Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Means Test

The purpose of the bankruptcy means test is to help determine if you're eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Learn what the means test is and how it works.

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When debt becomes completely unmanageable and nothing in the near term offers hope for a solution, people often mull over filing bankruptcy, the nuclear option for personal finance.

Chapter 7, the section of the U.S. bankruptcy code that wipes away much of an applicant’s debt, is the most extreme solution (and often best solution) for those with serious problems, but the courts don’t allow just anyone to get a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge. Yes, those would be the two most distinguished pros and cons of chapter 7 bankruptcy.

To weed out those who might be able to partially repay what they owe with a plan that restructures debt, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court uses a formula called a “means test.”

The means test compares a debtor’s income for the previous six months to what he or she owes on debts. If a person has enough money coming in to gradually pay down debts, the bankruptcy judge is unlikely to allow a Chapter 7 discharge. The higher an applicant’s income relative to debt, the less likely a Chapter 7 discharge will be approved.

Instead, your bankruptcy could be converted from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13, the section of the bankruptcy code that allows debtors to keep certain assets but requires a portion of what is owed to be repaid in a three-to-five year period.

The means test has two steps. The first considers whether the filer’s income is below the Chapter 7 income limit, which is the median in the state where the petition is filed. If income is less than the median for the prior six months and there is no reason to assume it will soon increase, the test is passed, and the Chapter 7 filing can proceed.

The vast majority of applicants pass the test on step one. Those who don’t, move to step two.

Step two requires a petitioner to document how much of his or her money was spent on essentials like rent or a mortgage, food, clothes and medical bills. These are deemed allowable expenses since they are essential to living.

What’s not on the allowable list is discretionary income – money spent on non-essentials that could be diverted to debt payments.

If you’re among those who must complete step two, be careful. The courts carefully study your accounting, looking for mistakes and miscategorized entries. It will then compare your expenses to government data to determine whether what you’re spending is excessive. For example, if your rent payment is higher than the IRS standard rent payment in your region, you may not be able to deduct your entire rent payment on the means test.

If you pass part two of the means test and your disposable income is low enough, you can proceed with a Chapter 7 filing even if your income exceeds your state’s median.

How does this work for a potential bankruptcy petitioner? Here is a hypothetical example:

Julie rents an apartment for $1,300 a month and spends $600 a month for groceries, $300 a month for clothes and an average of $200 a month in medical-related expenses. She earns $48,000 a year as a school teacher, is single and has no children, but has accumulated $90,000 in consumer debt and is unable to meet her required payments.

In order to determine her eligibility for a Chapter 7 filing, she needs to first consider her income. She lives in a state with a median income of $53,000, so she passes the Chapter 7 means test. But if she had lived in the state adjacent to hers, where the median single-person household income is $45,000, she would have to present an accounting of her expenses which the court would use to determine if her essential expenses are high enough to qualify for the Chapter 7 filing.

One more thing to keep in mind: You might not be eligible to file for personal bankruptcy (or consumer bankruptcy) if your debt is largely the result of a business problem. A business bankruptcy is necessary if most of your debt is related to a business, including a partnership, a limited liability company or a corporation. Some of a personal filer’s debt can be business related, but most of it must be consumer debt.

Consider Jerome, who is a self-employed electrician. He owns a truck through a limited liability company he created and owes $25,000 on the vehicle. He earns about $56,000 a year and owns his home, which has a $250,000 mortgage and a balance of $30,000 on a home equity line of credit. He has both business and consumer debt and is unable to meet his minimum payments.

To determine whether he is eligible for a consumer Chapter 7 filing, he must separate his business expenses from his personal debt. He would need to add up all the business debts, including what he owes on the truck and the tools that he uses as part of his work. If most of his debt is connected to the business, he would file a business bankruptcy. If not, he would begin a means test to learn whether he is eligible to file for personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The good news for business filers is that you are exempt from the means test. That means that if a majority of your debt is business debt, you do not need to show that you are under median income and you do not need to establish that you do not have disposable income. This can be very helpful for higher earners with business debt.

Keep in mind that bankruptcy is usually reserved for those with crippling or insurmountable financial problems. Before proceeding with a filing, consider other options. You can contact your creditors to propose a debt settlement or you could visit a nonprofit debt management or debt counseling company.

If you decide to pursue bankruptcy, contact an attorney who specializes in bankruptcies for more information.

In 2020, 590,170 nonbusiness Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies were filed, with Chapter 7 cases dominating. Far more people dealt with financial problems by negotiating with their creditors.

About The Author

Bill Fay

Bill “No Pay” Fay has lived a meager financial existence his entire life. He started writing/bragging about it in 2012, helping birth Debt.org into existence as the site’s original “Frugal Man.” Prior to that, he spent more than 30 years covering the high finance world of college and professional sports for major publications, including the Associated Press, New York Times and Sports Illustrated. His interest in sports has waned some, but he is as passionate as ever about not reaching for his wallet.

Article Reviewed By

Article Reviewed By

Patrick J Best - Bankruptcy Attorney

Patrick J. Best

Bankruptcy Attorney
Certified Financial Planner

Sources:

  1. NA (2018, October 15) Census Bureau, IRS Data and Administrative Expenses Multipliers. Retrieved from: https://www.justice.gov/ust/means-testing
  2. NA, ND. The Bankruptcy Means Test. Retrieved from: https://www.thebankruptcysite.org/means-test
  3. Pyles, S. (2016, July 18) Why the Bankruptcy Means Test Matters. Retrieved from: https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Saving-Money/2016/0718/Why-the-bankruptcy-means-test-matters