Debt compliance

In finance, the term debt compliance describes various legal measures taken to ensure that debtors, whether individuals, businesses, or governments, honor their debts and make an honest effort to repay the money that they owe. Generally regarded as a subdivision of tax law, debt compliance is most often enforced through a combination of audits and legal restrictions. For example, a provision of the Federal Debt Collection Procedure Act states that a person or organization indebted to the United States, against whom a judgment lien has been filed, is ineligible to receive a government grant. Noncompliance, depending on severity and frequency, may be punished by fine or even incarceration.