Cancellation-of-debt income

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Taxpayers in the United States may have tax consequences when debt is cancelled. This is commonly known as cancellation-of-debt (COD) income. According to the Internal Revenue Code, the discharge of indebtedness must be included in a taxpayer's gross income.^[1] There are exceptions to this rule, however, so a careful examination of one's COD income is important to determine any potential tax consequences.

Billions of dollars of cancelled debts will generate many unexpected tax bills, due to debt cancellations that financial institutions have started accelerating in 2012. ^[2]