Are all tax debts nondischargeable?

No. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1) excepts specific categories of tax debt, not every tax debt. The exceptions cover taxes of the kind and for the periods specified in § 507(a)(3) or § 507(a)(8), taxes for which a required return was not filed or was filed late within the statutory window, and taxes involving a fraudulent return or a willful attempt to evade. Taxes outside those categories may be treated differently.

Does filing bankruptcy stop a child support case?

Generally not. Arizona's court guidance states that a filer is not protected by the automatic stay from most domestic relations proceedings and judgments, including child support, visitation, spousal maintenance and alimony (U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter). Support obligations also carry first priority among unsecured claims under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(1), so they are treated differently from ordinary debt throughout a case.

What happens if I forget to list one of these debts?

Court filing instructions warn that if you do not list a debt, that debt may not be discharged, and that you must list every debt even one you plan to pay outside the bankruptcy (Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 13 Form Packet). 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(3) sets out the statutory exception for debts neither listed nor scheduled in time for the creditor to act.

Will a discharge remove a tax lien on my house?

A discharge and a lien are two different things. Court guidance explains that a discharge releases personal liability for dischargeable debts but does not prevent secured creditors from enforcing a valid lien, and that if a lien was not eliminated in the case a creditor may still enforce it against property afterwards (U.S. Bankr. Ct. M.D. Ala., Consumer Pro Se Debtors Guide). The tax lien guide in this pillar covers this in detail.

Is Chapter 13 better than Chapter 7 for these debts?

It depends on which debt and what you need from the case. Chapter 13 is a repayment plan structure, which can matter for debts that survive a Chapter 7 discharge or that carry priority status under 11 U.S.C. § 507. Chapter 7 is a liquidation. The chapter comparison and the individual debt guides address the trade-off directly for each category.

How much does it cost to file?

A Chapter 7 case carries a $245 statutory filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)), a $78 administrative fee and a $15 trustee surcharge. A Chapter 13 case carries a $235 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) plus the same $78 administrative fee. Courts commonly allow an individual to pay in installments on application, and a Chapter 7 waiver is conditional under § 1930(f).

Guides

Taxes, support and special debts in bankruptcy

Most consumer debts are wiped out by a bankruptcy discharge, but the Bankruptcy Code carves out exceptions in 11 U.S.C. § 523 covering certain taxes, domestic support obligations, student loans, criminal fines and restitution. Some of these are never discharged, some depend on age or filing history, and some are simply paid differently in Chapter 13.

Key points

11 U.S.C. § 523 lists the debts a discharge does not touch, and taxes, support obligations, student loans and criminal fines all appear there.
Domestic support obligations hold first priority among unsecured claims under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(1), which is why Chapter 13 plans treat them differently from credit card debt.
Some tax debts turn on timing and filing history rather than on the amount owed, so the same balance can be treated differently depending on when returns were filed.
Chapter 13's repayment structure often matters more than discharge rules for debts that survive a Chapter 7 case.
Which rule applies to you depends on the specific debt, so the detailed answers live on the individual guides under this pillar.

If you owe back taxes, past-due child support, student loans, or court-ordered fines, you have probably already heard that bankruptcy "doesn't cover" them. That is too blunt to be useful. These debts are handled by their own rules, and the rules differ sharply from one category to the next.

What does this part of bankruptcy cover?

This pillar covers the debts the Bankruptcy Code singles out for special treatment rather than folding into the general pool of unsecured claims. Official court guidance puts it plainly: even after a Chapter 7 discharge, a filer may still be responsible for most taxes, most student loans, domestic support and property settlement obligations, and most fines, penalties, forfeitures and criminal restitution obligations (Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 7 Form Packet). The statutory source is 11 U.S.C. § 523, which lists the exceptions to discharge, and 11 U.S.C. § 507, which sets the order in which claims get paid. Two different questions are at work here. One is whether the debt survives the case at all. The other is where it stands in line while the case is open. A debt can be dischargeable and still get paid ahead of your credit cards, or nondischargeable and still be substantially reduced through a repayment plan.

