IRS Kicks Home Owners While They're Down

According to the Washington Post, the IRS has bad news for homeowners who are seriously delinquent on their mortgages and hoping for debt relief. If your lender decides to modify your loan or forgive your debt, you could end up owing federal income taxes on that amount. The IRS essentially treats the amount that is forgiven as ordinary income. Lenders are even required by law to notify the IRS when they forgive the debt. This news is especially bad in the current market, where many people are finding themselves upside-down in the current market because of interest only loans or property value decreases.