The bankruptcy means test Form 122 is the federal court form that decides whether your income is low enough to erase your debts in Chapter 7 or, if not, how much you must repay through a Chapter 13 plan. You complete it by averaging the last six full calendar months of income, comparing that figure to your state’s median for your household size, and if you’re above the median, subtracting a set of IRS-standard expenses to see what’s left for creditors. Every individual bankruptcy filer must submit a version of Form 122 with the petition or within 14 days after, and both the math and the deadline are strictly enforced.
Which Form 122 You Actually File
There is no single Form 122. The U.S. Courts publish several versions, and the one you use depends on your chapter and your income level.
- Chapter 7 filers start with Official Form 122A-1, which calculates current monthly income and compares it to the state median for your household size. If you’re below the median, you pass and stop there. If you’re above, you also complete Official Form 122A-2, the full means test calculation that decides whether a presumption of abuse blocks your Chapter 7 case.1United States Courts. Official Form 122A-1 Chapter 7 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income2United States Department of Justice. Means Testing
- Chapter 13 filers start with Official Form 122C-1, which sets whether your repayment plan runs three years or five. Above-median Chapter 13 filers also complete Official Form 122C-2 to calculate disposable income available to creditors.2United States Department of Justice. Means Testing
- Disabled veterans whose debts were mostly incurred during active duty, and reservists or National Guard members called to active duty after September 11, 2001, for at least 90 days, can file Official Form 122A-1Supp and skip the full means test. The exemption lasts through active duty plus 540 days after.3United States Courts. Official Form 122A-1Supp Statement of Exemption from Presumption of Abuse Under Section 707(b)(2)
Every version is free to download from the U.S. Courts means test forms page.4United States Courts. Means Test Forms
What to Gather Before You Start
The form itself asks for the average of your gross income over the six full calendar months before you file, so pull every pay stub, business income statement, rental record, pension distribution, and any other money that came in during that window. You will also need your most recent federal tax return, which the court requires you to provide to the trustee at least seven days before the meeting of creditors. Redact Social Security numbers, account numbers, birth years, and the names of any minor children first.5United States Bankruptcy Court District of Columbia. Important Information About Tax Returns
You also need the right tables. The Census Bureau median income figures and IRS expense allowances change on their own schedules, and the U.S. Trustee Program posts the versions that apply to each filing date on its means testing page.2United States Department of Justice. Means Testing Using the wrong period’s numbers is one of the most common and avoidable errors on the form.
Separately, federal law requires you to complete a credit counseling session with an approved nonprofit agency within 180 days before you file.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The session can be done online, by phone, or in person, typically costs $35 to $50, and may be fee-waived if you can’t afford it. The certificate goes to the court with your petition; without it, your case won’t be accepted.
How to Calculate Current Monthly Income
“Current monthly income” is a term of art. It does not mean what you earned last month. It means the average of all gross income you received during the six full calendar months before your filing date.
Add up every dollar from every source over that window: wages, salary, commissions, overtime, bonuses, rental income, interest, dividends, pension and retirement distributions, and any regular contributions anyone else makes to your household expenses. Taxable or not, it goes in. A few categories are excluded by statute: Social Security benefits, payments to victims of war crimes or terrorism, and certain military disability payments.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 101 – Definitions
Divide the six-month total by six. That number is your current monthly income, and it goes on Line 11 of Form 122A-1 or the corresponding line of Form 122C-1. The form then compares that figure to the median family income for your state and household size, which you pull from the U.S. Trustee Program’s current median income table. For cases filed between November 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, the applicable medians are already posted, and a new set applies to cases filed on or after April 1, 2026.8United States Department of Justice. November 1, 2025 Median Income Table
Self-Employed Filers
If you work for yourself, do not enter gross business revenue. Subtract ordinary and necessary operating expenses (rent, utilities, supplies, employee wages, cost of goods sold) from gross receipts to get net business income, and feed that net figure into the current monthly income calculation. Keep profit-and-loss statements and tax returns ready, because the trustee can challenge any deduction that looks inflated or personal.
Married but Filing Alone
If you’re married and filing by yourself, you still report your spouse’s income in a separate column on Form 122A-1. That can push your household figure above the median even when your own earnings are modest. The marital adjustment on Line 3 of Form 122A-2 lets you subtract the portion of your spouse’s income that genuinely isn’t used for household expenses, such as payments on your spouse’s separate tax debt, child support from a prior relationship, or credit card bills your spouse alone owes.9United States Courts. Official Form 122A-2 Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation Each deduction needs documentation showing the money goes somewhere other than shared costs.
