Curated reference for 11 U.S.C. Section 1328 Chapter 13 discharge doctrine. Organized by doctrinal prong (completion discharge under 1328(a), hardship discharge under 1328(b), discharge effect under 1328(c), prior-discharge time-bar under 1328(f), Section 523(a) interaction) with statutory references and live CourtListener search.
How to Use This Map
Section 1328 governs discharge in Chapter 13 cases. It is the most analytically structured discharge provision in the Bankruptcy Code, with separate subsections for the completion-of-plan discharge (1328(a)), the hardship discharge (1328(b)), the effect of discharge (1328(c)), exceptions to discharge (1328(a)(1)-(4)), and the prior-discharge time-bar (1328(f)). Each subsection has its own developed body of case law. This map organizes the doctrine by prong:
1328(a) Completion Discharge: The standard Chapter 13 discharge upon completion of all plan payments. Subject to the 523(a) exception list incorporated by 1328(a)(2)-(4).
1328(b) Hardship Discharge: The early-discharge alternative when the debtor cannot complete payments due to circumstances "for which the debtor should not justly be held accountable." Narrower scope than 1328(a) - more debts excepted.
1328(c) Discharge Effect: The discharge voids any judgment to the extent it is a determination of personal liability and operates as an injunction against the commencement or continuation of any action to collect a discharged debt.
1328(f) Prior-Discharge Time-Bar: The BAPCPA-2005 time-bar. Section 1328(f)(1) bars a discharge in a Chapter 13 if the debtor received a discharge in a Chapter 7, 11, or 12 filed within 4 years before the order for relief in the Chapter 13. Section 1328(f)(2) imposes a 2-year bar if the prior discharge was in a Chapter 13.
Section 523(a) Interaction: The list of nondischargeable debts in 523(a) is incorporated into 1328(a) at subsections (1)-(4). Some 523(a) categories (notably (a)(2) and (a)(4) fraud) survive 1328(a) discharge but are dischargeable under 1328(b) hardship discharge.
Every citation links to a CourtListener search, a canonical Cornell LII statute page, or a verified opinion URL. Section 1328 case law is voluminous and well-developed; the live CourtListener search section at the bottom is the best entry point for current circuit-by-circuit authority.
11 U.S.C. Section 1328(a): "Subject to subsection (d), as soon as practicable after completion by the debtor of all payments under the plan, ... the court shall grant the debtor a discharge of all debts provided for by the plan or disallowed under section 502 of this title, except any debt — (1) provided for under section 1322(b)(5); (2) of the kind specified in section 523(a)(1)(B), 523(a)(1)(C), 523(a)(2), 523(a)(3), 523(a)(4), 523(a)(5), 523(a)(8), or 523(a)(9); (3) for restitution, or a criminal fine ...; or (4) for restitution, or damages, awarded in a civil action against the debtor ... for willful or malicious injury ..."
11 U.S.C. Section 1328(f): "Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), the court shall not grant a discharge of all debts provided for in the plan or disallowed under section 502, if the debtor has received a discharge — (1) in a case filed under chapter 7, 11, or 12 of this title during the 4-year period preceding the date of the order for relief under this chapter, or (2) in a case filed under chapter 13 of this title during the 2-year period preceding the date of such order."
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Prong:
I. Section 1328(a) Completion Discharge
Section 1328(a) provides the standard Chapter 13 discharge upon completion of all payments under the plan. The discharge is broader than under Section 727 (Chapter 7) because some 523(a) categories that survive 727 are dischargeable under 1328(a) - the historical "superdischarge" features. BAPCPA 2005 narrowed the superdischarge by adding 523(a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), and (a)(9) to the 1328(a)(2) exception list.
Section 1328(a) conditions discharge on (1) completion of all plan payments and (2) compliance with the 1328(g) financial-management instructional course requirement and the 1328(h) domestic-support certification requirement. The discharge encompasses debts provided for under the plan or disallowed under Section 502, except for the categories enumerated in 1328(a)(1)-(4).
Relevance to Section 1328 practice: Counsel preparing a discharge order or objecting to discharge must address each subsection (a)(1)-(4) exception category, the 1328(d) bar for educational benefit overpayments under 523(a)(8), and the 1328(g)/(h) procedural prerequisites.
Section 1328(b) provides an early-discharge alternative for debtors who cannot complete plan payments. The standard requires (1) failure to complete is "due to circumstances for which the debtor should not justly be held accountable," (2) the value distributed is not less than the amount that would have been paid in a Chapter 7 liquidation, and (3) modification of the plan is not practicable. The hardship discharge is narrower than the 1328(a) completion discharge - it excepts every debt that 523(a) would except in a Chapter 7 case.
