Submission of tax return information to the Trustee:

Pursuant to 11 U.S.C.§ 521(e), the Trustee requires that the debtor provide to the Trustee either the last filed tax return or tax return transcript not later than seven days before the date first set for the first meeting of creditors.

11 U.S.C. §§ 1308(a) and 1325(a)(9) require that the debtor have filed all federal, state, and local tax returns for the last four years ending on the date of the filing of the petition.  In order to satisfy this requirement, this office requires the provision of either tax transcripts or file-stamped tax returns to verify that the returns have been filed.  Tax transcripts can be requested from the Internal Revenue Service on Form 4506-T.  In addition, an electronic receipt with a DSN number, submitted together with a copy of the attached electronically filed return will generally be acceptable as proof of filing, unless there are other circumstances indicating that further proof may be necessary. 

Although the Bankruptcy Code only directs receipt of the last filed return seven days prior to the date first set for the section 341(a) meeting, the Trustee requests that the tax data for all four years be submitted prior to the time the Section 341(a) meeting is actually held.  In virtually every instance, this assists in expediting confirmation of the case.  Even if all transcripts are not available at the time of the section 341(a) meeting, please submit copies of all the returns so that the trustee has all of the available tax data.  Confirmation of the tax return filing in the form of transcripts should follow as soon as practicable.

To submit this information to the Trustee, any one of the following procedures may be used.  Following these procedures will assist all parties in protecting any privacy interests of the debtors. 

1.  E-mail:  E-mail the tax return information to taxreturns@ch13ark.com;

2.  United States Mail:  Mail the tax return information to P.O. Box 5006; North Little Rock, AR 72119 with "Attn: 521" legibly and noticeably printed on the outside of the envelope; or

3.  Fax:  Fax the tax return information to 501-374-4368.

Regardless of the method used, the transmittal should include the debtor's name, case number, and the date of the §341(a) meeting.  Do not send copies of actual tax returns.