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Questions Answered by Russell J. Haynes
1 Answer | Asked in Consumer Law and Tax Law for Virginia on
Q: My loans were forgiven due to a medical hardship (disability). Is there any exception to making that income?

There were exceptions but I didn't fit any that I saw but I'm not a lawyer. It seems unfair to forgive the loans and then make it an incredible amount to tax. The same hardship should not make it income in some cases. I'm ready to have the original 77,710.00 active again. It's... View More

Russell J. Haynes
Russell J. Haynes
answered on Apr 7, 2016

Yes, Congress in its infinite wisdom, chose to treat the forgiveness of debt as income for tax purposes, despite the liquidity problem that comes with a taxpayer being so broke a bank won't chase them for money, but then hitting a broke person with a big income tax bill. But they do it... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Bankruptcy and Tax Law for Virginia on
Q: i was recently (sept 2015) discharged from a chapter 13 bankruptcy, the irs was included in my payment plan i recently

received notice from irs that i owe additional money from 2004,06,07,08, and 09. my attorney says that they will not help because my case ended in September. i feel they should still represent me because those years were included in my chapter 13. am i wrong?

Russell J. Haynes
Russell J. Haynes
answered on Apr 7, 2016

The IRS is often very bad about posting payments received during bankruptcy to the correct modules. A chapter 13 plan must pay all of the "priority" tax debts in full over the life of the plan. So the IRS should have applied the money they received from your plan payments to your... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Tax Law for New York on
Q: Can the IRS overrule a court document for claiming dependants.

Many years back I had the IRS take back money from me because they said I had been claiming a dependent I wasn't entitled to. The judge had literally written into my court Agreement that I was the person who was allowed to claim my son and my taxes. They went back some five or six years... View More

Russell J. Haynes
Russell J. Haynes
answered on Apr 7, 2016

In general, the person who provides more than half the support for the dependent is entitled to claim the exemption for that dependent on their tax return. However, exemptions for dependents can be allocated between former spouses by agreement. It is quite common in divorce cases for spouses to... View More

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