The big myth: bankruptcy does not erase everything
It is easy to assume that bankruptcy makes every debt disappear. It does not. Bankruptcy discharges certain debts -- meaning the law permanently stops creditors from collecting on them -- but Congress carved out whole categories that survive a filing no matter how much you owe or how little you can pay. Knowing which of your debts are dischargeable and which are non-dischargeable is the single most important thing to sort out before you decide whether bankruptcy is the right tool for your situation.
The good news is that the largest source of stress for most households -- unsecured consumer debt like credit cards and medical bills -- usually falls squarely on the dischargeable side. The categories below are the exceptions, not the rule, but they matter enormously if any of your debt belongs to them.
This is general information, not legal advice. Bankruptcy law is technical and fact-specific, so talk to a bankruptcy attorney licensed in your state before filing or making decisions about any particular debt.
Debts that almost never get discharged
Some debts are treated as off-limits because public policy protects the people or institutions owed. These typically survive a bankruptcy:
- Domestic support obligations. Child support and alimony (spousal support) are never dischargeable. You will still owe every dollar after your case closes.
- Most recent income taxes. Recent income-tax debt generally cannot be discharged. Older tax debt may be dischargeable, but only if it meets strict timing and filing tests -- this is genuinely an attorney question, and no honest source can promise it for you.
- Most criminal fines, restitution and many government penalties. Debts tied to a criminal sentence, and many fines owed to a government agency, are designed to survive bankruptcy. See whether criminal restitution can be reduced or forgiven and what happens if you do not pay court fines and fees for how the court, not a settlement company, handles them.
- Debts you fail to list. If you leave a debt off your schedules, it may not be discharged. List everything.
- Certain last-minute charges. Specific recent luxury purchases or large cash advances taken shortly before filing can be challenged as non-dischargeable.
The student-loan nuance
For years the conventional wisdom was that student loans can never be discharged in bankruptcy. That overstates the law. Student loans are not wiped out automatically the way a credit card is, but they can be discharged if you file a separate adversary proceeding within your bankruptcy case and show that repaying them would cause undue hardship.
The Department of Justice's 2022 guidance and its standardized attestation process -- still in use in 2026 -- made this far more attainable than most borrowers assume, and people who actually pursue it succeed far more often than the old reputation suggests. The honest summary is: hard, not impossible. If a meaningful share of your debt is federal or private student loans, ask a bankruptcy attorney whether an undue-hardship discharge is realistic for your facts before you write it off.
Debts a creditor can challenge as fraud or willful harm
A second group is dischargeable in theory but can be blocked if a creditor objects and proves their case to the court. These include debts arising from fraud or false pretenses (for example, lying on a loan application), and debts for willful and malicious injury to another person or their property.
Here the burden is usually on the creditor to come forward and object during the case. But if they do, and the court agrees, that debt survives. This is one more reason that complete, accurate paperwork -- and a lawyer who knows how these objections play out -- matters so much.
What bankruptcy usually does discharge
Set against those exceptions, the list of debts bankruptcy commonly does discharge is long, and it covers the kinds of balances that push most people toward filing:
- Credit card balances and store-card debt
- Medical bills
- Personal loans and signature loans
- Payday loans
- Older unsecured balances sitting in collections
- Deficiency balances left after a repossession or foreclosure
Whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 is the better fit depends on your income, assets and goals. Our sibling guide on Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13 bankruptcy walks through the difference; importantly, Chapter 13 can let you pay off some non-dischargeable priority debt -- such as recent taxes or support arrears -- gradually through a court-approved repayment plan rather than all at once.
What to do with the debt bankruptcy won't touch
For the dischargeable, unsecured side of your debt, it is worth comparing your options before you commit to filing. Our neutral which debt relief option tool can help you see how bankruptcy stacks up against other paths for credit cards, medical bills and similar balances.
For non-dischargeable government, support and tax debt, a debt-settlement company is the wrong tool -- you should never try to "settle" a federal, government or domestic-support debt, and a settlement firm cannot make those obligations go away. Go straight to the right channel instead:
- Back taxes: the IRS offers payment plans and hardship relief directly.
- Federal student loans: check repayment and discharge options at studentaid.gov.
- Child support or alimony: work through the family-court system that issued the order.
Before filing, remember that bankruptcy is a legal process with real, lasting costs: it stays a public record, it damages your credit for years, and the consequences are serious enough that it is worth doing right. Federal law requires nonprofit pre-filing credit counseling and a post-filing debtor-education course; you can find approved agencies through the U.S. Trustee Program. To start, talk to a bankruptcy attorney licensed in your state, reach out to local legal aid if cost is a barrier, and read the official court information at uscourts.gov. Never treat a debt-settlement company as a substitute for that legal advice.