My Chapter 13 bankruptcy was filed in 1992 and concluded on February 8, 1996. I know information stays on my credit report for 7-10 years, but which year will be used to begin my countdown for it to drop off?

Because you filed Chapter 13 (bankruptcy with a repayment plan) rather than Chapter 7 (complete relief), your bankruptcy will cycle off your credit report 7 years from the original filing date. So, it should age off your credit report this fall.

The fact that it is tied to the original filing date rather than the conclusion of the repayment plan makes sense when you think about it. Creditors would rather get some money back than none at all, so it would be senseless to penalize people who choose Chapter 13 by allowing it to stay on their credit reports longer than a Chapter 7 (which is what would happen if they were retained based on the date of conclusion). In fact, the reverse is true: Chapter 7 bankruptcies remain on a credit report for 10 years rather than 7, a difference based on the fact that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy involves no repayment and is, therefore, worse for your creditors than a Chapter 13.