If you receive a 1099-C, you may have to report the amount shown as taxable income on your income tax return. Because it's considered income, the canceled debt has tax consequences and may lower any tax refund you are due.
That depends on your overall taxable income. Your income, including amounts listed on your 1099-Cs, gets taxed at the normal progressive rate, which ranges from 10% to 37%.
If a creditor continues to attempt to collect the debt after you receive a 1099-C, the debt may not have been canceled and you may not have income from a canceled debt. Verify your specific situation with the creditor.
Generally, if you borrow money from a commercial lender and the lender later cancels or forgives the debt, you may have to include the cancelled amount in income for tax purposes. The lender is usually required to report the amount of the canceled debt to you and the IRS on a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt.
The 36-month non-payment rule, as set forth in Reg. Section 1.6050P-1(b)(2)(iv), established a rebuttable presumption that an identifiable event has occurred, resulting in a requirement to file a Form 1099-C, if a creditor does not receive payment on a loan within a 36-month testing period.
Copy C is for your records. Copy 1 is for you to file with your state when required. (Not all states require you to submit this copy when you file Copy A electronically with the IRS.) Please check with your state tax agency for state 1099-MISC requirements.
And, generally, that debt doesn't become taxable unless it is discharged (canceled or forgiven). If that debt is discharged, you may owe taxes on the amount you don't pay back. Loans that are not taxed as income include: Personal loans for credit card consolidation or major purchases.
There's no specific statute of limitations for canceled debt, but IRS rules require creditors to file a 1099-C the year following the calendar year in which a qualifying event occurs.
Self-employment tax: 1099 contractors are subject to self-employment tax, which covers both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes. This totals 15.3% of your net earnings. In contrast, W-2 employees only pay the employee portion (7.65%), while their employer covers the remaining half.
Note: If you received a 1099-C for your main home and another 1099-C for something else (like a credit card, car loan, or second mortgage) you won't be able to use TurboTax, as we don't support this.
If you don't include this and any other taxable income on your tax return, you may be subject to a penalty. Failing to report income may cause your return to understate your tax liability. If this happens, the IRS may impose an accuracy-related penalty that's equal to 20% of your underpayment.
For tax year 2025, the threshold is $2,500, regardless of the number of transactions. For tax year 2026 and after, the threshold is $600, regardless of the number of transactions.
Will the IRS catch a missing 1099? The IRS knows about any income that gets reported on a 1099, even if you forgot to include it on your tax return. This is because a business that sends you a Form 1099 also reports the information to the IRS.
No, a creditor generally cannot collect the debt after it is forgiven and a Form 1099-C has been issued, although creditors may try to collect other debts. It might be best for you to get legal advice in this case.
As noted above, proving yourself to be insolvent or filing for bankruptcy are two strategies that can minimize your tax liability from a debt settlement.
If a debt is owned (or treated as owned for federal income tax purposes) by more than one creditor, each creditor that is described under Who Must File, earlier, must issue a Form 1099-C if that creditor's part of the canceled debt is $600 or more.
If your lender can't locate your vehicle to do a "self-help" repossession, they can still sue you for the vehicle. This will involve a small claims case, where the judge will order you to give the car to the lender. You might even be compelled to Court to provide testimony about the location of the vehicle.
If you're expecting a tax refund but have concerns about creditors garnishing it, you may be worrying too much. Federal law allows only state and federal government agencies (not individual or private creditors) to take your refund as payment toward a debt.
Even falling one payment behind is enough for a lender to repossess your car. Usually, a loan is two or three months behind before the lender initiates a repossession. At that point, the lender can seize the vehicle, often without warning, and then sell it to recover the loan balance.