why 10 years

Well, it depends upon the credit reporting agency. It might chooses to keep it on report for 10 years. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act the CRAs are allowed to show bankruptcy in the report for 10 years for ch-7.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act [15 U.S.C. ?1681c(a)(1)] the reporting period is 10 years. The change in the BK law extended the time between when you could file again. So 2012 is correct.

Does anyone know how long does a chapter 13 stay on your credit report

Same.

It doesn't seem right that in a chapter 13 it would stay on as long as in a chapter 7...I mean you pay a large portion off would it be more fair to have a lesser time on a credit report for those who are paying something? Just asking anyones opinion on this

Correct me if I'm wrong but a Chapter 13 actually stays on longer than a Chapter 7. First there is the 3-5 year period that it is being paid off then once it's discharged the 10 year clock starts. So in essence it reports for 13-15 years. Is my line of thinking correct on this?

The 10-year reporting clock on BK's starts from date filed, not discharged. So it is the same for a 7 or a 13.

Keep in mind, that while BK's are only on your credit report for 10 years, the public records themselves are available indefinitely and available through PACER. My company generally looks up our applicants on PACER, and we will find BK's filed back in the 70s and 80s. We don't really care that much about old BK's, but we do look for a history of repeat-filings. If it looks like a person has a history of filing BK every 7 years like clock-work, and it is currently 6 years since their last BK, we probably won't give them a loan since they are almost due to file again.