Payment Of Bankruptcy Fees And Tax Returns

As a general observation I would want to see the fee agreement you entered into with your trustee before commenting on any specific matter so the following comments are general in nature only. All tax refunds relating to the year in which a person filed bankruptcy (or for any prior years) are considered to be an asset of the bankruptcy estate and remain in the bankruptcy regardless of any fee agreement. So the Trustee cannot return any tax refunds for those years regardless of what your fee agreement said. GST that has gone into a bankruptcy estate will be refunded if the amount of funds in the estate from other sources (the tax refund in this case) exceeds a certain benchmark amount (roughly $1,600 depending on the type of filing and the court fees if relevant). When the trustee does his final statement of receipts and disbursements any excess GST would be returned to you at that time. If that is not clear, please do not hesitate to call me if you require any further information or wish to discuss the above. Ian Schofield MNP Regina 306-790-7904