Released: May 05, 2007

IRS ‘kick homeowners while they’re down’ rule

Source: Kenneth R. Harney, Washington Post (Free Registration)

For homeowners who are seriously delinquent on their mortgages and hoping for relief, the Internal Revenue Service has bad news: If your lender agrees to modify your loan and forgive any of your debt, you could owe federal income tax on the amount forgiven.

Think of it as the tax code’s “kick ‘em while they’re down” rule. When personal debts are canceled by a creditor, the amount forgiven is treated as ordinary income under the Internal Revenue Code, except in some situations such as insolvency. Worse yet, the lender is required by law to report the canceled amount to the IRS.

Ouch! This is especially bad news for the growing numbers of credit-impaired subprime borrowers who find themselves “upside down” in the current real estate market: They owe more on their mortgage than the value of their house, thanks to noxious combinations of zero down payments, declining property values and hefty payment increases they can’t afford.

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