An earlier bankruptcy court decision was overruled when an appeals court decided ( Hardy, 8th Cir .) that creditors can’t seize tax refunds attributable to the additional child tax credit . The debtor claimed that the refundable portion of the child tax credit was exempt from her bankruptcy estate under Missouri law as a public assistance benefit. The appeals court agreed that her refund was safe from creditors because Congress intended for the refundable part of the credit to benefit low-income families.

Stephen Osborne, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
sosborne@mo-cpa.com