Eligibility & means testing
Chapter 13 Debt Limits: How the § 109(e) Caps Work
Chapter 13 is open only to an individual with regular income whose noncontingent, liquidated debts stay under statutory caps, and 11 U.S.C. § 109(e) sets separate caps for unsecured debt and secured debt. Those dollar caps are adjusted under § 104, so the controlling figure is the one in force on the filing date. People above the caps commonly look at Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 instead.
Key points
- The Chapter 13 debt ceiling comes from 11 U.S.C. § 109(e), which also requires an individual debtor with regular income.
- There are two separate caps — one for unsecured debt and one for secured debt — not a single combined number.
- Only noncontingent, liquidated debts are counted, and whether a particular claim fits those words is a legal question courts decide case by case.
- The dollar amounts are adjusted under § 104, so the figure that matters is the one in force on the day the case is filed.
- Being over the caps does not end the conversation: official court guidance points individuals with debts too large for Chapter 13 toward Chapter 11.
If you have looked at Chapter 13 and someone told you your debts might be "too big," they were pointing at a real rule with a specific home in the Bankruptcy Code. It is one of the few places where the amount you owe can close a door rather than open one. Here is how that rule is built, what moves it, and what people do when they are on the wrong side of it.
How does the Chapter 13 debt limit actually work?
Chapter 13 has a gate the other consumer chapter does not: a ceiling on how much you can owe. Under 11 U.S.C. § 109(e), Chapter 13 is available only to an individual with regular income whose noncontingent, liquidated debts stay under the statutory caps, and the statute sets separate caps for unsecured debt and for secured debt. Official court guidance describes the same three-part test — an individual, with regular income, whose debts are within the limits.
Two things follow. The test looks at what is owed when the case is filed, not what someone expects to owe later. And the dollar caps are not permanent figures; they are adjusted under § 104, which is why the number that controls is the one in force on your filing date. That is also why this page does not print an amount that could be stale by the time you read it — an out-of-date cap is worse than no cap at all.
What changes the answer for one person versus another?
Three variables move this more than anything else.
Classification. The caps are separate, so a mortgage sits on the secured side of the count while credit cards, medical bills and most personal loans sit on the unsecured side. Two households owing similar totals can land very differently depending on how that total splits.
The words "noncontingent" and "liquidated." They are doing real work in 11 U.S.C. § 109(e). Whether a particular claim fits them is a legal question courts resolve on the facts of a case, and it is not something an information site can settle for you.
Timing. Congress temporarily raised the Chapter 13 limits in 2022 through the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act, and court guidance from that period records that the increase was scheduled to end on June 21, 2024, with the earlier caps returning. Add the periodic adjustments under § 104 and the pattern is clear: the caps move.
What does federal law actually say?
The eligibility rules for every chapter live in 11 U.S.C. § 109. Subsection (a) starts broadly: a person may be a debtor under the Code only if they reside, are domiciled, have a place of business, or have property in the United States. Subsection (e) is the one that matters here, adding the individual-with-regular-income requirement and the debt caps that official court guidance and district Chapter 13 packets both cite.
Self-employment does not automatically put Chapter 13 out of reach. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1304, a debtor who is self-employed and incurs trade credit in producing income is "engaged in business," and the Code contemplates such a debtor using Chapter 13 while continuing to operate.
What you owe also shapes the plan itself. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1322, a plan must provide for full payment in deferred cash payments of claims entitled to priority under 11 U.S.C. § 507, unless a particular claim holder agrees to different treatment.
Do state or local rules change the debt limit?
No. The caps come from the federal Bankruptcy Code and read the same in every district. State law matters enormously elsewhere in a bankruptcy case — exemptions decide what property you keep — but exemption law does not change what the § 109(e) count is.
What does vary locally is procedure. Districts publish their own Chapter 13 packets, checklists and procedures manuals; some, like the Eastern District of California, require every Chapter 13 debtor to use a mandatory local form plan and impose their own deadlines for getting documents to the trustee. Local rules also govern how modified plans are served and noticed.
So the question "am I under the cap?" is federal, and the question "what does my court require, and by when?" is local. If you do not know which district and division covers your county, start there before anything else.
- Federal and uniform: the § 109(e) caps and the categories they count.
- Local and variable: form plans, checklists, trustee document deadlines, service requirements.
- State law: exemptions and property rules, which sit outside the debt-limit question entirely.
What does this look like in practice if you are over the caps?
Being over the Chapter 13 caps narrows the options; it does not remove them. Official court education materials say so directly: the District of Arizona's chapter-selection pamphlet notes that some individuals may need to file a Chapter 11 precisely because their debts are too large for Chapter 13, and adds that an attorney is almost always essential in those cases.
Court guidance also compares Chapter 13 with Subchapter V of Chapter 11 for people running a business, and flags a practical difference: the spouse of a Chapter 13 debtor may join a Chapter 13 case even without regular income, while Subchapter V has no equivalent provision for a non-eligible spouse. The same guidance observes that a Chapter 13 case is generally simpler and cheaper than the alternatives.
