Income Tax Refund
Hello,
I recently had my bankruptcy discharged in December 2006. I was notified by my trustee to send them all of my T4 slips etc. for them to file my second income tax return. Being self-employed (bookkeeper), I went ahead and calculated my own income tax return to see if I had monies owing. It turns out I am entitled to a refund. I have not ‘filed’ the return as of yet, but was questioning if I can file my own return and receive the refund? Being a single parent and in need of having some dentistry done, the refund is very enticing! What LEGAL obligations to I have in sending my information to my trustee and filing my own return?
Thanking you in advance,
The tax refund for the year prior to one in which you file bankruptcy is considered an asset and will be paid directly to your trustee if you file bankruptcy.
So, if you have filed bankruptcy since Jan 1, 2006 and you expect a refund on your 2005 taxes, that refund will be paid to your trustee (for the benefit of your creditors).
You may have to contact your trustee to confirm this, but you probably signed any right to this refund over to your trustee. The only other way you can confirm whether or not this has been done is to review the documents you signed when you filed for bankruptcy. If you have assigned the right to this refund away then it will make no difference who prepares the return or who receives the money, it must legally be paid in to the bankruptcy estate for you to be eligible for discharge.