Stupid Question regarding income tax refunds after discharge

[southernbelle]

I'm almost embarassed to ask this, but I'm not sure of the answer. I received my discharge in July 08, but my case isn't closed yet. If I am due to get an income tax refund this year, do I have to send it to the Trustee or not?

[southernbelle]

Some new information

I just got up the nerve to call the local Trustee. She was actually pretty nice. She said the following was to happen:

1. Before Christmas, she submitted information to the UST re: how my assets that were collected would be distributed and requested approval from the UST.
2. Once approval from the UST is received, the judge has to sign off on it.
3. Once the judge signs it, the creditors will receive notification. If no creditors object to the settlement, the local Trustee will cut the checks.
4. The Trustee will submit paperwork to the judge to finally close the case.

She told me that all of this should take about 4 or 5 months and I conveniently "forgot" to ask if she was interested my 2008 refund (if I get one). She is VERY thorough and I feel that she would have mentioned it (or mailed me a notice months ago) if she wanted it, but from the conversation with her it seemed like she's already prepared the paperwork for a settlement with the assets she's already collected and has already set things in motion to go with that amount. Due to the taxes I owe, she might not hold out any hope that I'll get a refund anyway.

What do you guys think?

Does this seem right like the case to anyone else? I'd hate to hold off on filing my taxes for 4 or 5 months and there's still no guarantee the IRS won't keep it anyway.

[StartingOver08]

I would file right away. If the Trustee wants your refund, they will ask for it. However, having said that, I would certainly put the refund away for access in case they do want it until your file is actually officially closed.

[JRScott]

Given the time of year of your discharge I doubt they'd want the return, basically they'd have to prorate it anyway, since only the funds collected prior to filing are part of the bankruptcy estate, meaning only that collected before April 10th. Meaning in most cases its not worth the Trustees effort. That collected after the filing date is not part of the bankruptcy estate.

[southernbelle]

Thank you guys. I think I'll file my taxes and if I get a refund, I'll put it somewhere safe until the case officially closes, but this might all be for nothing because the IRS could keep it to offset my tax liability (which is okay also). I just didn't want to do anything to jeapordize my BK case since my Trustee is extremely thorough and I need everything to go smoothly until my case finally closes.