On Wednesday my partner and i are going to see a trustee to see about our options.  We have both declared bankruptcy in 2004 and really do not want to go this route.  Our  only debts are a student loan debt as well as a debt with CRA.  My partner is self employed and makes monthly payments to CRA for outstanding taxes but since he filed his taxes for 2010 CRA wants $600.00 more per month on top of what he is already paying. I am also making regular monthly payments towards my student loans which defaulted and were sent to collections.  (My student loans were not part of my first bankruptcy)    My partner is being forced to do so as CRA will not accept anything less then what they are asking unless we come up with a lump sum payment to put towards the tax debt which we can't come up with. I am feeling pressured to declare bankruptcy  with my partner as it would relieve us of our debts but we probably won't be discharged for at least two years, and our income fluctuates every month.  Has anyone else dealt with CRA in a similar situation?    I don't think that CRA will accept a CP.

Well when you are self employed you are responsible for taking off the appropriate taxes from your gross income.  Often times people do not take taxes off of their income say monthly of quarterly so the taxes are owing when you file your tax return.  If you do not have the money you owe when you file taxes  one can set up a payment plan with cra to pay outstanding taxes but then there is of course interest tacked on the total amount owing.  This is why people often times have tax problems when they are self employed.  Often times self employed individuals may  not be making enough revenue to pay all of their bills and so may have to use the money they have put aside for their taxes.   This of course may be do to bad planning, or perhaps individuals do not file their tax returns yearly like they are supposed to.  In this case if a self employed individual does not file yearly then they are penalized for filing late plus are charged interest for all the years they have not filed for which they owe taxes.  This is why it is important for self employed individuals to file their taxes yearly even if they do not have the money to pay the full amount.

Hi, well saw the trustee today, and it looks as if my partner will probably be signing his stuff on the 22.  I am not sure what i am going to do yet. It has been ten years since my period of study end date.   The trustee assured me that the loans would be totally discharged but the thought of going bankrupt again scares me.  I know there are avenues for a person to apply to the courts themselves but i don't know enough about this process yet, and not sure i have the stamina right now for dealing with it.  It would be a cheaper route to go in the long run as i would be bankrupt for 24 months as this would be my second bankruptcy.    Thanks for listening.

My loans are becoming unmanageable because of health issues.  I am also going to be laid off from my job as the company i work for is changing hands so the stress of this, illness, and my partners issues are causing me a great amount of anxiety so needless to say i am trying to weigh all of my options.  No one wants to go bankrupt, especially a second time.