Does bankruptcy clear medical bills and credit card debt?

In most consumer cases both are treated as general unsecured debt and are commonly discharged. Nothing in 11 U.S.C. § 523 excepts medical debt as a category. Credit card debt is also generally dischargeable, but a card issuer can object where the balance was run up in circumstances the statute treats as fraud, including recent luxury purchases or cash advances that the Code presumes nondischargeable.

Are student loans ever dischargeable?

Most government-backed or nonprofit-funded student loans and educational benefit overpayments are excepted from discharge by 11 U.S.C. § 523. They are not excluded forever by definition: the District of Arizona explains that such a debt is nondischargeable unless the debtor files an adversary proceeding against the creditor and proves to the court that not discharging it would be an undue hardship. That is a separate lawsuit inside the bankruptcy case.

What happens to my mortgage or car loan?

The discharge releases you from personal liability on the loan, but it does not remove the lender's lien, which generally passes through the case unaffected (11 U.S.C. § 524). In practical terms, court guidance from the District of Arizona says that under either chapter you must keep paying a debt secured by property if you want to keep that property, including maintaining the insurance the lender requires.

Are taxes ever discharged?

Some are, but the exceptions in 11 U.S.C. § 523 are wide. Taxes of the kinds given priority treatment are excepted, as are taxes for which a required return was never filed, taxes on a return filed late and after two years before the petition date, and taxes involving a fraudulent return or a willful attempt to evade. Older income taxes falling outside those descriptions can be dischargeable.

What if I forget to list a creditor?

A debt that was neither listed nor scheduled with the creditor's name, where you knew it, can be excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523 if the omission kept the creditor from acting in time. Schedules are signed under penalty of perjury and are corrected by filing an amendment, and courts charge a fee to add creditors after filing. List every debt, including ones you intend to keep paying.

Can a creditor challenge the discharge of a particular debt?

Yes. Some exceptions apply on their own, and others take effect only if a creditor raises them by filing an adversary complaint in the bankruptcy case. Court guidance in the Central District of Illinois notes that objections to discharge are time-sensitive, and that some are brought by motion while others require an adversary proceeding. A court can also deny a Chapter 7 discharge entirely under 11 U.S.C. § 727.

Is the answer different in Chapter 13?

Yes, somewhat. A discharge entered after you complete all plan payments under 11 U.S.C. § 1328 excepts a narrower set of debts than Chapter 7 does, which is why the Middle District of Florida describes it as broader. Domestic support, the taxes covered by the cross-referenced paragraphs, criminal restitution and fines, and certain injury judgments still survive it.

Debts & discharge

Which Debts Bankruptcy Discharges and Which Debts Survive

A bankruptcy discharge commonly reaches general unsecured debt like credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans, but 11 U.S.C. § 523 excepts categories including most taxes, domestic support, most student loans, criminal fines and restitution, and debts from fraud or drunk driving. Chapter 13's discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 1328 is somewhat broader. A discharge releases personal liability only; valid liens generally survive.

Key points

The Bankruptcy Code discharges debts by default and then lists the exceptions; 11 U.S.C. § 523 is that list.
Credit card balances, medical bills, and most other general unsecured debts are commonly discharged.
Most taxes, domestic support, most student loans, criminal fines and restitution, and debts from fraud or drunk driving commonly survive the discharge.
A discharge releases personal liability, not liens, so a mortgage or car lender can still look to the collateral (11 U.S.C. § 524).
A completed Chapter 13 plan discharges somewhat more than Chapter 7 does (11 U.S.C. § 1328), and a debt you never listed can survive either one.

If you are weighing bankruptcy, the question underneath most others is simple: which of these bills would actually go away? The Bankruptcy Code answers by category rather than by amount — a discharge covers a debt unless a specific provision says it does not. Here is what the federal exceptions cover, what they leave alone, and where a lien changes the picture.

How does a bankruptcy discharge actually work?

A discharge is a court order releasing you from personal liability on debts the order covers. Under 11 U.S.C. § 524, a discharge voids any judgment determining your personal liability on a discharged debt and operates as an injunction against acts to collect it from you personally. Chapter 7 discharges come from 11 U.S.C. § 727; Chapter 13 discharges come from 11 U.S.C. § 1328 after you complete plan payments. Two limits matter. First, a discharge covers debts that arose before you filed, not new ones (D. Guam Bankruptcy Bankruptcy Information Sheet). Second, it releases personal liability only, and it does not remove a valid lien. As the Northern District of Iowa clerk's office puts it, liens that existed before filing generally pass through bankruptcy unaffected, though some may be avoided or handled through a plan. That is why a mortgage or car loan behaves differently from a credit card balance.

What changes the answer for a particular debt?

