Debt Abolition

We are building a movement to abolish debts and win a world where no one has to take on debt to survive.

Our tactics for debt abolition include:

  1. Pressuring the state to cancel debts and change policy through strategic organizing campaigns
  2. Providing our members with a suite of debt dispute tools that keep money in their pockets.
  3. Purchasing debts in order to erase them in collaboration with the Rolling Jubilee Fund.

Through our debt abolition debt buying process, we’ve abolished $31,982,455.76 in existing debt.

FAQs

What is the Rolling Jubilee Fund?

The Rolling Jubilee Fund is a 501c4 entity that launched in 2012. The Fund is distinct from the Debt Collective and dedicated to debt cancellation and public education. The Rolling Jubilee Fund is collaborating with the Debt Collective and other partners on strategic initiatives to build debtor power and drive system change. You can read about the Rolling Jubilee in the Our History and Victories section.

How does it work?

Our debts are someone else’s assets. Investors buy and sell debt to each other for pennies on the dollar on secondary debt markets, and then hire debt collectors to try to collect the full amount from people struggling with their bills. The Rolling Jubilee Fund acts as a debt purchaser, but instead of collecting on the debts it purchases, it erases them.

Does the Debt Collective think that cancelling debt is how we can win?

No, the Rolling Jubilee Fund is a public education initiative that is separate from the Debt Collective. Collaborating with the Rolling Jubilee Fund is one way the Debt Collective can provide relief while continuing to campaign and organize to build debtor power. The Rolling Jubilee reminds people that debts can disappear, and hopefully inspires people to join the Debt Collective to demand deeper change.

Can you abolish my debt or the debt of a specific community or place?

No. When buying debt on the secondary debt market there is no way to seek out a specific place or person in order to buy that place or person’s defaulted debt. Anonymous accounts are bundled together and sold as part of a larger, anonymized portfolio. These peculiarities are part of the scandal that we are trying to highlight.

Does this create a tax burden for debtors?

The Rolling Jubilee was created in consultation with a team of attorneys. They have thoroughly researched the tax implications and do not believe that beneficiaries are obligated to pay taxes on debts the Rolling Jubilee abolishes in this manner. It is the Rolling Jubilee’s position that it is making a tax-free gift to the people whose debt it is abolishing. See https://strikedebt.org/taxanalysts for an interview about Rolling Jubilee with the USA’s top-ranked tax lawyer.

What has the Rolling Jubilee done to date?

$854,962.92
Ambulance Debt
919
$930.32
$21,374
Download Purchase Agreement
$15,000.25
Private Probation Debt
20,522
$159
$97,922
Download Purchase Agreement

Mayfield Settlement

As a part of a class action settlement a debt buyer agreed to transfer these accounts to the Rolling Jubilee for the purpose of canceling the debts.

$42,451,689.20
AT&T Wireless Debts
59,300
$716
Download Purchase Agreement

As a part of a class action settlement a debt buyer agreed to transfer these accounts to the Rolling Jubilee for the purpose of canceling the debts.

$661,670,696.99
Judgement Debts
168,693
$3,922.36
Download Purchase Agreement
$3,945,015.92
Payday Loans
8,629
$457.18
$31,560.13
Download Purchase Agreement

After Corinthian College Inc closed this debt buyer offered to sell us all Corinthian debt they had for $1

$13,384,642.14
Student Debt
94,381
$1,418
$1
Download Purchase Agreement
$497,899.10
Private Probation Debt
4,349
$114.49
$14,600
Download Purchase Agreement
$3,856,866.11
Student Debt
2,761
$206,709.48
Download Purchase Agreement
$12,291,378.56
Medical Debt
1,919
$6,405
$236,001.71
Download Purchase Agreement
$1,223,836.36
Medical Debt
774
$1,540.45
$27,500
Download Purchase Agreement
$1,119,209.19
Medical Debt
1,064
$903.40
$9,500
Download Purchase Agreement
$100,145.75
Medical Debt
44
$2,276.04
$5,000
Download Purchase Agreement
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