Estimate your monthly Chapter 13 plan payment before you file. This calculator uses your disposable income, secured debt obligations, and total debt load to produce a realistic payment range - the same 3 factors a bankruptcy trustee focuses on.
Income
Monthly allowed expenses
Debt
A bankruptcy attorney confirms your actual disposable income calculation, structures the plan to protect your assets, and negotiates with the trustee. Free initial consultation in most areas.
Your monthly plan payment is the higher of 2 amounts: your disposable income, or the amount needed to pay all required debts in full over the plan term.
Disposable income is gross income minus allowable expenses under IRS standards. Whatever is left over belongs to your unsecured creditors.
Required debts that must be paid in full include mortgage arrears, car loan arrears, priority taxes, and back child support. These obligations set a payment floor regardless of disposable income.
Not sure whether Chapter 7 or 13 is the better fit? The bankruptcy chapter selector walks through your full situation before you commit to a chapter.
Trustee fees (typically 5% to 10% of plan payments) are added on top of the base payment, so your actual payment to the trustee is slightly higher than the debt-service figure alone.
Filers whose income is below their state median can choose a 3-year plan. Above-median income filers are required to use a 5-year plan.
A shorter plan means higher monthly payments but less total interest. A longer plan lowers each payment but extends your commitment and increases trustee fees.
Before deciding on plan length, it's worth using the Chapter 7 means test calculator to confirm whether you're above or below the median - that result determines which plan length is available to you.
Chapter 13 stops a foreclosure immediately and lets you catch up mortgage arrears over the life of the plan. Chapter 7 can't do this - it only delays foreclosure briefly.
Chapter 13 can also "cram down" certain secured debts - reducing the loan balance to the current value of the collateral. This works on cars purchased more than 910 days before filing and on some investment properties.
It can discharge debts that survive Chapter 7, including certain tax obligations older than 3 years and, in some cases, property settlement obligations from divorce. Check the debt discharge estimator to see which of your debts each chapter handles differently.
Chapter 13 also protects non-exempt assets. If you have equity in property above your state's exemption limit, Chapter 7 may require selling it. Chapter 13 lets you keep it as long as unsecured creditors receive at least what they'd get in a Chapter 7 liquidation.
"Priority" debts must be paid 100 cents on the dollar through your Chapter 13 plan. These include most income taxes from the past 3 years, back child support and alimony, and wages owed to employees.
Mortgage arrears must also be paid in full to cure the default and keep your home. Car loan arrears (if you're not cramming down) must be paid in full too.
Unsecured creditors - credit cards, medical bills, personal loans - receive whatever disposable income remains after all priority and secured obligations are funded. In many plans that's a small percentage of the total unsecured balance, and the rest is discharged at plan completion.