Find out if your income qualifies you for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This free calculator compares your 6-month average income to the official U.S. Trustee median figures for your state and household size - the same comparison used on Form 122A-1.
Your state and household
Income over the past 6 complete calendar months
Enter monthly averages. Do not include Social Security retirement or SSDI - those are excluded by statute.
A licensed bankruptcy attorney reviews your full situation, runs the complete means test with all deductions, and tells you exactly which chapter makes sense. Free initial consultation in most areas.
The means test has 2 steps. Step 1 compares your average monthly income over the past 6 complete calendar months - annualized by multiplying by 12 - against the U.S. Trustee median for your state and household size.
If you're at or below the median, you pass automatically. Roughly 67% of Chapter 7 filers pass at Step 1, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Not sure which chapter fits your situation? The bankruptcy chapter selector compares Chapter 7, 13, and 11 side by side before you run this test.
If your income exceeds the state median, you move to Step 2 - Form 122A-2. This subtracts IRS-allowed expense standards for food, clothing, housing, and transportation, plus your actual monthly secured debt payments.
Many above-median filers still pass Chapter 7 after deductions. Only if disposable income stays above a statutory threshold does the law presume abuse.
The means test uses "current monthly income" under 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A). It includes gross wages, tips, bonuses, net self-employment income, rental income, interest and dividends, alimony received, and pension distributions.
Social Security retirement benefits and SSDI are explicitly excluded by statute. If Social Security is your primary income, you may be fully exempt from the means test.
The look-back period is the 6 complete calendar months before your filing date - not your current month. A recent job loss only reduces your means test income if it occurred within that window.
If wage garnishment is already hitting your paycheck, the wage garnishment calculator shows exactly how much you're losing each pay period.
Failing Step 1 doesn't disqualify you from Chapter 7. Step 2 applies IRS National Standards and Local Standards for living expenses, plus your actual monthly secured debt payments.
Many above-median filers still clear Chapter 7 once those deductions come off. If disposable income after Step 2 falls below $109/month, you still qualify.
If you're above the threshold, the court may presume abuse and either dismiss your case or convert it to Chapter 13. Chapter 13 isn't a dead end - it stops foreclosure and garnishment immediately and lets you keep property you'd otherwise lose.
If student debt is a big part of your picture, the student loan discharge screener checks whether an adversary proceeding might make those loans dischargeable regardless of chapter.
In most cases, yes. A married debtor filing alone must include their spouse's income on the means test even if the spouse isn't filing.
The exception: you've been legally separated or living apart for the entire 6-month look-back period.
A bankruptcy attorney can identify "marital adjustment" expenses - amounts from the non-filing spouse's income spent on expenses not shared by the household - which can reduce the income that counts toward the test.
Chapter 7 discharges most unsecured consumer debts: credit card balances, medical bills, personal loans, utility arrears, and older income tax obligations that meet specific age requirements.
It doesn't discharge student loans (absent a rare hardship ruling), child support, alimony, recent income taxes, debts from fraud, or most criminal restitution. The debt discharge estimator breaks down which of your specific debts are likely dischargeable.
Secured debts like mortgages and car loans aren't discharged in the usual sense - the lien survives. You must either reaffirm (keep paying) or surrender the asset.
The full Chapter 7 process takes 4 to 6 months from filing to discharge. Filing fees are $338, and attorney fees typically run $1,000 to $2,500 for a straightforward consumer case.