If you live in Florida and your household earns less than the state median for your size, you qualify for Chapter 7 under the Florida bankruptcy means test without any further income analysis. For a single earner, the current threshold is $68,085 per year. Earning more doesn’t disqualify you, but it sends you to a second calculation that subtracts approved expenses from your income to see whether you have enough left over each month to repay creditors through Chapter 13 instead. That two-stage structure is the whole test.
Florida Median Income Thresholds
The first stage compares your gross income over the past six months to median figures the U.S. Census Bureau calculates for Florida households. As of the most recent update from the U.S. Trustee Program, the annual thresholds are:
- One earner: $68,085
- Two-person household: $84,305
- Three-person household: $95,039
- Four-person household: $111,819
- Each additional person: add $11,100
These figures change periodically, so confirm the numbers in effect on the day you file.1U.S. Trustee Program. Census Bureau Median Family Income By Family Size If your six-month average gross income falls below the threshold for your household size, you pass on this step alone and can file Chapter 7 without further income scrutiny.2United States Courts. Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics
What Counts as Income
The test uses a figure called “current monthly income,” which isn’t what you earned last month. It’s the average of all income you received during the six full calendar months before your filing date, reported on Form 122A-1.3United States Courts. Official Form 122A-1 – Chapter 7 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income The form captures wages and salary, but also net income from a business, rental income, and regular contributions to your household expenses from others, including child support received.
The six-month averaging window matters more than most filers expect. If you had a high-earning stretch earlier in the year but recently lost your job or took a pay cut, the average can still push you above the median. Timing your filing date so the window reflects your actual financial reality is one of the most consequential decisions in the case.
Social Security benefits get special treatment. You must list them on Schedule I, but federal law excludes them from the current monthly income calculation used in the means test. The exclusion also covers Social Security disability payments. For retirees and disabled filers, this often makes the difference between passing and failing.
Allowable Deductions When Your Income Is Above the Median
Filers whose income exceeds the Florida median move to Form 122A-2, which subtracts approved monthly expenses from income to determine what’s left over.4United States Courts. Official Form 122A-2 – Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation The deductions don’t simply track what you actually spend. The form uses a combination of IRS-published spending standards and certain actual expenses.
IRS National and Local Standards
The IRS publishes two types of expense standards the means test borrows. National Standards cover food, clothing, personal care, and similar costs at the same dollar amount everywhere, based on household size. Local Standards cover housing, utilities, and transportation and vary by county, so a filer in Miami-Dade gets a different housing allowance than one in Alachua County.5Internal Revenue Service. Collection Financial Standards You claim the standard amounts regardless of what you actually spend, which helps filers in high-cost Florida metros where housing eats a bigger share of income.
Actual Expenses and Secured Debt Payments
On top of the standard allowances, the form lets you deduct several categories of actual expenses: health insurance premiums, disability insurance, taxes withheld from your paycheck, court-ordered obligations like alimony or child support, and education expenses required for a disabled child. Each must be documented with billing statements or payroll records.
Monthly payments on secured debts, such as a mortgage or car loan, also factor in. If your actual mortgage payment exceeds the IRS local housing standard, you use the higher number. The form calculates these payments by dividing the total amount you’re contractually obligated to pay over the next 60 months by 60. One wrinkle catches filers who are close to the line: if your car loan has only 18 months left, the 60-month averaging makes your deduction smaller than your actual payment, because 42 of those months will be zero.
The Three Presumption of Abuse Zones
Once deductions are subtracted, the form produces your monthly disposable income. That number places you in one of three zones:
- No presumption of abuse: your disposable income over 60 months totals less than approximately $7,025. You pass.
- Automatic presumption of abuse: your 60-month disposable income exceeds approximately $11,725. You fail unless you can rebut the presumption.
- Gray zone: your 60-month disposable income falls between those amounts. Abuse is presumed only if you could pay at least 25 percent of your total unsecured debts over that period.
The dollar thresholds are adjusted periodically, so confirm the amounts in effect on your filing date through the U.S. Trustee Program’s means testing page.6United States Department of Justice. Means Testing Even a few dollars of monthly income can shift you from one zone to another, which is why accurate expense documentation matters so much at this stage.
Rebutting the Presumption
Triggering the presumption of abuse doesn’t end the case. You can rebut it by showing “special circumstances” that justify additional expenses or income adjustments for which you have no reasonable alternative. The Bankruptcy Code specifically names two examples: a serious medical condition and a call or order to active military duty. Courts have also recognized sudden job loss, unexpected rent increases, and extraordinary medical bills for dependents.
The bar is real. You need a detailed written statement describing the circumstances and documentation backing up every dollar of the claimed adjustment. Pay stubs showing a recent loss of overtime, medical bills from an emergency, or deployment orders all qualify. Vague assertions about financial hardship won’t get it done. If the court finds your special circumstances credible and well-documented, the presumption is rebutted and your Chapter 7 case proceeds.
What Happens If You Fail
If the presumption stands and you can’t rebut it, the U.S. Trustee or a creditor can move to dismiss your Chapter 7 case. The court can also convert the case to Chapter 13 instead of dismissing it outright, which moves you into a three-to-five-year repayment plan. Conversion is usually the practical outcome because the court and creditors would rather see some repayment than none.
A dismissal carries consequences beyond losing the case. The automatic stay that stopped creditors from calling, garnishing wages, and foreclosing lifts immediately. All debts snap back into full force. A dismissed case can also complicate a later refiling, since the court will look closely at why the first attempt failed. If the court finds bad faith or misrepresentation, you could face sanctions.
Failing the means test doesn’t mean you have no options. Chapter 13 is a legitimate debt relief path, and for many Florida filers who own a home, it’s actually the better choice because it lets you catch up on missed mortgage payments while keeping the property. The means test is really just sorting you into the right chapter.
Before and After You File
Before any Florida resident can file for bankruptcy under any chapter, federal law requires completing a credit counseling course from an approved agency within 180 days before the filing date.2United States Courts. Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics The course usually takes about an hour and can be done online or by phone. The certificate must be filed with your petition. Skipping the step or letting the certificate expire before you file will get your case dismissed before the court reviews your means test results. A second course, in financial management, is required after filing but before your debts are discharged.
Florida has three federal bankruptcy court districts, and you file in the one covering the county where you live.7United States Bankruptcy Court. Court Locations The Southern District covers the Miami-Dade through Palm Beach corridor. The Middle District spans Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. The Northern District serves the Panhandle and surrounding areas including Tallahassee, Pensacola, and Gainesville. After you file, the U.S. Trustee for your district reviews your forms and can raise a presumption of abuse at or after the 341 meeting of creditors, a brief hearing where the trustee and any creditors ask you questions under oath about your finances.8United States Department of Justice. Section 341 Meeting of Creditors
Filing Costs
The court filing fee for Chapter 7 is $338, which includes the base filing fee, an administrative fee, and a trustee surcharge. Chapter 13 costs $313. Fees are due when you file your petition. If you can’t afford the Chapter 7 fee, you may apply to pay in installments over 120 days, or request a full waiver if your household income falls below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and you cannot pay even in installments. Fee waivers are not available for Chapter 13 cases.
Attorney fees in Florida typically range from $1,000 to $3,000 depending on the complexity of the case and the district. Filing without an attorney is allowed but risky, particularly for filers who need to complete the full means test. Errors on Form 122A-2 are common even for experienced filers, and a miscalculated deduction can mean the difference between qualifying for Chapter 7 and being pushed into Chapter 13.