Four things move the answer. The chapter matters: 11 U.S.C. § 1328 lists fewer exceptions for a completed Chapter 13 plan than 11 U.S.C. § 523 applies in Chapter 7, which is why the Middle District of Florida describes the Chapter 13 discharge as broader. Who must act matters too. The Central District of Illinois guide notes that some exceptions under 11 U.S.C. § 523 are self-executing, while others must be raised by a creditor through an adversary proceeding, meaning some debts survive automatically and others survive only if a creditor sues and wins. Whether the debt is secured matters, because a lien is separate from personal liability. And whether you listed the creditor matters, because a debt neither listed nor scheduled in time for the creditor to act can be excepted under 11 U.S.C. § 523. Your own conduct in the case matters as well, since 11 U.S.C. § 727 lets a court deny a Chapter 7 discharge entirely.

What does federal law say about which debts survive?

11 U.S.C. § 523 is the master list of exceptions to discharge, and 11 U.S.C. § 1328 borrows much of it for Chapter 13. The categories are grouped by what the debt is or how it arose rather than how large it is. Certain taxes and customs duties are excepted, including taxes for which a required return was never filed, or was filed late and after two years before the petition date, and taxes involving a fraudulent return or willful evasion. Debts for money or credit obtained by false pretenses, false representation, or actual fraud are excepted. So are debts for domestic support, most government-backed student loans and educational benefit overpayments, fines and criminal restitution, willful and malicious injury, and death or personal injury caused by operating a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft while intoxicated. Debts you never listed can also survive. The table below compares the common patterns.

How common consumer debts are usually treated
Debt type	Common treatment in a consumer case
Credit card balances	Commonly discharged, unless a creditor establishes fraud or a statutory presumption applies (11 U.S.C. § 523)
Medical bills	Commonly discharged; no exception in 11 U.S.C. § 523 is keyed to medical debt
Personal loans and deficiency balances	Commonly discharged as general unsecured debt
Most taxes	Commonly excepted, with narrow timing-based distinctions (11 U.S.C. § 523)
Child support and alimony	Excepted, and still excepted after a completed Chapter 13 plan (11 U.S.C. § 1328)
Most student loans	Excepted unless the debtor brings an adversary proceeding and the court finds undue hardship (District of Arizona guidance)
Criminal fines and restitution	Excepted (11 U.S.C. § 523; 11 U.S.C. § 1328)
Mortgage or car loan	Personal liability may be discharged, but a valid lien generally survives (11 U.S.C. § 524)

Where do state or local rules differ?

Bankruptcy is federal law, and the list of debts that survive a discharge comes from the federal Bankruptcy Code, not from your state (Bankruptcy Administrator for the Northern District of Alabama, Understanding Bankruptcy). Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases, so whether a debt is dischargeable does not change materially when you cross a state line. State law still shows up in three places. It defines many of the underlying obligations, such as a support order, a judgment, or a lien, that the federal exceptions then classify. It supplies the exemptions that decide what property you keep, because 11 U.S.C. § 522 lets a state's exemption law apply and lets a state decline to authorize the federal list; those amounts live on our state pages, not here. And local rules and district practice govern deadlines and paperwork, which is why the Middle District of Alabama tells filers to read its local rules alongside the Code.

What does this look like in practice?

Picture a household with credit card balances, hospital bills, a car loan, back child support, a federal student loan, and a court fine. In a Chapter 7 case, the credit cards and hospital bills are the kind of general unsecured debt a discharge commonly reaches. The child support, the student loan, and the fine are the kind of obligations 11 U.S.C. § 523 excepts, so they generally remain payable after the case. The car loan splits: personal liability on the note may be discharged, but the lender's lien is separate, and Arizona's court pamphlet is blunt that under either chapter you must keep paying a secured debt if you want to keep the property. In a Chapter 13 case the same exceptions largely apply, though 11 U.S.C. § 1328 reaches somewhat further after plan completion. None of this decides an individual case; it shows the shape of the sorting.

What documents or information are involved?

Three kinds of paperwork drive this question. First, your schedules and creditor list: a debt neither listed nor scheduled with the creditor's name, when you know it, can be excepted under 11 U.S.C. § 523. That single point makes an accurate creditor list the most important document in the file. Courts treat those papers as sworn — the Northern District of Iowa notes they are submitted under penalty of perjury, that they are corrected only by filing an amendment, and that a fee is required to amend schedules when adding creditors. Second, the discharge order itself, which is what you send a collector who contacts you about a debt the order covered; clerk's offices explain how to obtain a copy. Third, completion paperwork: the Central District of Illinois notes that generally no discharge is entered for an individual until the required financial management course certificate is filed or waived.

What should you ask a lawyer?

