Trying to decide if I should file for bankruptcy

[Anonymous]

So a little bit about me, I'm 27 and my main issue is IRS debt. Due to investing a somewhat large amount of money from inheritance then taking it out of the investment account and not reporting it when filing my taxes (I was 19 and knew very little about filing taxes), as well as a former job not taking out federal taxes I now owe about $13,000 in IRS debt. In addition, I have about $3,000 in collections and about $2,900 in current credit cards. I also recently got a judgement against me from a $300 speedy cash loan that is now $1,400. I'm on a payment plan with the IRS for $200/month and I settled on a payment plan with the judgement for $200/month as well. I'm feeling so overwhelmed trying to keep up with the monthly payments in addition to rent and other bills, and it looks like I'm going to be making these payments for years to come. I make about $35,000/year and living in Denver my rent is fairly high for even a crappy apartment so after paying bills plus the payment plans I have very little left. While I know bankruptcy destroys credit, with having collections and now with having a judgement I'm not sure how it could get much worse. I'm planning on setting up a consultation with a lawyer but would appreciate some opinions from members here as well. Thanks for the input!

*Also I'm wondering about the possibility of getting my car taken away, it's from 2014 and has about 65,000 miles on it and is paid for, would that be something I need to worry about?

[Anonymous]

In short simple terms, this isn’t much debt, the taxes probably won’t go away anyway, and you’re young enough to just pick up a second job, keep making your payments, and have this all behind you before 30. (Without a BK following you around for 10 years!)

Good luck!

[kugel]

Wrong idea to file bk for this amount
Try to get another job and pay it off

[Anonymous]

Submit an Offer In Compromise with the IRS for the debt you owe.

Play around with the prequalifier on the website and see what reduced amount the IRS is likely to accept. Here is the link :
https://www.irs.gov/payments/offer-in-compromise

[Anonymous]

Yeah I'm not sure I would file for that amount. I owe the IRS as well, about $4k but it was unable to be discharged. My lawyer told me it has to be over 3 years old (something like that anyway). If yours is old enough to be discharged then might consider it. I would just consult an attorney like you have planned. 

It depends on your circumstances, I tried doing the 2nd job thing before filing - but I have two kids and juggling that plus a full time job and a 2nd part time job was just too much, had a lot of stress and was barely able to even see my children. But everyone's situation is different - if getting a second job is something you can handle I would look into that to avoid having a BK on your report for 10 years.