tax refund question, please help!

[mprevatt]

I filed on 2/18 and I have my 341 meeting scheduled for 3/26. I am pro se
and I have nothing,,no car, no house, I even had to get my bk application fee waived. It was granted today for which I was very happy.

Anyway, I didn't file my tax return yet. I am anticipating a refund of about 3600, maybe more. I am a single Mom of 4 and don't have a lot of income.
Will the Trustee take my refund? I didn't list it on my exempt page. Should I try to do that or should I just wait and see what the Trustee will say at the meeting?
Also, can I claim financial hardship if the Trustee wants my refund? I really do need the money for food and to pay utility bills and stuff. I am applying for WIC benefits this week and I am already getting assistance with my utility bills from the State.

I heard that it's a lot to do with what state you are in, is that true? I am in New Jersey. Sorry this is so long, thanks for any advice.

[lawforever]

[mprevatt]

whew,,,thanks so much

now my only question is should I go back to the Court House and amend Schedule C or should i just wait until my meeting and tell the Trustee that my schedule C is wrong

thanks so much!

[OhioFiler]

Be proactive. The worst thing I can think of telling a trustee is that your schedules are wrong.

[mprevatt]

I can't seem to find info at the court's website about amending your exemptions.
I can amend schedules about creditors but not my exemptions. Tomorrow I will ask the clerk, hope they won't throw me out

But if you guys know how to go about doing this , please let me know!!

[jingle47]

a related question.
So I had my 341 today...Absolutely nothing eventful.
I am pretty sure my case is an easy open and shut no asset case.
So does it matter how much my tax return is going to be?
I have not calculated what it will be yet, but I imagine it could be quite large.
If the trustee has not asked about it, is there any reason I should wait to file, or is there a reason to tell the trustee or my attorney?
The last thing I want is to have an easy bk and then raise red flags cause I am getting a bunch of money right around discharge.

[mprevatt]

a related question.
So I had my 341 today...Absolutely nothing eventful.
I am pretty sure my case is an easy open and shut no asset case.
So does it matter how much my tax return is going to be?
I have not calculated what it will be yet, but I imagine it could be quite large.
If the trustee has not asked about it, is there any reason I should wait to file, or is there a reason to tell the trustee or my attorney?
The last thing I want is to have an easy bk and then raise red flags cause I am getting a bunch of money right around discharge.

I hope you are in New Jersey too.
Did you turn in last year's return? And you didn't claim this year's refund on the exemption schedules then, I guess,,,,I am contemplating what should I do, should I try to amend and file my tax return or should i just wait until after my 341 meeting,,,

[chriselle]

Schedule C, line 17 or 18 where you can exempt your tax refund

[mprevatt]

thanks for all your help. I printed schedule C but I have no line 17 or 18 just description of property , then specify law providing each exemption,
I also am supposed to mark one box which one entitles me for the expemption,,,is it
11 USC 522 (b)2 or 11 USC 522 (b) 3
anybody has any idea which one applies to tax refund exemption?
I tried to google it but not getting clear answers,,,

[mtbc]

They mean Schedule B, where you list your assets. I'd expect you'd also need to list the refund on Schedule C to exempt it, though. 522(b)(2) is when you take Federal exemptions (only permitted in some states), 522(b)(3) for state exemptions, you can't mix and match. (That "Federal" and "state" isn't about taxes, it's about which law you are using to exempt assets.)

[mprevatt]

I understand that I have to pick under which law am I entitled to for an exemption....
Someone posted that NJ allows both federal and state exemptions

I just have to list anticipated tax refund on Schedule B where it asks if you are expecting a tax refund.
I left it alone because I figured I didn't file my tax return yet so it doesn't exist!
So, 522 (b) 2 is the Federal ? I will mark that, and I hope that is correct. I am going down to the Clerk's office but they won't help with that. I will try and resubmit these two schedules

[mtbc]

Yes, it's the Federal, but which is best for you depends on what exemptions you're actually trying to claim. It's sounding a lot like getting and reading the Nolo book or something might be a very good investment for you.

[mprevatt]

I am only trying to exempt my anticipated tax refund, nothing else

I read a good parts of the Nolo book but I guess I just didn't get that part. I always operated on the assumption that I have zero, nothing,,no house,no car,,no Armani suits or Coach bags so I thought I will be off the hook easy

[mtbc]

I'd guess you can use the Federal 11 USC 522(d)(5) wildcard to exempt it then, boosted by unused homestead exemption.

I can't advise you about what to do -- many people, at least in terms of broad categories, do list possessions on Schedule C -- if you don't have much, 522(d)(3) and 522(d)(5) will tend to easily include everything so they just list clothing, furniture, TV, whatever and move on. I can imagine a trustee might be quite curious about such a bare Schedule C, but I suppose if you've listed only a bunch of trivially cheap stuff on Schedule B then they may indeed easily see that none of it would be cost-effective for them to sell on behalf of creditors, so I guess you're thinking they'll abandon it all anyway. I hope it goes well!

[mprevatt]

thanks for the advice. I went down to the Clerk's office and amended my schedule B and C. I didn't include anything on my Schedule B because I really have nothing of value,,but I did read on some other posts that the Trustee asked somebody "whose clothes are you wearing" ,,so now I included clothes and my ugly furniture,,lol they can have that

it was so easy to amend, it didn't even cost anything and the Clerk said I didn't have to redo my summary of schedules either,,,so now I am just crossing my fingers that everything will go ok on 3/26
thanks again for all your advice!