed over to a family member, a creditor paid ahead of the others - and why "I paid my brother back first" is a problem rather than a virtue.
Reaffirmation AgreementA voluntary agreement in a Chapter 7 case to remain personally liable on a debt - usually a car loan - that the discharge would otherwise wipe out, in exchange for keeping the property; what it costs, the court's role, and the alternatives of redemption and simply continuing to pay.
Small Business Bankruptcy (Chapter 11 and Subchapter V)The reorganization chapter for a business that wants to keep operating while it restructures its debts, and the streamlined subchapter Congress added for small businesses - who qualifies, how a plan is confirmed, and what happens to the owner's personal guarantees.

« All glossary terms

Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, civil legal aid programs provide free help with many of these problems: civil legal aid programs by state.

Related free reference tools: statute of limitations for a personal-injury claim, by state, quoted from each state's official text - part of LawyerLand's legal reference tools.