Are the National Standards the same everywhere in the country?

Yes for the national categories. The published guidance states that National Standards for food, clothing and other items apply nationwide, and that National Standards have also been established for minimum out-of-pocket health care allowances. What varies by location are the Local Standards for housing, utilities and transportation. Your bankruptcy court's website commonly links the standards that apply to cases filed in your district.

Do I have to prove what I actually spend on food and clothing?

Not for the national allowance itself — the published guidance allows the total National Standards amount for your family size without questioning the amount actually spent. Local rules can still require documentation supporting expenses claimed on the means-test form ahead of the meeting of creditors, as E.D. Mo. L.R. 1007-1 does. Check the local rules of the court where the case is filed.

Does a bigger allowance mean a Chapter 7 case will go through?

No. The allowance is one input to a calculation, not a decision. 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2) produces a presumption of abuse from that calculation, and § 707(b)(2)(B) lets a debtor rebut the presumption by demonstrating special circumstances. Whether a Chapter 7 case proceeds also turns on other provisions of § 707 and on what parties in interest do.

Where do the current numbers come from?

The U.S. Trustee Program publishes a means-testing page for each period, identifying the census median-income data and the IRS expense figures for use in completing Forms 122A-1, 122A-2, 122C-1 and 122C-2. Many bankruptcy courts link to it directly. The figures that apply are those in effect for the period in which the case is filed.

Glossary

IRS National Standards

The IRS National Standards are nationwide allowance amounts — for food, clothing, personal care, housekeeping supplies, miscellaneous items, and out-of-pocket health care — that a bankruptcy filer uses as expense deductions on the means-test forms instead of what they actually spend. The IRS publishes them, and the U.S. Trustee Program republishes them for use on the bankruptcy forms.

Key points

The National Standards are published allowance amounts, not statutory text, and they change from one publication period to the next.
11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) directs that a debtor's monthly expenses are the amounts specified under the National Standards and Local Standards, as in effect on the date of the order for relief.
Food, clothing and other items, and out-of-pocket health care, are the national categories; housing, utilities and transportation are Local Standards that vary by location.
Filers are allowed the standard amount for their family size without questioning the amount actually spent.
The same standards feed the Chapter 7 means test and the Chapter 13 disposable income calculation.

If you have opened Form 122A-2 or Form 122C-2, you have met a line that asks you to enter an IRS number rather than your own. That number comes from the IRS National Standards. Here is what they are, and what they do and do not decide.

What does "IRS National Standards" actually mean?

The National Standards are allowance amounts the IRS publishes as part of its Collection Financial Standards, which the U.S. Trustee Program republishes for use in completing bankruptcy forms (USTP Means Testing — Cases Filed On or After July 15, 2026). Two categories are national. The first covers food, clothing and other items. The second is a minimum allowance for out-of-pocket health care. The published guidance describes allowable living expenses as those meeting a necessary expense test — expenses necessary to provide for a taxpayer's and their family's health and welfare, or production of income. Taxpayers are allowed the total National Standards amount for their family size without questioning the amount actually spent, and the health care allowance is given on a per-person basis on the same terms. These are published figures that are updated periodically. They are not language written into the Bankruptcy Code.

Why does it matter in a bankruptcy case?

It matters because the Bankruptcy Code points the means test directly at them. Under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I), a debtor's monthly expenses are the applicable monthly expense amounts specified under the National Standards and Local Standards, plus actual monthly expenses for the categories the IRS issues as Other Necessary Expenses, as in effect on the date of the order for relief. Those deductions feed the calculation § 707(b)(2) uses to determine whether a presumption of abuse arises in a Chapter 7 case. The same standards carry into Chapter 13: Form 122C-2 instructs filers to use the IRS National and Local Standards when calculating disposable income (Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 13 Form Packet). A larger allowance generally means a larger deduction from current monthly income, which is why these figures draw so much attention.

How does it work in practice?

In practice the standards enter through a line on the form, not through your bank statements. Form 122A-2 tells a Chapter 7 filer to fill in the number of people who could be claimed as exemptions on the federal income tax return, plus any additional dependents supported — a number the form warns may differ from the number of people in the household. The National Standards figure for food, clothing and other items is entered for that number of people. The out-of-pocket health care allowance is entered per person and split between people under 65 and people 65 or older, because the older allowance is higher (U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Alaska, The Forms Individuals and Married Couples Need to File Bankruptcy). The instruction is to deduct the standard amounts regardless of actual expense, with a separate line where actual health care costs run higher.

Where each means-test expense figure comes from
Expense category	How the amount is set	Source
Food, clothing and other items	One nationwide amount by family size	IRS National Standards
Out-of-pocket health care	Nationwide amount per person, higher at 65 and older	IRS National Standards
Housing and utilities; transportation	Maximum allowances that vary by location	IRS Local Standards
Other Necessary Expenses	Actual monthly expense in the IRS-issued categories	11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I)

What do people get wrong about it?

The most common mistake is treating the National Standards as a budget. They are not what you spend; they are what the form lets you deduct. A filer with a large grocery bill does not receive a larger national allowance, and a frugal filer is not penalised for spending less. The second mistake is confusing them with the Local Standards: housing, utilities and transportation are maximum allowances that vary by location, and the published transportation figures differ by region and metropolitan area. The third is reading the means-test result as the end of the story — § 707(b)(2) produces a presumption, and § 707(b)(2)(B) allows a debtor to rebut it by demonstrating special circumstances. The fourth is using stale figures. The standards change between publication periods, and local rules commonly direct filers to the version the court links for their filing period (E.D. Mo. L.R. 1007-1).

Frequently asked questions

Are the National Standards the same everywhere in the country?: Yes for the national categories. The published guidance states that National Standards for food, clothing and other items apply nationwide, and that National Standards have also been established for minimum out-of-pocket health care allowances. What varies by location are the Local Standards for housing, utilities and transportation. Your bankruptcy court's website commonly links the standards that apply to cases filed in your district.
Do I have to prove what I actually spend on food and clothing?: Not for the national allowance itself — the published guidance allows the total National Standards amount for your family size without questioning the amount actually spent. Local rules can still require documentation supporting expenses claimed on the means-test form ahead of the meeting of creditors, as E.D. Mo. L.R. 1007-1 does. Check the local rules of the court where the case is filed.
Does a bigger allowance mean a Chapter 7 case will go through?: No. The allowance is one input to a calculation, not a decision. 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2) produces a presumption of abuse from that calculation, and § 707(b)(2)(B) lets a debtor rebut the presumption by demonstrating special circumstances. Whether a Chapter 7 case proceeds also turns on other provisions of § 707 and on what parties in interest do.
Where do the current numbers come from?: The U.S. Trustee Program publishes a means-testing page for each period, identifying the census median-income data and the IRS expense figures for use in completing Forms 122A-1, 122A-2, 122C-1 and 122C-2. Many bankruptcy courts link to it directly. The figures that apply are those in effect for the period in which the case is filed.

Sources

11 U.S.C. § 707 — Dismissal of a case or conversion to a case under chapter 11 or 13 · official source
USTP Means Testing — Cases Filed On or After July 15, 2026
USTP National Expense Standards (2026-07-15 period)
USTP Transportation Standards (2026-07-15 period)
U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Alaska, The Forms Individuals and Married Couples Need to File Bankruptcy
Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 13 Form Packet
E.D. Mo. L.R. 1007-1

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified July 28, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.