Discharging tax debts can be difficult but not impossible in New York bankruptcy, but what about more mundane debts to the government, like traffic tickets? Are these subject to the same rules as tax debts or are they nondischargeable because they’re unsecured debts? It’s a common concern by debtors. The answer is, it mostly depends on what chapter you file in.
Applied to chapter 7, the rule is pretty clear for traffic tickets and other penalties to the government. Section 523(a)(7), specifies that a discharge does not include a debt “to the extent such debt is for a fine, penalty, or forfeiture payable to and for the benefit of a governmental unit.” In short, traffic tickets and similar penalties are not dischargeable in chapter 7.
Under chapter 13, though, the Bankruptcy Code treats these debts differently. Section 1328(a)(3) states that the bankruptcy court “shall grant the debtor a discharge of all debts provided for by the plan … except any debt … for restitution, or a criminal fine, included in a sentence on the debtor’s conviction of a crime.”
So in chapter 13, it appears that “criminal fines” are not dischargeable, but here the semantics tend to favor debtors. In many jurisdictions, traffic violations are not “criminal fines” but are considered “civil penalties.” Fortunately, New York is among them. Specifically, in section 155 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, such violations are innocuously described as “traffic infractions.” The law states, “A traffic infraction is not a crime and the punishment imposed therefor shall not be deemed for any purpose a penal or criminal punishment.” If traffic tickets are “traffic infractions” under New York law and not “criminal fines” under the Bankruptcy Code, then for the purposes of chapter 13, traffic tickets will not survive a chapter 13 New York bankruptcy, even if they would have been nondischargeable in a chapter 7 case.
The catch, however, is that the chapter 13 discharge occurs only after the plan is completely repaid. Thus, in New York, a debtor will repay some of the traffic ticket to the creditor. Given the duration of the chapter 13 plan, it’s unlikely to be worth a debtor’s while to go through it just to discharge even a few parking tickets. Moreover, a chapter 7 bankruptcy can also result in sufficient income to dedicate to traffic tickets, and governments might deny debtors certain benefits until the fine is repaid anyway. These reasons would encourage a chapter 7 filing over a chapter 13 one.
If you have run into financial difficulties and you owe debts to the government that are neither tax debts nor criminal penalties, then you might want to consult with an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer to discuss how to handle them.
For answers to more questions about bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced bankruptcy attorney Brooklyn NY Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.