How to Calculate Your Allowed Expenses
If you’re over the median and have to complete Form 122A-2 or 122C-2, the expense section decides how much of your income is actually available for creditors. You do not get to claim what you really spend. Most categories use preset IRS National and Local Standards, pulled from the U.S. Trustee Program site for your filing date. The IRS itself notes that the bankruptcy-use versions of these standards are published through the Trustee Program.10Internal Revenue Service. Collection Financial Standards
- National Standards cover food, clothing, personal care, and similar household items by family size, and you get the full standard amount regardless of actual spending. Out-of-pocket health care also has a per-person national standard.11United States Department of Justice. Means Testing – IRS Data and General Information for Completing Bankruptcy Forms
- Local Standards cover housing and utilities (based on your county and household size) and transportation (based on county and number of vehicles). For these, you generally get the lesser of the standard or what you actually spend.
- Other allowed deductions include mandatory payroll deductions, health insurance premiums, disability and term life insurance, court-ordered payments such as child support, and contributions to the care of elderly or disabled household members.
Two deductions deserve a closer look because they get challenged often. Private or public school tuition for dependents under 18 can be deducted, but no more than $189.58 per child per month, and you need documentation showing the actual expense is reasonable and not already covered by another expense line. That cap adjusts every three years.9United States Courts. Official Form 122A-2 Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation Charitable and religious contributions can be deducted up to 15 percent of your gross annual income, as long as the recipient qualifies under 26 U.S.C. § 170 or is tax-exempt under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3).12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 548 – Fraudulent Transfers and Obligations An established giving pattern matters here. Starting or sharply increasing donations right before filing will draw a trustee challenge.
Whether You Pass the Chapter 7 Test
The Chapter 7 test exists to decide whether letting you discharge your debts without repayment would be an abuse of the system. After subtracting allowed deductions from your current monthly income, you multiply the remainder by 60, representing five years of hypothetical payments. That 60-month figure is then compared to two thresholds. You fail the test when it equals or exceeds the lesser of these:
- 25 percent of your total nonpriority unsecured debts, or $10,275, whichever is greater.
- $17,150.
These dollar amounts took effect on April 1, 2025, and apply to all cases filed on or after that date.13Federal Register. Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Applicable to Bankruptcy Cases Practically, if your 60-month disposable total is under $10,275, you pass outright. If it tops $17,150, the presumption of abuse arises and you almost certainly cannot proceed in Chapter 7. Between the two, the outcome depends on the size of your unsecured debt.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
When the presumption applies, the burden shifts to you to prove special circumstances, such as a serious medical condition or active military deployment, that justify your expenses. Without a successful rebuttal, the court will dismiss your Chapter 7 case or convert it to Chapter 13.
What the Test Decides in Chapter 13
In Chapter 13, the means test doesn’t decide whether you qualify. Virtually all individual wage earners can file Chapter 13. It decides two other things: how long your repayment plan has to run and the minimum you must pay each month.
If your current monthly income times 12 is below the state median for your household size, your plan can run as short as three years. If it equals or exceeds the median, the plan must run at least five. No plan can last longer than five years regardless of income, and the only way to end sooner than the required period is to pay all allowed unsecured claims in full first.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 – Confirmation of Plan
Form 122C-2 then runs the same IRS-standard deduction process to find your monthly disposable income. That number becomes the floor for what your plan must pay unsecured creditors each month. If your proposed plan pays less than the form says you can afford, the trustee or creditors can object.
When and How to File
File the completed means test form with the clerk of the bankruptcy court in the district where you live. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007 requires it to be filed with your petition or within 14 days after.16Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1007 The harder deadline sits further out: if you haven’t filed all required documents within 45 days of your petition date, your case is automatically dismissed on day 46. You can request one extension of up to 45 more days, but only if you ask within the original window.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 521 – Debtors Duties
Attorneys file electronically through CM/ECF. Some courts allow self-represented filers to use CM/ECF as well, but most require pro se petitioners to submit paper copies at the clerk’s window or by mail.18United States Courts. Electronic Filing (CM/ECF) Call your local bankruptcy court’s clerk before filing day to confirm which method is open to you.
Why Accuracy Matters
Verify every income figure against your bank statements and pay stubs before you sign. Even honest mistakes can trigger a motion to dismiss from the U.S. Trustee. Intentionally providing false information on bankruptcy forms is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 152, punishable by up to five years in prison.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 152 – Concealment of Assets; False Oaths and Claims The form is short on space and long on consequences, so the time to catch a mistake is before it goes to the court, not after the trustee flags it.