In a Chapter 7, the process is quick. If you filed now, you would be discharged March and you could file your taxes in Apr and keep your refund.
When you file BK 7 you are turning over management of your financial affairs to the U.S. trustee. It is up to him if you will get to keep any of your tax refunds. As the previous poster stated, once you are discharged they will not bother you for tax refunds, but you are still on the hook for another 6 months in case you receive any kind of inheritance, or other large sum of money
And of course you could always file for an extension of time to file taxes until August if you need to. It's as simple as filling out a short form. I think you can actually do it by phone now. As long as you are getting a refund there is no payment required, and it is automatic.
I think your estimate on date of discharge is overly optimistic. We filed in January in 2002 and was not discharged until the end of June.
A good Bk Lawyer, and the trustee may very likely ask. It wouldn't pay to lie about this. I was told by an IRS agent that you do not need an extension if you are expecting a refund. They don't like people to know this, but as long as you will be getting money back, they don't need it.
That's true. You legally have three years to file a tax return, and if you are due a refund they really don't take any action. EXCEPT--after a year or so they will write you a letter and ask for the return, if you don't file it they will impose withholding on any interest and dividend payments you get. It's still tax withheld, and you eventually get it back.
When I filed my BK 7 in Aug 90, it was discharged Oct 90....quick. May be the state you are in has something to do with it.