This page can tell you which categories the Code treats differently; it cannot tell you which category a specific debt falls in, and that is usually where the money is. A debt that looks like an ordinary credit card balance can draw a fraud objection, and a divorce obligation labeled a property settlement may be treated differently from one labeled support. Those are fact questions decided in your case, sometimes through an adversary proceeding a creditor files. Court staff cannot fill that gap — the District of Arizona pamphlet states plainly that neither the bankruptcy court nor the clerk's office can give legal advice, and the Middle District of North Carolina information sheet says the same. A consultation is also where chapter choice gets tested, since the exception lists in 11 U.S.C. § 523 and 11 U.S.C. § 1328 are not identical. Useful questions to bring:

Which of my debts would you expect a creditor to challenge, and on what grounds?
Is this divorce obligation support or a property settlement, and does that change how 11 U.S.C. § 523 treats it?
Do my tax years fall inside or outside the timing-based exceptions?
What happens to the lien on my house or car if the underlying loan is discharged?
Would a completed Chapter 13 plan reach any debt that Chapter 7 would leave behind?

Frequently asked questions

Does bankruptcy clear medical bills and credit card debt?: In most consumer cases both are treated as general unsecured debt and are commonly discharged. Nothing in 11 U.S.C. § 523 excepts medical debt as a category. Credit card debt is also generally dischargeable, but a card issuer can object where the balance was run up in circumstances the statute treats as fraud, including recent luxury purchases or cash advances that the Code presumes nondischargeable.
Are student loans ever dischargeable?: Most government-backed or nonprofit-funded student loans and educational benefit overpayments are excepted from discharge by 11 U.S.C. § 523. They are not excluded forever by definition: the District of Arizona explains that such a debt is nondischargeable unless the debtor files an adversary proceeding against the creditor and proves to the court that not discharging it would be an undue hardship. That is a separate lawsuit inside the bankruptcy case.
What happens to my mortgage or car loan?: The discharge releases you from personal liability on the loan, but it does not remove the lender's lien, which generally passes through the case unaffected (11 U.S.C. § 524). In practical terms, court guidance from the District of Arizona says that under either chapter you must keep paying a debt secured by property if you want to keep that property, including maintaining the insurance the lender requires.
Are taxes ever discharged?: Some are, but the exceptions in 11 U.S.C. § 523 are wide. Taxes of the kinds given priority treatment are excepted, as are taxes for which a required return was never filed, taxes on a return filed late and after two years before the petition date, and taxes involving a fraudulent return or a willful attempt to evade. Older income taxes falling outside those descriptions can be dischargeable.
What if I forget to list a creditor?: A debt that was neither listed nor scheduled with the creditor's name, where you knew it, can be excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523 if the omission kept the creditor from acting in time. Schedules are signed under penalty of perjury and are corrected by filing an amendment, and courts charge a fee to add creditors after filing. List every debt, including ones you intend to keep paying.
Can a creditor challenge the discharge of a particular debt?: Yes. Some exceptions apply on their own, and others take effect only if a creditor raises them by filing an adversary complaint in the bankruptcy case. Court guidance in the Central District of Illinois notes that objections to discharge are time-sensitive, and that some are brought by motion while others require an adversary proceeding. A court can also deny a Chapter 7 discharge entirely under 11 U.S.C. § 727.
Is the answer different in Chapter 13?: Yes, somewhat. A discharge entered after you complete all plan payments under 11 U.S.C. § 1328 excepts a narrower set of debts than Chapter 7 does, which is why the Middle District of Florida describes it as broader. Domestic support, the taxes covered by the cross-referenced paragraphs, criminal restitution and fines, and certain injury judgments still survive it.

Sources

11 U.S.C. § 523 — Exceptions to discharge · official source
11 U.S.C. § 727 — Discharge (Chapter 7) · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1328 — Discharge (Chapter 13) · official source
11 U.S.C. § 524 — Effect of discharge · official source
11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter: What can Bankruptcy do for you? What will it do to you?
Bankr. N.D. Iowa official page — FAQs: Debtor
Bankr. M.D. Fla. official page — Frequently Asked Questions
Bankr. C.D. Ill. official guidance — ILCB Guide to Practice & Procedures (December 1, 2025)
Bankruptcy Administrator for the Northern District of Alabama, Understanding Bankruptcy
U.S. Bankr. Ct. M.D. Ala., Consumer Pro Se Debtors Guide
D. Guam Bankruptcy Bankruptcy Information Sheet
Bankruptcy Administrator for the Middle District of North Carolina, Bankruptcy Info Sheet – MDNC
U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Alaska, The Forms Individuals and Married Couples Need to File Bankruptcy

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified August 1, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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