Tax Returns

[patm95]

Hi all,

My wife should be discharged from her ch13 bankruptcy in March of '15 . She declared bankruptcy before we got married, so we have always filed taxes separately due to the BK. Every year, she has submitted her tax returns to the trustee. So my question is, would she be required to submit her tax returns for this year since she should be discharged before tax returns are due?

Thanks.

[LadyInTheRed]

I doubt it, but she should ask her attorney to be sure. Will she be discharged in April, or is that when she will complete her plan?

[patm95]

I doubt it, but she should ask her attorney to be sure. Will she be discharged in April, or is that when she will complete her plan?

Thanks for the reply. She will have completed her plan in March. I was assuming that she would be discharged about the same time. But to be honest I am not familiar with how that works. We will ask her attourney to be safe. I wanted to get the forum's opinion as her lawyer is not great with answering phone calls or emails .

[LadyInTheRed]

It typically takes at least 60 days after the plan is complete to get a discharge. But Sammie just got a discharge 2 weeks after plan completion. It will vary by court.

If nobody is able to answer your question, she doesn't get an answer from her attorney, and it is advantageous for you to file a joint return, you may want to just extend your returns. By the time the extended due date arrives, you should know whether you have to send the return to the trustee and can make a decision on whether to file jointly are separately. If you will owe tax, be sure to pay the worst case taxes with your extension request so that you don't risk having to pay penalties and interest.