Tax debt: federal income tax, state income tax, tax liens, property taxes, and how refunds and filing work after a case
Student loans: federal loans and private loans, which follow different rules
Family obligations: child support, alimony and spousal support, and divorce-related property settlements
Government-related debts: criminal fines and restitution, and benefit overpayments

How do you know which of these applies to you?

Start with who you owe rather than how much. The category of creditor usually determines which rule governs, and that is the fastest way to narrow things down. A balance owed to the IRS is analysed under the tax provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1). A balance owed to a former spouse or to a state child support enforcement agency is analysed as a domestic support obligation. A student loan servicer, a court clerk collecting restitution and a benefits agency demanding repayment of an overpayment each fall somewhere different again. Then look at the paperwork you already have. Court filing instructions ask you to list every creditor and to identify whether each claim is secured or unsecured, and whether it is contingent, unliquidated or disputed (Bankr. S.D. Iowa official guidance — Instructions - Bankruptcy Forms for Individuals). Sorting your own mail into those buckets does most of the work of figuring out which guide you need.

Sorting a special debt by its creditor
If the creditor is	The governing question is generally	Where to read next
A tax authority	Timing, return filing history, and whether a lien attached	The tax debt guides in this pillar
A former spouse or support agency	Whether the obligation is in the nature of support	The support and divorce-debt guides
A student loan holder	Whether the loan is federal or private	The student loan guides
A court or government agency	Whether the debt is a fine, restitution or an overpayment	The fines and overpayment guides

What do these paths have in common?

Three things are true across every debt in this pillar. First, none of them disappear because you did not list them. Court instructions are explicit that you must list all property and all debts, even a debt you intend to pay outside the bankruptcy, and that an unlisted debt may not be discharged (Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 13 Form Packet). Section 523(a)(3) makes the same point in statutory form. Second, a discharge relieves personal liability for dischargeable debts, but it does not eliminate a valid lien on your property (U.S. Bankr. Ct. M.D. Ala., Consumer Pro Se Debtors Guide). That distinction matters enormously for tax liens and for property taxes. Third, the automatic stay is not uniform here. Arizona's court guidance notes that a filer is generally not protected by the stay from most domestic relations proceedings, including child support and spousal maintenance, or from most criminal proceedings (U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter).

List every one of these debts, even the ones you expect to keep paying
A discharge addresses personal liability, not liens that already attached to property
Support and criminal matters commonly continue despite a bankruptcy filing

Where do these debts differ most?

The sharpest divide is between debts that are excepted from discharge no matter what, and debts whose treatment turns on facts you can actually check. Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1)(C), a tax is excepted from discharge where the debtor made a fraudulent return or willfully attempted in any manner to evade or defeat the tax — no timing analysis saves it. By contrast, § 523(a)(1)(B) turns on whether a required return was filed at all, and on whether a late return was filed after the date it was last due and after two years before the petition date. Those are dates you can look up. Support obligations differ again: rather than hinging on timing, they hold first priority under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(1) as claims owed to or recoverable by a spouse, former spouse, or child of the debtor. Priority status shapes how a repayment plan must be structured, which is a different problem from dischargeability.

Two different questions, two different answers
Question	What it decides	Example authority
Is the debt discharged?	Whether you still owe it after the case closes	11 U.S.C. § 523
Where does it sit in line?	How it must be treated and paid during the case	11 U.S.C. § 507

Where should you start?

Start with the single debt that is causing the most pressure right now, and read that guide first. If a wage garnishment or a bank levy is active, the automatic stay question is more urgent than the discharge question, and the answers differ by debt type. If nothing is moving yet, start with the largest balance instead, because that is usually the debt that determines whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 makes more sense for you. It also helps to know the fixed costs before you get further in. A Chapter 7 case carries a $245 statutory filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)), a $78 administrative fee and a $15 trustee surcharge (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Items 8 and 9). A Chapter 13 case carries a $235 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) and the same $78 administrative fee.

