IVA debts included: what goes in
Most unsecured debt goes into an IVA and is bound by it. What matters is knowing which of your debts count, because the write-off at the end only applies to what was included.
The debts that normally go in
Credit and store cards, personal and payday loans, overdrafts, catalogue and buy-now-pay-later balances, utility and council tax arrears, tax owed to HMRC, old tenancy arrears, and benefit overpayments. Debts to friends and family can be included but must be declared like any other creditor — quietly repaying them outside the arrangement is not allowed.
Why inclusion matters
Approval binds every included unsecured creditor, even the ones who voted no. That is the legal power of the arrangement: collection stops, interest and charges on included debts stop, and whatever remains of them at completion is written off. A debt left out keeps its full force, which is why the proposal stage is about completeness, not convenience.
And what stays out
Secured debts, student loans, child maintenance, court fines and a small set of others cannot be written off through an IVA — the full list of exclusions is short but important. If most of your debt is on that list, an IVA solves less than it appears to, which is one of the facts an authorised adviser weighs before proposing one.
See also how the monthly payment is worked out and how the creditor vote works.