A tax refund is considered income/asset belonging to the BK petitioner and is therefore subject to seizure for the repayment of debt. Whether or not the refund can be included in the BK depends upon the time frame of the BK filing vs. the tax refund date and amount, the status of the refund (joint, subject to child support action, etc.) and so forth.
Whether you are entitled to your tax refund will depend on what type of Chapter of bankruptcy you are filing and whether the bankruptcy exemptions can be used to protect the tax refund. If you are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy then you can generally keep the refund if the available state bankruptcy exemptions provide protection for it. If you are in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy you are typically required to turn over the tax refunds during the life of the Chapter 13 case.
60days
You can't "exempt" anything.
If you are in a C. 7 or within 6 months after the close of your case, any tax refund is property of the bankruptcy estate and must be turned over to the trustee. You may not get a loan against an asset (tax refund) without the court's permission.
The trustee can ask you to turn it over to him if he knows that you are getting a refund back.
If you are due a refund for taxes filed for the 2005 tax year, that refund can be siezed to offset the student loan - and every refund after that too.
If the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is still active you probably will need to turn over this to the Chapter 13 Trustee. At the least you need to ask the Trustee about the refund amount and if it must be submitted or not.
The trustee may take the refund and distribute it to creditors because a tax refund is not considered an exempted asset under bankruptcy laws.
You have to file your income taxes yearly regardless of whether you have filed for bankruptcy or not. Yes, IRS may garnish your refunds to pay toward your debts. If your bankruptcy is over however, you don't have to worry about that.
I assume you mean "how do you keep your tax REFUND when you file a chapter 7 bankruptcy?" A tax refund is an asset of the estate and, generally, the trustee will take it. There are two ways to avoid this, first way would be to delay filing your bankruptcy petition until after you have gotten your refund and spent the money. The second way is to declare part or all of the refund to be part of your exemption, however exemptions are small and most people have other assets (like computers, wedding rings, paychecks, etc.) they want to protect with their exemptions.
Yes. For 3 years. They do not take it all. You will get to keep your EIC and certain other credits that may be given that year. This is per my bankruptcy lawyer.
Tax Refunds and ReturnsThere is no specific protection for tax refunds in bankruptcy. As such, the "wild card" exemption* is used to try to protect these funds as much as possible. Further, any portion of your tax refund that pertains to the "earned income credit" is also fully protect and yours to keep.In a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you may lose all or part of your tax refund due for the tax year in which you filed your bankruptcy. For example, if you file for bankruptcy in 2009, your Trustee may be entitled to all or part of your 2009 refund, which is due from the tax return that you will be file in 2010.If you file for bankruptcy today, you must provide copies of your tax returns for the years 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and you may have to provide a copy of your 2009 tax return when it is filed, to the Trustee. In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you must also provide copies of your tax returns to your Trustee during the term of your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. You will generally lose tax refunds during the entire term of your Chapter 13, not including any amount that can be protected by the "wild card".-------* The wildcard exemption is $1,000 per person. It allows you to retain up to $1,000 of assets (cash, accounts, property …) that is not otherwise protected when you file for bankruptcy.