The realistic next step is a conversation with a bankruptcy lawyer about which chapter fits, not a decision made from a number alone.
| Path | What court guidance says | Who it comes up for |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 13 | Available to an individual with regular income whose noncontingent, liquidated debts are within the § 109(e) caps | People who want a repayment plan and are under the caps |
| Chapter 7 | Liquidation; the court can dismiss or, with the debtor's consent, convert a consumer case under 11 U.S.C. § 707 if granting relief would be an abuse | People whose situation points to discharge rather than a plan |
| Chapter 11 (including Subchapter V) | Court materials note some individuals may need Chapter 11 because their debts are too large for Chapter 13 | People above the Chapter 13 caps, often with business debt |
What documents show your debt totals?
The count is not a guess — it comes off the schedules you sign under penalty of perjury. District Chapter 13 packets require Schedule A/B for property, Schedule D for creditors holding claims secured by property, Schedule E/F for creditors with unsecured claims, and the Summary of Your Assets and Liabilities (Official Form 106 Summary), which pulls those figures together. Chapter 13 filers also submit Official Form 122C-1, the statement of current monthly income and calculation of commitment period, plus the district's plan form.
Filing carries a $235 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) and a $78 administrative fee (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8).
If something on a schedule turns out to be wrong, court guidance explains that schedules and statements can be corrected by filing an amendment, and that a fee applies to amend a creditor list. Accuracy at the start is still far cheaper than a correction later.
What should you ask a lawyer?
The debt-limit question is one of the clearest examples of something worth an hour of professional time. A lawyer can look at the actual claims against you and tell you how they are likely to be counted — which is the whole ballgame here. Bring your credit report, recent statements, any lawsuit papers, and a rough list of what you own.
Bankruptcy clerk's offices are prohibited from giving legal advice or helping prepare forms, and district guides say so plainly, so the clerk cannot answer these questions for you. Several courts also run pro se help desks that can point you to resources.
- How do my debts split between the secured and unsecured counts, and which cap is the tight one?
- Are any of my debts arguably contingent or unliquidated, and how does that affect the count?
- Which cap figures are in force right now, and would filing timing change them?
- If I am over the caps, how would Chapter 11 or Subchapter V compare to Chapter 7 for my situation?
- If my spouse and I file together, how are our debts counted?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Chapter 13 debt limit right now?
- We do not publish a current dollar figure on this page, because the caps in 11 U.S.C. § 109(e) are adjusted under § 104 and a stale number is worse than none. Confirm the amounts in force on your filing date with a bankruptcy lawyer or your district's current Chapter 13 materials. The structure never changes: separate caps for unsecured and for secured debt.
- Are the secured and unsecured limits added together?
- No. 11 U.S.C. § 109(e) sets them as separate caps, and official court guidance describes them separately as well — one figure for noncontingent, liquidated unsecured debts and another for secured debts. That means a household can be comfortably under one and over the other. Which side a given debt falls on is determined by the claim itself, not by how you would describe it.
- What happens if my debts are too large for Chapter 13?
- Chapter 13 is not available, but other chapters may be. The District of Arizona's chapter-selection pamphlet states that some individuals may need to file Chapter 11 because their debts are too large to file Chapter 13, and cautions that an attorney is almost always essential in those cases. Court guidance also compares Chapter 13 with Subchapter V for people carrying business debt.
- Does being self-employed put Chapter 13 out of reach?
- Not by itself. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1304, a self-employed debtor who incurs trade credit in producing income is "engaged in business," and the Code lets such a debtor operate the business during a Chapter 13 case, subject to court limits. The debt caps in 11 U.S.C. § 109(e) still apply, and business debt is often what pushes a filer over them.
- Do my spouse's debts count if we file jointly?
- In a joint case both spouses' debts appear on the same schedules and are before the court together, so the practical answer is usually yes. Court guidance also notes a related point: the spouse of a Chapter 13 debtor can join a Chapter 13 case even without regular income, which Subchapter V does not allow. How specific debts count toward the caps is a legal question for a lawyer.
- Can a disputed debt be left out of the count?
- That depends on whether the claim is noncontingent and liquidated within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. § 109(e), which courts decide on the facts. It is not something to decide on your own — schedules are signed under penalty of perjury, and court materials warn that inaccurate filings can carry serious consequences. Discuss any disputed or unresolved claim with a bankruptcy lawyer before filing.
Sources
- 11 U.S.C. § 109 — Who may be a debtor · official source
- 11 U.S.C. § 1304 — Debtor engaged in business · official source
- 11 U.S.C. § 1322 — Contents of plan · official source
- 11 U.S.C. § 507 — Priorities · official source
- 11 U.S.C. § 707 — Dismissal of a case or conversion to a case under chapter 11 or 13 · official source
- U.S. Bankr. Ct. S.D. Ala., SBRA guide (Judge Paul Bonapfel, 338 pp.) (updated June 2022)
- Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — A Guide to the SBRA of 2019 - Rev. June 2022 (Hon. Paul W. Bonapfel, N.D.Ga.)
- COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
- U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter: What can Bankruptcy do for you? What will it do to you?
- E.D. Cal. LBR 3015-1
- Bankr. W.D. Ky. official guidance — Guide to Filing Bankruptcy without an Attorney
- Bankr. N.D. Iowa official page — FAQs: Debtor
- 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)
- Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8
By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022
Last reviewed July 26, 2026 · Sources verified July 26, 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.
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