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IVA exclusions: the debts that stay out

A short list of debts survives an IVA untouched. Knowing it before you propose is the difference between a real solution and an expensive surprise.

Written by The My Debt Cleared editorial teamLast reviewed 23 August 2026Jurisdiction England, Wales & Northern IrelandEditorial policy
An IVA cannot write off secured debts (mortgages, secured loans, car finance secured on the vehicle), student loans, child maintenance arrears, magistrates’ court fines, TV licence fines, social fund loans, or debts from fraud. These continue alongside the arrangement, and your ability to keep paying them is built into the affordability assessment.

The list

Mortgages and anything secured on your home; hire purchase and PCP agreements secured on the car; student loans; child maintenance and CSA arrears; court fines; TV licence penalties; Social Fund loans; personal injury claims against you; and debts incurred through fraud, which creditors can insist survive. Joint debts are included for you but the other borrower remains fully liable for the whole balance.

What this means in practice

Payments to excluded debts come out of your budget before your IVA contribution is set — the arrangement is built around them, not instead of them. If secured and excluded debts are the bulk of your problem, the write-off mechanics of an IVA reach very little of it, and that changes the whole comparison an adviser would walk through. Which routes write off which debts covers the map.

Related: what does go in, how car finance is treated, and the current criteria.

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