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I owe a debt cancellation from last years tax return. Can i pay it off in smaller payments? How do i go about it?

 
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MichaelMc
New Member

I owe a debt cancellation from last years tax return. Can i pay it off in smaller payments? How do i go about it?

I presume that you actually mean you owe taxes on a debt cancellation that was reported on your 2017 tax return.

Let's start with a very basic question: Are you certain that you owe taxes on the debt cancellation? There are many exceptions and exclusions to the general rule that debt forgiveness is taxable income. One of the easiest and most commonly overlooked is that you do not have to pay taxes on debt that was cancelled while you were insolvent. Add up the Fair Market Value of all your assets. Subtract all of your debts (even those you cannot currently pay). If the result is negative, you are insolvent to that amount. If a debt cancellation is less than that amount, you do not owe tax on the cancellation. If a debt cancellation is more than that amount, you owe tax only on the excess.

If the above calculations were not taken into consideration, you may need to amend your 2017 tax return.

How to Amend 2017 TurboTax Online Return

If you still need to make arrangements for more manageable tax payments, go to https://www.irs.gov/payments/online-payment-agreement-application.  A variety of payment plans can be set up online.



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