Tax refund and student loan

[willowhare]

Good morning. I am planning a Ch. 7 pro se filing in a few months. One of my accounts now in default is a Perkins loan from my alma mater. Now, I know that it is possible that the school (through the federal government) could garnish any tax refund to pay down the debt. However, what if I file bkr before I file my taxes?

My refunds are usually pretty low--the highest I've ever gotten is less than $500. The debt to the school is less than $400. Right now, my thought is to work out my taxes first and see if I get a refund and if that refund would fit in whatever room might be left in my wildcard exemption. Then, file for bkr with the refund listed in the exemptions. Then, send off my tax returns snail mail the next day.

My thought would be that the school could not try to garnish the refund because all collection action would have to stop the day of the filing. I could then keep my paltry refund to help pay for my copying, gas, legal and other fees and save me the hassle of filing an amendment to my exemptions.

Would this work, or would it all be considered fraud?

[woeisme]

I think that might work. Our student loans are also in default right now while we are in a CH 13 plan. We owe big ($50,000) and yet still have been getting our tax returns while in BK because the student loan company knows about the stay and so hasn't tried to go after our tax returns. So I don't think this would be considered fraud. Now once the CH 7 is discharged, they could go after your next year's tax returns of course (we plan to start paying on ours as soon as CH 13 is over), but I think if you plan your filing for next year and the tax return is part of the exemptions and you get it back before the stay is over with, this could work out the way you planned.

[willowhare]

Thanks for the advice

Tax filing I'm talking about is for the 2008 taxes. Currently, my plan is to restart paying the school (along with my other federal student loan) as soon as possible after discharge (Hopefully summer of 2009). I know I cannot escape those debts in bkr, but I would perfer to talk to them and set up terms that are as good as possible for me, rather than just have them swoop in.

Of course, all of this hinges on me actually getting a refund...oh the woe of the childess renter!