What Debts Cannot Be Discharged in Bankruptcy in Florida?
One of the most important things to understand before filing for bankruptcy is that not every debt disappears. Bankruptcy is a powerful tool for getting a fresh start, but Congress carved out specific categories of debt that survive the process — no matter how much financial hardship you’re facing.
Knowing which debts cannot be discharged before you file is critical. If most of what you owe falls into one of these categories, bankruptcy may not solve your specific problem — or you may need a different strategy, like Chapter 13, to manage it properly.
This guide walks through every major category of non-dischargeable debt under federal law, explains why each one exists, and helps you understand where you stand before you file.
What Does “Non-Dischargeable” Actually Mean?
A non-dischargeable debt is an obligation that survives your bankruptcy case. Even after you receive your discharge — the order that wipes out your qualifying debts — you remain personally responsible for paying these specific obligations.
These categories are defined under 11 U.S.C. Section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. Congress decided that certain debts should not be erased for public policy reasons — usually because doing so would be unfair to the other party involved (a child owed support, a person injured by a drunk driver) or because the debt itself involves dishonesty.
Importantly, most of these exceptions apply in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The idea that Chapter 13 wipes out everything Chapter 7 can’t is mostly outdated — changes to the law in 2005 narrowed that gap significantly.
Domestic Support Obligations: Child Support and Alimony
Child support and alimony (spousal support) can never be discharged in bankruptcy, under any chapter, under any circumstances. There is no exception and no hardship argument that changes this.
If you are behind on these payments when you file, the past-due amount is treated as a priority debt. In a Chapter 13 case, that means it must be paid in full through your repayment plan. Falling behind even after bankruptcy can lead to wage garnishment, seizure of tax refunds, or contempt of court charges.
This is one of the most absolute rules in all of bankruptcy law. If you have a support obligation, plan around the assumption that it will not go away.
Most Student Loans
Student loans — both federal and private — are not automatically discharged in bankruptcy. This surprises a lot of people, since student loan debt is one of the most common reasons people consider bankruptcy in the first place.
To discharge a student loan, you must file a separate lawsuit within your bankruptcy case called an adversary proceeding and prove that repaying the loan would cause you “undue hardship.” Courts typically apply a strict legal standard (the Brunner Test) requiring you to show that you cannot maintain even a minimal standard of living if forced to repay, that this situation is likely to continue for most of the loan’s repayment period, and that you’ve made good-faith efforts to repay.
This is a difficult standard to meet, but not impossible — and recent court decisions have made discharge somewhat more attainable than it was a decade ago, especially for private student loans. If student loans are a major part of your debt, this is an area where speaking with an attorney about your specific facts matters enormously.
Certain Tax Debts
Tax debt is complicated — some tax debt can be discharged, and some cannot. Generally, an income tax debt may be dischargeable only if it meets all of the following conditions:
- The tax return for that debt was due at least three years before you filed bankruptcy
- You actually filed the return at least two years before filing bankruptcy
- The IRS assessed the tax at least 240 days before you filed
- The debt is not connected to fraud or willful tax evasion
This is sometimes called the “3-2-240 rule.” If your tax debt meets all four conditions, it may be wiped out in Chapter 7. If it doesn’t — for example, if you filed late or the debt is more recent — it will likely survive your bankruptcy case.
One important detail: even if the underlying tax debt is discharged, an existing IRS tax lien recorded against your property generally remains attached to that property after your case ends. Discharging the debt removes your personal obligation to pay, but it does not automatically remove a lien.
Debts From Fraud or False Pretenses
If a creditor can prove that you obtained money, property, or credit through fraud, false representation, or false pretenses, that debt is not dischargeable. This typically requires the creditor to file an adversary proceeding — a lawsuit within your bankruptcy case — within 60 days of your 341 meeting of creditors.
If the creditor misses that deadline, the debt may be discharged anyway, by default. This is an important detail: not every non-dischargeable category applies automatically. Some require the creditor to actively raise the issue with the court and prove it.