Section 1328(b) requires three findings: the failure to complete the plan is due to circumstances for which the debtor should not justly be held accountable; the value of property actually distributed under the plan is not less than the amount that would have been paid on Chapter 7 liquidation as of the effective date of the plan; and modification of the plan under Section 1329 is not practicable.
Relevance to Section 1328 practice: A hardship-discharge motion must develop the record on each prong. The "circumstances" inquiry is fact-intensive; the liquidation-value comparison turns on the schedules and the trustee's accounting; the modification-impracticability prong typically rests on the debtor's inability to project future earnings.
III. Section 1328(f) Prior-Discharge Time-Bar (BAPCPA 2005)
Section 1328(f) was added by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). It imposes a time-bar on serial filers: a debtor cannot receive a Chapter 13 discharge if the debtor received a discharge in a Chapter 7, 11, or 12 case filed within 4 years before the date of the order for relief in the new Chapter 13, or in a Chapter 13 case filed within 2 years before that date.
The 1328(f) bar runs from the filing date of the prior case to the order-for-relief date of the new case (the "filing-to-filing" rule). Most circuits apply the 1328(f) calculation to the case-filing dates, not the discharge-entry dates. The eligibility determination is mandatory; the court "shall not grant a discharge" if the time-bar applies.
Section 1328(f) bars a Chapter 13 discharge if (1) the debtor received a discharge in a case filed under Chapter 7, 11, or 12 during the 4-year period preceding the date of the order for relief under Chapter 13, or (2) the debtor received a discharge in a Chapter 13 case filed during the 2-year period preceding the date of the order for relief. The bar is mandatory ("the court shall not grant a discharge") and is not waivable.
Relevance to Section 1328 practice: 1328(f) eligibility is a threshold question. Counsel preparing a Chapter 13 petition for a debtor with prior bankruptcy filings must run the 1328(f) calculation before filing. The interaction with Section 727(a)(8) (the 8-year Chapter 7 bar) is also part of the serial-filer eligibility framework.
The Section 523(a) nondischargeability list is incorporated into 1328 at two points. Under 1328(a)(2), the categories listed (523(a)(1)(B), (1)(C), (2), (3), (4), (5), (8), (9)) are excepted from the completion discharge. Under 1328(b)/(c), the hardship discharge incorporates the full 523(a) list - the hardship discharge is narrower than the completion discharge.
Section 523(a) lists the categories of debts that are not dischargeable. Different chapters incorporate different subsets: Chapter 7 (under 727) excepts the full 523(a) list; Chapter 13 completion discharge under 1328(a) excepts a subset (the BAPCPA-narrowed superdischarge); Chapter 13 hardship discharge under 1328(b)/(c) reverts to the full 523(a) list.
Relevance to Section 1328 practice: The 523(a) list governs which debts survive a Chapter 13 discharge. Counsel preparing the schedules must classify each debt against 523(a) and against the 1328(a)(2) subset to know what will survive the discharge order.
Section 1328(c) describes the effect of a Chapter 13 discharge: the discharge voids any judgment at any time obtained, to the extent that the judgment is a determination of the personal liability of the debtor with respect to a discharged debt. The discharge operates as an injunction against the commencement or continuation of an action, the employment of process, or any act to collect, recover, or offset any discharged debt as a personal liability of the debtor.
Section 1328(c) provides that the discharge under 1328(a) or (b) (1) voids any judgment to the extent it determines personal liability of the debtor on a discharged debt, and (2) operates as an injunction against the commencement or continuation of any action to collect a discharged debt. This is the discharge-injunction provision parallel to Section 524.
Relevance to Section 1328 practice: 1328(c) is the operative authority for any discharge-violation contempt motion arising from a Chapter 13 discharge. Combined with Section 524's discharge-injunction provisions and the court's Section 105 contempt authority.
This page indexes Section 1328 doctrine through statutory references and live CourtListener search. The statutory text is reproduced from the U.S. Code as published by Cornell Legal Information Institute. Specific case citations have been omitted in favor of live search links, because Section 1328 case law is voluminous and the most-cited authorities shift as new opinions issue. The live searches return current circuit-by-circuit authority directly from the CourtListener database.
Note: This page is a research index, not a filing. Every attorney or pro se party preparing a Section 1328 motion should run a current CourtListener search and read the full opinion before relying on any cite.