How to Fill Out Schedule C in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

To fill out Schedule C in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you take each asset you listed on Schedule A/B, decide whether to use federal or state exemptions, and for every item you want to protect enter four things: a description of the property, your interest’s current value, the amount you’re claiming as exempt, and the exact statute that authorizes the exemption. Official Form 106C is the vehicle for all of this, and it is the single most consequential form for determining what you walk away with.¹

Property you successfully exempt stays with you. Property you fail to list, even when a valid exemption exists for it, can be treated as unprotected and sold by the trustee. The law puts the burden on you to affirmatively claim each exemption.²

Pick Your Exemption System Before You Write Anything

The Bankruptcy Code offers a federal exemption list, but it also lets each state opt out and require its residents to use state exemptions instead. Roughly 30 states have opted out. In the remaining states, you can choose whichever system protects more of your property. You cannot mix them on the same Schedule C: pick one and apply it to every asset.²

Which state’s exemptions apply depends on where you’ve lived. The Code looks at your domicile for the 730 days (two years) immediately before filing. If you’ve lived in one state that entire time, that state’s laws govern. If you moved during those two years, the court looks back further and uses the state where you lived for the majority of the 180 days before the 730-day window. When this formula leaves you ineligible for any state’s exemptions, federal law provides a safety net and lets you use the federal list regardless of what your state normally requires.²

If a married couple files jointly, each spouse claims a full set of exemptions, effectively doubling the available protection. Both spouses must use the same system, and if they can’t agree, the Code defaults to the federal list (assuming the state permits it).²

If you own a home with significant equity in a state with a generous homestead exemption, state law may protect far more than the federal figure. If you rent and own a reliable car, the federal wildcard may save more. Run the numbers both ways before you commit.

The Four Entries for Each Asset

Pull each asset from Schedule A/B onto Schedule C and fill in:¹

A brief description of the property, matching how you described it on Schedule A/B.
The current value of your interest in the property. This is equity, not gross value.
The amount of the exemption you’re claiming. You can enter a specific dollar figure or check the box for “100% of fair market value, up to any applicable statutory limit.”
The specific law that authorizes the exemption, cited by section and subsection.

Citing the Statute

Each claimed exemption has to reference the exact provision that supports it. If you’re using the federal system, cite the specific paragraph of 11 U.S.C. § 522(d): a car cites § 522(d)(2), household goods cite § 522(d)(3), and so on. If you’re using state exemptions, cite the corresponding state code section. A vague reference, or a citation to the wrong subsection, is one of the most common reasons trustees object. The citation has to match both the system you chose and the type of property involved.

Dollar Amount or the 100% Box

The 100% checkbox is often simpler for property that is clearly worth less than the exemption cap. If your couch is worth $50 and the per-item limit is $800, checking the 100% box covers it without pinning down an exact value. One warning: if you check the 100% box under a law that has a dollar cap and the property later turns out to be worth more than that cap, your exemption is limited to the statutory amount, not the full value.¹

How to Value What You’re Claiming

The number that matters is your equity, not the gross market value. If you own a car worth $15,000 but owe $12,000 on the loan, your equity is $3,000, which fits comfortably inside the federal motor vehicle exemption.

For used household goods, clothing, and furniture, the standard is what the items would actually sell for in their current condition. Most used furniture and clothing has minimal resale value. A living room set that cost $2,000 five years ago might realistically bring $200 at a garage sale, and trustees know it.

Real estate and vehicles need more care. For a home, a recent appraisal, a comparative market analysis from a real estate agent, or recent comparable sales are all reasonable ways to establish value. For vehicles, standard valuation guides like NADA or Kelley Blue Book are widely accepted. Overstating value may make you think property is nonexempt when it isn’t. Understating it invites an objection. Keep your Schedule C values consistent with your Schedule A/B values; inconsistent numbers between the two forms draw scrutiny at the meeting of creditors.

Federal Exemption Amounts for 2026

Federal exemption limits adjust every three years for inflation. The current figures took effect April 1, 2025, and run through March 31, 2028.² The most-used categories:

Homestead: up to $31,575 in equity in your primary residence, including a mobile home or co-op.
Motor vehicle: up to $5,025 in equity in one vehicle.
Household goods: up to $800 per individual item and $16,850 total across all household furnishings, appliances, clothing, books, and similar personal property.
Jewelry: up to $2,125 in jewelry used personally by you or a dependent.
Tools of the trade: up to $3,175 in tools, books, or equipment you use to earn a living.
Wildcard: $1,675 in any property of your choice, plus up to $15,800 of any unused portion of the homestead exemption. Renters who don’t use the homestead exemption can protect up to $17,475 of any property through the wildcard alone.
Health aids: prescribed health aids for you or a dependent, fully exempt with no dollar cap.
Benefits: Social Security, veterans’ benefits, disability payments, and unemployment compensation are fully exempt.

State amounts vary widely. Some states offer an unlimited homestead exemption; others cap it well below the federal figure. Compare the lists for every asset class that matters to you before deciding.

Two Caps That Override a Generous State Homestead

If you’re using state exemptions and you acquired your home within 1,215 days (roughly three years and four months) before filing, federal law caps your protected equity at $214,000, no matter how generous the state’s homestead exemption is. The rule exists to stop people from moving to a state with an unlimited homestead, sinking cash into a mansion, and then filing bankruptcy.²

A separate rule targets debtors who convert nonexempt property into exempt property with intent to defraud creditors. If you sold investments or other nonexempt assets and poured the proceeds into your home within 10 years of filing specifically to shield that money, the court can reduce your homestead exemption by the converted amount.²

Mistakes That Cost People Property

The most damaging mistake is leaving an asset off Schedule C entirely. Courts have held that exempt property can lose its protected status when the debtor didn’t disclose it, and hiding assets can lead to revocation of your discharge or criminal penalties for concealment of bankruptcy estate property.² Other common errors are less catastrophic but still expensive:

Citing the wrong statute. Listing your car under the household goods exemption, or citing a federal section when you elected state exemptions, gives the trustee an easy objection.
Forgetting to account for liens. Your exemption protects equity. If you claim $5,025 on a car worth $20,000 with no loan against it, you’ve left $14,975 in nonexempt equity exposed.
Mixing systems. You cannot take the federal wildcard and a state homestead exemption on the same form.
Undervaluing property on Schedule A/B while claiming full value on Schedule C. Inconsistent numbers between the forms get noticed at the 341 hearing.

Fixing Schedule C After You File

The Bankruptcy Rules let you amend Schedule C at any time before your case is closed. You might realize you forgot a bank account, undervalued your car, or cited the wrong statute. Filing an amendment fixes the problem, but it restarts the clock: the trustee and creditors get a new 30-day window to object to any amended or newly added exemption claim.³⁴ You must notify the trustee and any affected party when you amend. Early amendments are routine; last-minute changes draw more scrutiny.

If no party in interest objects within 30 days after the meeting of creditors ends, the property you listed as exempt is exempt, and the trustee cannot reach it later.⁴ Every dollar you leave unclaimed on Schedule C is a dollar the trustee can take, so accurate values, correct citations, and complete disclosure are the whole game.

1
United States Courts. Schedule C: The Property You Claim as Exempt
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions
3
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1009 – Amending a Voluntary Petition, List, Schedule, or Statement
4
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 4003 – Exemptions