When filing for bankruptcy you must provide proof of all sources of income for the past three years. Providing copies of your last two years’ tax returns and recent pay stubs easily proves this.
Your attorney will request you submit copies of all pay stubs from any source of employment, including secondary sources of income such as another job, benefits, pensions or your own business for the past six months.
If you do not receive paystubs you will have to provide any copies you may have of all payment advices or other evidence of payment received from any employer. A benefits statement from any pension or Social Security income you receive will also do if that is a source of income for you.
If you are self-employed you should consult with your accountant or look to your accounting software. If you do not have either of these you will need to generate a profit and loss statement for the past six months.
Your tax returns are required to be turned over to the trustee assigned to your case. If you do not have copies of your recent tax returns, you can easily access them on the IRS’ website. Click here to be directed to where you can easily set up your own IRS account and access your personal tax information for free.
Rest assured your tax returns will not be filed with the Court; however, all pay stubs or proof of income received in the 60 days prior to the filing of your case are filed with the Court. Our office will redact any confidential information that may be available on your pay stubs, such as your social security number or direct deposit account information.
If you do not file the payment advices the bankruptcy code provides for an automatic dismissal of your case. A debtor, who filed in the Northern District of New York, had his case dismissed over one missed paystub, even though his income was consistently the same.
Don’t complicate your financial fresh start on such a small thing. Start collecting paystubs now and dig out your most recent tax returns, even if you are just considering filing for bankruptcy.
