How much of Tax Refund is "Income"?

[mysterie91]

My husband and I have been preparing for filing a chapter 7 with the knowledge that it is really close and we may be forced into a 13 based on the means test. I have been running our numbers through the schedules, forms, etc. (apparently just to drive myself crazy).

I see on the Schedule I it asks for other income but on the schedule I received from the attorney it is asking for "pro-rated tax refund". Can anyone help me out here - I **think** I remember reading that a portion of the tax returns could be considered monthly income because if you were to change your withholding it would change the monthly income figures - I get that, but not all of our tax returns are based on that, correct? Some is return of property tax, child credits, etc.

Is there anyway to easily figure how much of the tax refund would be monthly income? The reason I ask is that we are so close to the next threshold for a family of 3 on the national standards that just a few dollars pushes us into that new category and with that we pass the means test with negative amount remaining per month but a few dollars less we are in the lower category and we fail and have an extra $200 to be paid into a 13. Does that make sense?

Any help is appreciated.

[325Falcon]

Did you check to see if your mediean income went up yesturday?

[mysterie91]

Did you check to see if your mediean income went up yesturday?

I did and we are still well above the median so it did not really help us. But thanks for thinking of that.

[lrprn]

I see on the Schedule I it asks for other income but on the schedule I received from the attorney it is asking for "pro-rated tax refund". Can anyone help me out here -

I'm thinking in this situation that a "pro-rated tax refund" means your attorney wants you to estimate what your tax refund (if any) is going to be for this year when you receive it next year.

The reason is that your trustee may take a portion of your return next year. The portion taken depends on when you file. For example, if you file in November of this year, then your trustee can take 2 months' worth of your tax return next year because two months worth of your income (Nov and Dec) were earned while you were in bankruptcy and not yet discharged.

Whether your trustee will be interested in your tax return or not varies widely between districts, local courts, and even individual trustees in the same court. Ask your lawyer what to expect in your case.