In August, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released data suggesting that more and more people were falling behind on their mortgages. According to a report in The Tennessean, the MBA data showed that 10.47 percent of mortgages in the state were past due between April and June, compared with 9.89 percent in the first quarter of the year.

With the country in the midst of a national housing market crisis, many homeowners have found themselves in the precarious position of owing more on their houses than they are currently worth.

More and more people are simply packing their bags and walking away from their homes, convinced there’s no better way to deal with underwater mortgages. While it’s undoubtedly true that you should keep all your options open as you struggle with a dire financial situation, it’s just as true that you should carefully consider all your options before acting.

Many people incorrectly believe that they cannot discharge unpaid tax debt in bankruptcy. While this is a very complicated area of bankruptcy law, it is possible to obtain a bankruptcy discharge of many tax debts, including the penalties and interest owed thereon. In fact, bankruptcy can be the best available option for individuals with unpaid tax debt to relieve some or all of the financial and personal hardship caused by owing money to the IRS.