A tax refund is just another asset which must be protected in order to keep in a Chapter 7 case. While the Earned Income Credit portion is protected, the rest (if any) must be exempted. The exemptions available are limited.
The personal property exemption is only $1,000. You may exhaust this exemption on the contents of your home or other property. So there may be none left for your tax refund.
The wildcard exemption is $4,000. However, this exemption is available only when the homestead exemption is not used. So the wildcard exemption is not an option when the homestead exemption is used to protect your residence.
A tax refund also may be protected as Tenancy by the Entirety (TBE) property. First, it must be a joint tax refund. Second, it must be deposited into a bank account held as TBE. Third, there must be NO joint unsecured debt. One joint credit card (or other joint unsecured debt) makes this protection unavailable.
An unprotected tax refund can be resolved by filing the bankruptcy AFTER receiving and spending the tax refund. The refund should be used only on necessities such as food, utilities, house and vehicle payments. And you should keep receipts showing how the refund was spent.
In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case tax refunds have to be turned over to the Trustee for disbursement to creditors. The refunds are viewed as disposable income. And one must commit all of his or her disposable income to unsecured creditors in Chapter 13 cases.