It is mid-March, so all employed people should have gotten W-2(s) by now and self-employed or contractors should have gotten their 1099(s). Have you filed yet? You have one more month.

Tax refunds are treated like any other asset in bankruptcy. A $3,000 refund (or refund you will get once your file your taxes) is treated the same as having $3,000 in the bank. If you don’t have a lot of other assets, tax refunds can be exempted.

If you don’t have enough exemptions to cover the tax refund, the most common thing to do is to wait until you get the refunds and spend the money. Make sure to talk to your attorney before spending the money.