If you had a portion of your mortgage debt forgiven due to foreclosure, a restructuring of your loan or a short sale -- or if you're facing any of these scenarios this year -- I have some good news for you:

You will NOT have to treat the forgiven debt as taxable income when you file your taxes!

You may not have known that it would have affected your taxes, but now you don't have to worry about it. Just before Congress adjourned at the end of last year, the members approved this tax-relief bill for homeowners in trouble.

The legislation is retroactive to January 1, 2007 and is not scheduled to be retired until the end of 2009.

So you will not be hit with more taxes at a time when you can least afford it. While this is a big sigh of relief, such an act reflects how truly troubled some homeowners are.

If you are currently struggling to meet your mortgage payments, hopefully this bill will help you should you need to give up your home this year. As painful as losing your home is, at least you won't also be clobbered by the IRS.