OCBob
VIPER POWERED
You know, there is a way the feds could help me out in my situation. That would be to forgive tax on the "income" when my house is finally sold by the bank.
Let me explain this a little more. Because of the huge drop in prices when my house is sold it will probably be around 200k or more less than what I owe on it. In Cali, when the banks foreclose they are typically stuck with whatever they can get for the house, you are not liable for the rest. But there is a big caveat with that. The difference is reported to the IRS as income, which you are taxed on.
So after losing everything, I will have a tax bill for $200k in income. That's gonna be a big chunk of money. And there is no avoiding paying those guys. So let's say they set up a payment program for me for the sake of argument. What are those payments going to be? Maybe a grand a month, that I won't have to put towards expenses. That's just a guess, but it's probably pretty close for a 5 year repayment plan, though I guess it could actually be more.
Yes, the bank will have lost money, but so did I. I didn't make $200k!
Let me explain this a little more. Because of the huge drop in prices when my house is sold it will probably be around 200k or more less than what I owe on it. In Cali, when the banks foreclose they are typically stuck with whatever they can get for the house, you are not liable for the rest. But there is a big caveat with that. The difference is reported to the IRS as income, which you are taxed on.
So after losing everything, I will have a tax bill for $200k in income. That's gonna be a big chunk of money. And there is no avoiding paying those guys. So let's say they set up a payment program for me for the sake of argument. What are those payments going to be? Maybe a grand a month, that I won't have to put towards expenses. That's just a guess, but it's probably pretty close for a 5 year repayment plan, though I guess it could actually be more.
Yes, the bank will have lost money, but so did I. I didn't make $200k!