Can you go to jail for debt?

The question, can you go to jail for debt comes up often. This is because, years ago, you could go to debtor’s prison for not paying back your debts. This is no longer the case, though. If a creditor threatens to have you arrested or to report you to the police, do not fall for it. Any type of threatening action like this could in fact be something you report. However, it is important that you pay your debts back or your creditors can take legal action against you, including placing liens on your assets and forcing garnishments on your wages.

When You Can Go To Jail

Traditional unsecured debt is not something you can go to jail for. Other types of debt, though, you can go to jail for including:

• Debt that stems from committing fraud, with the fraud itself being the reason for your jail time. This includes taking out any type of loan you do not intend to pay back.
• Purposely not paying your taxes to the IRS, state or local governments can result in jail time.
• If you violate a court order, this can result in jail time. An example here may be not paying your child support payments and back payments.
• If you try to hide assets in order to avoid paying debts on those assets or to hide the assets from judgments, this is could result in fraud charges.

You cannot go to jail for not paying most types of debt, but you can suffer consequences. Work with a debt settlement attorney to avoid these costs.