What Cannot Be Discharged in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured debts, but the list of debts that cannot be discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy is longer than most filers expect. It covers child support and alimony, most recent taxes, nearly all student loans, debts tied to fraud or intentional harm, drunk driving injury claims, criminal fines and restitution, debts you forgot to list, and certain recent credit card charges. Secured debts sit in their own category: your personal liability goes away, but the lender’s lien on the car or house does not.

Knowing which obligations survive before you file matters. A discharge that leaves half your debt intact is still worth having, but only if you plan around what stays.

Child Support, Alimony, and Other Divorce Debts

Child support and alimony are completely off the table. The Bankruptcy Code treats these as “domestic support obligations” and bars their discharge under any chapter, not just Chapter 7.¹ Past-due support follows you out of the case in full, and the recipient can resume collection the day your case closes.

Other financial obligations from a divorce also survive. If your divorce decree or separation agreement made you responsible for a joint credit card balance, an equalizing payment, or any other debt owed to a former spouse or child, that obligation is non-dischargeable too, even though it is not alimony or child support.¹ Chapter 7 cannot shift divorce-related financial responsibilities back onto your ex.

Recent and Fraudulent Tax Debts

Some older income tax debts can be discharged, but the rules are strict. A tax debt survives if it fails any one of these timing tests:

Three-year rule: the return was originally due, including extensions, within three years before your bankruptcy petition.²
240-day rule: the IRS assessed the tax within 240 days before your filing date. The clock pauses if you had a pending offer in compromise or a collection stay from a prior bankruptcy during that window.²
Two-year rule: you filed the return late and it reached the IRS less than two years before your petition.¹

Two categories of tax debt can never be discharged regardless of age: taxes tied to a fraudulent return and taxes you tried to evade. If you never filed a required return at all, that debt also stays.¹ Only honest, timely-filed income tax debts old enough to clear all three timing hurdles have a shot at discharge. Certain tax penalties can be an exception on their own: if they relate to an older tax or a transaction that occurred more than three years before filing, they may be dischargeable.

Student Loans

Both federal and private student loans are presumed non-dischargeable. The only exception is proving that repaying the debt would impose an “undue hardship” on you and your dependents.¹ The statute also covers educational benefit overpayments and obligations to repay scholarships or stipends, not just traditional tuition loans.

To pursue an undue hardship discharge, you file a separate lawsuit inside your bankruptcy case called an adversary proceeding. Most courts require you to show three things: you cannot maintain a minimal standard of living while making payments, your financial situation is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period, and you have made good-faith efforts to repay.³ A high bar, but not impossible.

For federal loans, a November 2022 Department of Justice and Department of Education process now standardizes how the government evaluates these requests. Borrowers submit an attestation form and DOJ attorneys apply consistent criteria to decide whether to agree to a full or partial discharge rather than fight it.⁴ Private loan holders are not bound by that process and can contest discharge as aggressively as they choose.

Debts from Fraud and Intentional Wrongdoing

Bankruptcy is not designed to erase the financial consequences of dishonest or deliberately harmful conduct. These misconduct-related debts survive Chapter 7:

Fraud and misrepresentation, such as lying on a credit application or misstating your finances to obtain a loan.¹
Fiduciary fraud, embezzlement, and larceny, including mismanaging trust funds.¹
Willful and malicious injury to another person or their property. Negligence, even gross negligence, does not meet this standard.¹
Death or personal injury caused by operating a vehicle, boat, or aircraft while legally intoxicated.¹

For fraud-based debts, the exclusion is not automatic. The creditor must file a complaint with the bankruptcy court and ask the judge to declare the debt non-dischargeable. If the creditor misses the deadline or never files, the debt may be discharged even where fraud existed.¹

Recent Luxury Purchases and Cash Advances

Running up credit cards just before filing triggers a statutory presumption of fraud. Under current thresholds, effective April 1, 2025, and in place through March 31, 2028, two categories of pre-filing spending are presumed non-dischargeable:

