Question on tax return and exemption interpretation

[ecsclb1724]

So we're planning on filing Wednesday or so with approx $20 or so in our bank account. We live in WA State which has decent exemptions with a $2,000 wildcard exemption which reads like this "$2,000 of any personal property (no more than $200 in cash, bank deposits, bonds, stocks or securities").

So where does a tax return filter into that? Is it considered like cash? So I'm looking at only being able to exempt $200 of my return? I'm probably expecting about $1,200 back or so.

[BobMango]

In Washington you have the option of using the Federal exemptions, which are probably better if you don't need the $125K homestead exemption.

With the Federal exemptions you have a wildcard of $1,075 plus up to an additional $10,125 of unused homestead exemption which can be applied to any asset, even cash. In fact, that's exactly what I am doing to protect my tax return. Those Federal exemption amounts can be doubled for a joint filing, so you actually can exempt up to $22,400 of any asset or combination of assets if you're married and both filing.

[ecsclb1724]

thanks so much!! I hadn't thought of that!! We own our home but only have about 2K in equity in or so.

Since I am married I can double all exemptions under federal exemptions, so that means I have $20,250 that can be applied towards ANYTHING... including cash?? I'm filing pro se and starting rough draft paperwork and don't want to mess it up! I guess I'm getting caught up on the word "property" and its relationship to money.

[BobMango]

Sounds like the Federal exemptions would work for you. The Federal exemption allowed me to exempt a motorcycle (10K), $5K in cash (kids accident settlement), and cover unsecured amounts on vehicles and other property. I would have lost almost all of that under the Washington state exemptions.

I was planning on filing pro se but had investment property and a defunct business that needed to be dealt with so I ended up retaining an attorney. When I was preparing to file I created a spreadsheet with individual sheets for my assets, income, expenses, and secured and unsecured debt. Once I had all of my assets listed and valued, I started applying the various exemptions to the assets until I had everything covered. Well almost, I do have some assets that the trustee needs to decide whether to seize or abandon.

If you have any debt that you plan to reaffirm, you'll need to make sure that your DMI from Schedules I and J supports making the payment since you'll need the judge to sign off on it.