Active collection: read the guide for that specific debt first
Nothing active yet: start with the largest balance in this category
Multiple categories at once: that combination is common, and it is a good reason to talk to a local bankruptcy attorney

Does state law change any of this?

Mostly no. The exceptions to discharge in 11 U.S.C. § 523 and the priority scheme in 11 U.S.C. § 507 are federal, and they apply the same way in every bankruptcy court in the country. That is why this pillar and its child guides are written nationally rather than state by state. State law does enter at the edges. Exemptions, which determine what property you keep, are set by state law in most places, and 11 U.S.C. § 522(c)(1) provides that dischargeable tax claims may not be collected out of exempt property while nondischargeable taxes remain collectable from it. State and local income taxes have their own treatment provisions under 11 U.S.C. § 346. And state income tax debt, tax liens and property taxes are administered by state and local authorities whose collection practices vary. Where state figures matter, they live on the state hub pages rather than here.

Discharge exceptions and claim priority: federal, uniform nationwide
Exemptions and state tax administration: state-specific, covered on the state pages

Frequently asked questions

Are all tax debts nondischargeable?: No. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1) excepts specific categories of tax debt, not every tax debt. The exceptions cover taxes of the kind and for the periods specified in § 507(a)(3) or § 507(a)(8), taxes for which a required return was not filed or was filed late within the statutory window, and taxes involving a fraudulent return or a willful attempt to evade. Taxes outside those categories may be treated differently.
Does filing bankruptcy stop a child support case?: Generally not. Arizona's court guidance states that a filer is not protected by the automatic stay from most domestic relations proceedings and judgments, including child support, visitation, spousal maintenance and alimony (U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter). Support obligations also carry first priority among unsecured claims under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(1), so they are treated differently from ordinary debt throughout a case.
What happens if I forget to list one of these debts?: Court filing instructions warn that if you do not list a debt, that debt may not be discharged, and that you must list every debt even one you plan to pay outside the bankruptcy (Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 13 Form Packet). 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(3) sets out the statutory exception for debts neither listed nor scheduled in time for the creditor to act.
Will a discharge remove a tax lien on my house?: A discharge and a lien are two different things. Court guidance explains that a discharge releases personal liability for dischargeable debts but does not prevent secured creditors from enforcing a valid lien, and that if a lien was not eliminated in the case a creditor may still enforce it against property afterwards (U.S. Bankr. Ct. M.D. Ala., Consumer Pro Se Debtors Guide). The tax lien guide in this pillar covers this in detail.
Is Chapter 13 better than Chapter 7 for these debts?: It depends on which debt and what you need from the case. Chapter 13 is a repayment plan structure, which can matter for debts that survive a Chapter 7 discharge or that carry priority status under 11 U.S.C. § 507. Chapter 7 is a liquidation. The chapter comparison and the individual debt guides address the trade-off directly for each category.
How much does it cost to file?: A Chapter 7 case carries a $245 statutory filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)), a $78 administrative fee and a $15 trustee surcharge. A Chapter 13 case carries a $235 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) plus the same $78 administrative fee. Courts commonly allow an individual to pay in installments on application, and a Chapter 7 waiver is conditional under § 1930(f).

Sources

11 U.S.C. § 523 — Exceptions to discharge · official source
11 U.S.C. § 507 — Priorities · official source
11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
11 U.S.C. § 346 — Special provisions related to the treatment of State and local taxes
U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter: What can Bankruptcy do for you? What will it do to you?
U.S. Bankr. Ct. M.D. Ala., Consumer Pro Se Debtors Guide
Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 7 Form Packet
Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 13 Form Packet
Bankr. S.D. Iowa official guidance — Instructions - Bankruptcy Forms for Individuals
28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)
28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)
Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8
Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9

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

Sources verified July 27, 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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