More than $900 in luxury goods or services charged to a single creditor within 90 days before filing.¹
More than $1,250 in total cash advances from a single creditor within 70 days before filing.¹

“Presumed non-dischargeable” shifts the burden to you. You would have to prove the spending was not fraudulent. The statute carves out goods and services reasonably necessary for your support or a dependent’s, so groceries, work-related car repairs, and medical copays typically do not count as luxury spending even inside the 90-day window.¹ Practical takeaway: stop using credit cards once bankruptcy becomes a realistic option.

Government Fines, Penalties, and Restitution

Criminal fines, court-ordered restitution, and penalties owed to a government entity survive Chapter 7 as long as they are punitive rather than compensatory. The statute targets fines that are “not compensation for actual pecuniary loss,” meaning money owed as punishment rather than to reimburse the government for out-of-pocket costs.¹

Debts You Forgot to List

When you file Chapter 7, you have to list every creditor you owe. If you leave one out and that creditor did not otherwise learn about your case in time to file a claim, the debt is not discharged.¹ The omitted creditor never got a chance to participate, so the law treats the debt as if the bankruptcy never happened for that particular obligation. Reopening a case later to add a missed creditor is possible but adds cost and delay. The safer approach is to list every debt, however small or uncertain.

Secured Debts: Personal Liability vs. the Lien

Secured debts work differently from everything else on this list. The debt itself can technically be discharged, but the lien on the collateral cannot. A Chapter 7 discharge eliminates your personal liability, so the lender can no longer sue you or send you to collections. The lender’s security interest in the property survives.⁵

In practice, a mortgage lender cannot chase you personally for a deficiency after bankruptcy, but it can still foreclose if you stop paying. A car lender loses the right to sue you for the balance but keeps the right to repossess. If you want to keep secured property, you have two main tools.

Reaffirmation

A reaffirmation agreement is a new contract in which you voluntarily agree to remain personally liable in exchange for keeping the property on its existing terms. You must sign it before your discharge is granted, and you have 60 days after filing it with the court to change your mind and rescind.⁶ If you were not represented by an attorney in the negotiations, the court must separately approve the agreement as being in your best interest and not imposing undue hardship.

Reaffirmation trades away the protection of the discharge for that debt. If you later fall behind, the creditor can repossess the collateral and sue you for any deficiency, the exact outcome bankruptcy was meant to prevent.

Redemption

Redemption lets you keep personal property by paying the creditor the item’s current fair market value in a lump sum, even if you owe more than the item is worth. It is available only for tangible personal property used for personal or household purposes, such as a car, furniture, or appliances, and only when the underlying debt is a dischargeable consumer debt.⁷ Redemption does not apply to real estate. The full payment has to be made at the time of redemption, which makes it impractical for higher-value collateral unless you can access funds through family, savings, or a specialized redemption lender.

What Happens If You Ignore Surviving Debts

For secured debts, doing nothing is a real option. If you neither reaffirm nor redeem, your personal liability is discharged but the lien stays. Many people simply keep making payments, which most lenders accept because they would rather collect monthly than repossess depreciating property. The trade-off is that you no longer have a contractual relationship with the lender, so they are not required to send statements, report your payments to credit bureaus, or offer workout options if you fall behind.

For non-dischargeable debts like support obligations, recent taxes, and student loans, ignoring them after bankruptcy gets you nowhere. Those creditors keep every collection tool they had before you filed, including wage garnishment, bank levies, and license suspensions. If your case makes clear that certain debts will survive, work out a repayment plan for them before the case closes rather than scrambling after discharge.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 507 – Priorities
3
Federal Student Aid. Undue Hardship Discharge of Title IV Loans in Bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings
4
Department of Justice. Student Loan Guidance
5
United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy – Bankruptcy Basics
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 524 – Effect of Discharge
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 722 – Redemption