QUESTION
If I filed bankruptcy in December 2013 will I receive tax refund?
Asked on Jan 22nd, 2014 on Bankruptcy - Nebraska
12 ANSWERS
Immigration Attorney serving Pittsburgh, PA
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Jason Karavias, Esq. Attorney at Law
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Whether you are able to keep all or a portion of your tax refund depends on your other assets and the extent to which those assets are exempt.
Answered on Feb 10th, 2014 at 11:44 AM
Debt Settlement Attorney serving San Diego, CA
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Law Offices of Kathryn Tokarska
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Did you list the tax refund as an asset and exempt it on your petition?
Answered on Jan 24th, 2014 at 9:55 AM
Deborah F. Bowinski
It depends upon what state you live in and whether there are any exemptions you can (and did) properly claim to protect the funds in your refund. In Colorado, the trustee would require you to turn over nearly 100% of the refund to be used to open a bankruptcy estate.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 11:16 PM
bankruptcy Attorney serving Paul, ID
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Paul N. J. Ross Law, PLLC
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In Idaho, you are required to turn over your tax refunds. Technically you will receive your refund, but you will be required, by order, to turn it over to the Trustee in both a Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 11:15 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Bronx, NY
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Law Offices of David Brodman
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You should be able to keep your entire refund. You should have claimed an exemption to keep the refund. If you did not claim an exemption, you can still amend your papers to claim the exemption.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 11:15 PM
You can if you estimated the refund amount on Schedule B and exempted it on Schedule C. You can file an amendment if you forgot or if you underestimated the refund amount. The court does not charge a filing fee for amending Schedules B or C.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 11:12 PM
You will be required to provide your bankruptcy trustee with a copy of your 2013 return and you will have to turn over the refund check to the trustee unless you selected exemptions on Schedule C that will protect your refund. Without seeing your tax return, I cannot say if the trustee will take some, all, or none of your tax refund check.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 5:21 PM
2 Awards
If you receive a refund it belongs to the bankruptcy estate unless the trustee advises you to keep it. If you receive it you should contact the trustee.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 4:20 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Grand Rapids, MI
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David Andersen & Associates, PC
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Filing bankruptcy shouldn't stop you from receiving a refund. Being able to keep the refund depends on whether the 2013 taxes were exempted or not.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 4:19 PM
Maybe yes and maybe no. The general answer is "no". If any part of the tax refund is child tax credit or earned income credit, the Chapter 7 Trustee can not touch that portion of the refund. The balance of the refund is "fair game". If it is under a thousand dollars, the Trustee may not want to full with it because it is too small.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 4:19 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Omaha, NE
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Heineman Law Office
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Bankruptcy is not tied to whether you will receive a tax refund or not. However, what is tied to your refund is that it is an asset of the estate, and unless an exemption exists to protect some or all the refund, the trustee is entitled to a portion of that refund. Also, if you owe federal taxes or child support, the refund may be taken by the government to fulfill that obligation.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 4:19 PM
Commercial Bankruptcy Attorney serving Davie, FL
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Law Office of Jeffrey Solomon
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The right to receive a tax refund is an asset that can be claimed by the chapter 7 trustee. You may have a personal property exemption that might protect the refund. Also, an earned income credit refund is exempt from creditors.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2014 at 4:19 PM