Taxes after "Case is Closed"

[tod183]

I filed for Chapter 7 in August, and was discharged in November. My attorney's office has told me that when I do my taxes to claim as few exemptions as possible, etc in order to make my tax refund lower, ie less desirable to the Trustee. Then I am to take my refund by their office to see if the Trustee wants it.

However, I checked Pacer today and saw this: "Final Decree. Case is Closed. Trustee is Discharged".

I have not done my taxes yet, and wondered if that means that the Trustee has already decided he doesn't want any of my refund no matter how much it is. If that is the case, I can do my taxes the normal way, trying to get as much back as possible! What do you all think?

[chicagoannie]

You cannot change exemptions while doing your taxes - I think your attorney meant for your to change your witholdings at your job so you get more on your paycheck and less on your refund.

Did the trustee request your tax refund? That seems SO weird to me that your attorney would tell you to stop by and ask the trustee if he wants it.

[tod183]

I'm probably just using incorrect terminology. They were referring to the extra credits and deductions. Sorry for the confusion.

As far as the stopping by to see if the Trustee is going to take it, I thought that was the norm. Everything I've read says they have the right to the amount you would have received prior to filing. I think my attorney's office just wants me to go through them, and they will contact the Trustee.

[daylate]

If the case is closed and there never was a mention of your refund being sent to the trustee seems to me that you are free and clear. I'd suggest asking your attorney but in this case I guess I'd ask him for a clarification as to why you should do this. makes no sense to me.

[HHM]

If you "filed" in August, that is a little early for the trustees to be asking for tax refunds (not unheard of, but rare).

If the case is closed, just file your taxes as you normally would, not need to do anything. The trustee would have kept your case open if we interested in the refund.

Also, let's assume that the trustee was interested, not claiming certain deductions wouldn't really help you. The trustee still gets the refund. If you later go back and amend, to get the difference, that is fraud and could jeopardize your BK Discharge. Also, the trustees usually request to see the underlying tax return to see what you claimed.