Income tax refund - count on means test?

[TXskyblue]

I had my formal means test yesterday. He said I am about $70 over per month to qualify for a chapter 7.

The plan is to wait 3 months and my income will decrease (I worked overtime that I am no longer working). Also, I am getting a term life insurance policy that will cost about $70 a month. Between the two, this should have me in chapter 7 territory in 3 months.

Question: I will be getting an income tax refund for 2012. My best guess is that it will be about $2700. It is my understanding that if I get a tax refund before filing, it must be counted on the means test as income. $2700/6 month = $450 per month of inflated income! That would destroy my chapter 7 chances and force me into a 13.

Since I plan to file in February or perhaps March, wouldn't it make sense to file my income taxes in April? It wouldn't count on the means test then, right?

[TXskyblue]

Bumping this to see if anyone knows.

[TheBajan]

Maybe others with more knowledge will chime in but it seems I've read that some trustees will wait until you file the return and count it and others won't. Of course, I'm in a chapter 13 and I know that a chapter seven is different so hopefully not. We filed in Feb of this year and our trustee waited for us to file our return (we did in March before our 341). He wanted to see our return at the 341 meeting.

[tedbell]

I asked my BK attorney this specific question and she stated unequivocally that tax refunds do not count as income on the means test (I'm in Alaska)