A related rule covers luxury purchases and cash advances made shortly before filing. Under current law (for cases filed between April 2025 and March 2028), credit card charges for luxury goods totaling more than $900 to a single creditor within 90 days of filing — or cash advances over $1,250 within 70 days of filing — are presumed to be fraudulent and non-dischargeable. This rule exists to prevent people from running up debt right before filing with no intention of paying it back.
DUI-Related Debts
If you caused an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, any resulting debt — court-ordered fines, restitution, or damages owed to people injured or killed — cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. This exception has no hardship test and no exceptions. It applies regardless of which chapter you file.
Criminal Fines and Restitution
Court-ordered criminal fines, penalties, and restitution payments cannot be eliminated through bankruptcy. This includes restitution owed to crime victims and fines owed to government agencies as punishment for a criminal conviction. Bankruptcy is designed to provide relief from financial hardship — not to undo the consequences of the criminal justice system.
Debts From Willful and Malicious Injury
If a court determines that you intentionally and wrongfully caused harm to another person or their property, the resulting debt is non-dischargeable. This is different from ordinary negligence — it requires a finding that the harm was both willful (intentional) and malicious. A creditor must generally prove this in an adversary proceeding for it to apply.
Other Categories Worth Knowing
Section 523(a) lists 19 categories in total. Beyond the major ones above, a few others worth knowing about include:
- Debts you forgot to list: If you fail to properly list a debt in your bankruptcy paperwork, it may not be discharged — particularly in Chapter 7 cases where the creditor never had a chance to participate.
- Certain HOA and condo association fees: Fees owed before you file are generally dischargeable, but fees that accrue after filing (if you keep the property) are not.
- Government fines and penalties: Fines and forfeitures owed to a government unit, when they aren’t meant to compensate for an actual financial loss, typically survive bankruptcy.
- Certain divorce-related debts: Property settlement debts from a divorce (separate from support obligations) may be non-dischargeable in Chapter 7, but can sometimes be discharged in Chapter 13 — one of the few real differences left between the two chapters.
Two Categories Are Treated Differently
It’s worth understanding that non-dischargeable debts fall into two groups:
Automatic exceptions — Debts like child support, most student loans, and recent tax debt are non-dischargeable automatically. No one needs to ask the court for anything; the law simply excludes them.
Creditor-challenged exceptions — Debts involving fraud, luxury purchases, or willful injury are only non-dischargeable if the creditor formally objects and proves their case in court within the required deadline. If the creditor misses the deadline or fails to prove it, the debt is discharged like any other.
This distinction matters because it means a debt that looks non-dischargeable on paper might actually be discharged if the creditor doesn’t take the right legal steps in time.
What If Most of My Debt Isn’t Dischargeable?
If your situation involves mostly non-dischargeable debt — for example, a combination of back child support, recent taxes, and student loans — bankruptcy might not provide the kind of clean relief you’re hoping for. That doesn’t necessarily mean bankruptcy is the wrong move, though.
Here’s why: even non-dischargeable debts can benefit from bankruptcy indirectly. Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to consolidate past-due, non-dischargeable priority debts like child support and certain taxes into a single structured repayment plan over three to five years — often with no interest accruing — while simultaneously discharging your other unsecured debts like credit cards and medical bills. This can make an overwhelming pile of mixed debt far more manageable, even if not every dollar disappears.
Meanwhile, Chapter 7 bankruptcy can still eliminate your dischargeable debts quickly, freeing up income that can then go toward the non-dischargeable obligations that remain.
Know Exactly Where You Stand Before You File
Every financial situation is different, and the dischargeability of a specific debt often depends on details that aren’t obvious from the outside — when a tax return was filed, whether a charge qualifies as a “luxury good,” whether a settlement debt is really a support obligation in disguise. These are exactly the kinds of questions a bankruptcy attorney is trained to sort through.
If you’re considering bankruptcy in Miami and want to understand exactly which of your debts would be eliminated and which would survive, schedule a free consultation with our office. We’ll review your specific debts, help you understand your options between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and build a realistic plan based on your actual financial picture — not just general rules.
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You don’t have to guess your way through bankruptcy — understanding exactly what survives and what doesn’t is the first step toward a plan that actually works.
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