The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program is a federal program to help distressed homeowners retain their homes. Payments received under the program usually are not taxable. They are treated as payments on the mortgage loans by the government on behalf of borrowers and are excludable from gross income under the general welfare doctrine.
A tax technique for receiving a refund of back taxes by applying a deduction or credit from a current tax year to a prior tax year. For example, a business net operating loss may be carried back for two years.