When you own an automobile, the county in which you live will assess a yearly tax against that personal property. The amount that is required to be paid each year is determined by what type of car it is, and the age of the car. In order to ensure payments on this kind of tax debt, the government will not issue up-to-date license plates for the vehicle until the personal property tax is paid in full.
Unfortunately, this type of debt cannot be discharged in a St. Louis bankruptcy. However, if you file a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will have the ability to pay back the personal property taxes over the course of three to five years. Spreading the payments over a longer period of time is often less of a financial burden. In addition, the government will issue new license plates once the Missouri Chapter 13 is filed, because they are put on notice that the debt will be paid off inside the payment plan.
If a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy is filed, all of your unsecured debt is discharged (things like credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, etc.). Once these other debts are gotten rid of through the discharge, it is usually much easier to make payments on the tax debt that remains.
Regardless of which type of filing, the St. Louis bankruptcy lawyers at The Bankruptcy Company have years of experience in dealing with personal property taxes. Our attorneys have helped hundreds of people through the bureaucratic tape that exists with most government agencies, and made sure that our clients keep their car safe and licensed.