What qualifies you for bankruptcy comes down to four things: your income, how much you owe, how long it has been since any previous bankruptcy discharge, and whether you have completed a credit counseling course from an approved agency within the 180 days before filing. The specific income and debt rules depend on which chapter you file under. Chapter 7 uses an income screen called the means test. Chapter 13 requires steady income and caps the total debt you can carry.
Chapter 7 Income Eligibility
Chapter 7 erases most unsecured debts through liquidation, and the gate to it is the means test. If your household income is at or below your state’s median for a family of your size, you pass automatically and no further calculation is needed.
If your income exceeds the state median, you move to the second part of the test. You subtract allowed monthly expenses using national and local IRS standards for categories like housing, food, transportation, and healthcare. You can also deduct actual payments on secured debts such as mortgages and car loans, plus priority obligations like back taxes and child support. Whatever disposable income remains determines whether a “presumption of abuse” arises, meaning you appear to have enough left over to repay creditors through a Chapter 13 plan instead.
The U.S. Trustee Program publishes updated state median income figures for use on the official means test forms (Forms 122A-1 and 122C-1). For households larger than four people, add $11,100 to the four-person median for each additional family member. The figures update periodically, so check the numbers that apply on your filing date.
One detail catches filers off guard. “Current monthly income” for the means test is not your last paycheck. It is the average of your gross income over the full six calendar months before you file. A one-time bonus, a severance payment, or a seasonal spike in that window can push the figure higher than your regular earnings. When you file matters, because the filing date decides which six months count.
Chapter 13 Income and Debt Limits
Chapter 13 works differently. Rather than liquidating assets, you propose a court-supervised repayment plan that runs three to five years. Households below the state median generally get a three-year plan unless the court approves a longer one; households above the median commit to five years.
You need a regular source of income steady enough to fund the monthly plan payments. It does not have to be a traditional paycheck. Pension income, Social Security benefits, rental income, and consistent freelance earnings can all qualify, as long as the amounts are predictable enough to support a budget.
Chapter 13 also imposes debt ceilings. For cases filed between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2028, your noncontingent, liquidated unsecured debt must be under $526,700, and your secured debt must be under $1,580,125. Above those limits, Chapter 13 is not available and Chapter 11 reorganization becomes the alternative. The thresholds adjust every three years for inflation. Corporations and partnerships cannot use Chapter 13 at all.
Credit Counseling Before You File
Every individual filer must complete a credit counseling session with an agency approved by the U.S. Trustee Program. The session has to happen within 180 days before you file your petition, and the agency issues a certificate proving you completed it. Without that certificate, the court will dismiss your case. The briefing reviews your budget and spending and whether alternatives like a debt management plan could resolve your situation without bankruptcy.
A narrow set of exceptions exists. Courts can waive the requirement for people who cannot participate because of mental incapacity, a physical disability that prevents attending in person, by phone, or online, or active military service in a combat zone. Outside those situations, the requirement applies to everyone regardless of income or debt type.
Waiting Periods After a Prior Bankruptcy
Federal law limits how often you can receive a discharge and how soon you can refile.
After a Chapter 7 discharge, you must wait eight years from the filing date of that earlier case before filing another Chapter 7. To switch to Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7 discharge, the waiting period is four years. After a previous Chapter 13 discharge, you must wait two years before receiving another Chapter 13 discharge.
A separate rule blocks refiling entirely for 180 days if your previous case was dismissed under certain circumstances: the court dismissed it because you disobeyed court orders or failed to appear, or you voluntarily dismissed your own case after a creditor asked the court to lift the automatic stay. The bar prevents repeated filings from being used as a stalling tactic.
Location matters too. Your case belongs in the federal judicial district where you have lived or kept your principal assets for the greater part of the 180 days before filing. You cannot shop for a friendlier court in another district.
Whether Bankruptcy Will Actually Help
Qualifying to file and getting every debt erased are two different questions. Some debts survive a successful discharge, and if most of what you owe falls into these categories, filing may not give you the relief you are hoping for.
- Domestic support obligations: Child support and alimony are never dischargeable under any chapter.
- Most student loans: Federal and private student loans survive bankruptcy unless you prove “undue hardship” in a separate court proceeding, a difficult standard to meet.
- Certain tax debts: Recent income taxes, taxes where no return was filed, and taxes involving fraud generally cannot be discharged.
- Debts from fraud or dishonesty: Money, property, or services obtained through false representations stay owed.
- Criminal fines and restitution: Court-ordered penalties from criminal cases are not dischargeable.
- DUI-related injury debts: Debts for death or personal injury caused by driving under the influence survive bankruptcy.
If the bulk of your debt sits on this list, the filing fees, credit impact, and time commitment may outweigh the relief you actually receive.
If You Cannot Afford to File
The filing fee itself is not an eligibility barrier. Chapter 7 costs $338 ($245 filing fee, $78 administrative fee, $15 trustee surcharge). Chapter 13 costs $313 ($235 filing fee, $78 administrative fee). If you cannot pay upfront, you can ask the court to let you pay in installments. In Chapter 7 cases, the court can waive the filing fee entirely when your household income is below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines and you cannot pay even in installments. Fee waivers are not available in Chapter 13, but the filing fee can usually be folded into your repayment plan.
The two mandatory financial courses run roughly $10 to $50 each, and approved agencies offer fee waivers for people who cannot afford them.