Schedule E/F: Unsecured Creditors.

The one-sentence version

Schedule E/F is where you list everyone you owe money to who doesn't have a lien on specific property - which, for most filers, is the vast majority of their debt.

Two parts - and the distinction matters

The schedule is split into Part 1 (priority unsecured) and Part 2 (general unsecured). Same form, very different legal treatment.

Part 1 - Priority unsecured claims

"Priority" debts get paid first if there's any money to distribute, and many of them are not dischargeable in Chapter 7. The bankruptcy code (11 U.S.C. Section 507) lists them:

• Domestic support obligations - child support, alimony, sometimes a property settlement awarded in divorce. Almost never dischargeable.
• Recent income tax debt - generally the last 3 years. Discharge depends on a multi-factor test; recent taxes are usually priority and non-dischargeable.
• Wages owed to employees (if you ran a business and didn't pay them).
• Unpaid contributions to employee benefit plans.
• Death or injury you caused while DUI.
• Certain customer deposits (if you took deposits and didn't deliver).
• Certain excise taxes and customs duties.

For each priority creditor: name, address, last 4 of account, when incurred, the amount, the priority category, and whether the claim is contingent, unliquidated, or disputed.

Part 2 - General (non-priority) unsecured claims

The big bucket. Most of these are dischargeable:

• Credit card balances
• Medical and hospital bills
• Personal loans (signature loans, payday loans, peer-to-peer lender loans)
• Old utility bills
• Cell phone contract early-termination fees
• Gym membership balances, club dues
• Money you owe a former landlord
• Money you owe friends or family (yes, this counts)
• Deficiency balances on repossessed cars
• Money judgments from lawsuits based on contract or negligence
• The "unsecured portion" of an undercollateralized secured loan (carried over from Schedule D)
• Student loans (even though discharge of student loans is hard, they still go here as unsecured)

Where to get the addresses

Use the address from the most recent statement or collection letter the creditor sent you. If the debt has been sold to a collection agency, list both the original creditor and the current collector - both need notice.

If you only have a debt-collector address but suspect the underlying creditor has a different one (often the case with old medical debt), list both. Better over-notice than under-notice; missed notice can mean a debt survives the discharge.

Even debts you "want to pay back" go here

If you borrowed $5,000 from your mom and intend to keep paying her back, list it. You can voluntarily pay her after discharge - the debt is just legally erased. What you cannot do is selectively omit her from the schedule. That's known as a "preferential exclusion" and is grounds for losing your discharge.

Common mistakes

• Leaving out small debts - the $40 you owe an old gym, the $200 vet bill. Even tiny debts need to be listed.
• Listing only the collection agency when the original creditor still might try to enforce.
• Putting student loans in Part 1. Standard student loans are general unsecured, not priority.
• Putting tax debts in Part 2. Most recent tax debts are priority and go in Part 1.
• Forgetting lawsuits where you are the defendant. Even if a judgment hasn't been entered yet, the underlying claim is a debt and goes here as contingent/disputed.
• Skipping medical debt because you're embarrassed or because the hospital has a "charity care" file open. List it anyway.

Related forms

Schedule E/F feeds Form 106Sum. Secured debts go on Schedule D. Co-signers on any of these debts also go on Schedule H. See the complete forms index.