I realize that this is a blog about taxes, but if you have tax debt, I assume that you have other debts as well. It has only been within the last few months that the IRS has softened their stance on allowing you to claim your minimum credit card payments as an allowable expense, so it’s a topic worth addressing.
Credit card debt in general is one of the biggest problems in our society. If you rack up a lot of it, and can’t pay it, life starts to suck when the creditors start calling. Five years ago, when I was heading into bankruptcy, one of my favorite days was the day that Qwest cut off my phone service because I couldn’t pay the bill. That was when the credit collection calls finally stopped!
If you’re looking to address your credit card debt, and other consumer debts as well, there is a simple and often repeated formula for paying down and eliminating those debts. You’ve probably heard two variations of this before, but I think they’re worth hearing again now and then.
The process is pretty simple: Make a list of all your debts, and rank them by priority based on either interest rate from highest to lowest, or by debt amount from lowest to highest. Then, take any extra money you have each month and put it towards the first item on the list.
Mathematically speaking, it’s best to … Read the rest