Does the month I file count in the 6-month average?

No. The form uses the 6 full months before you file. Its own example: filing on September 15 means the window runs March 1 through August 31. September is excluded because it is not a full month. This is also why the filing date can change the figure, since the window moves with it.

Is current monthly income gross or net?

Gross. Official Form 122A-1 asks for wages, salary, tips, bonuses, overtime and commissions before all payroll deductions. Taxes, involuntary payroll deductions, and other expenses are subtracted later on Form 122A-2 as allowed deductions, not netted out of the income figure itself.

Does my spouse's income count if only I am filing?

Generally yes, if you live in the same household and are not legally separated. Form 122A-1 directs married filers in that situation to complete both income columns. Filers living separately or legally separated complete only their own column, and the form treats that election as a declaration under penalty of perjury.

What if my income just dropped?

The average still looks back over 6 full months, so a recent drop may not be reflected yet. Official Form 122A-2 asks about special circumstances that justify adjustments of current monthly income where there is no reasonable alternative, citing 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(B). It requires a detailed explanation and documentation to the trustee.

When do I have to file the income statement?

With the petition or within 14 days after, in a voluntary case. The Southern District of Indiana states this for all Chapter 7 individual debtors, and local rules in Michigan and New Hampshire set the same 14-day limit. Deadlines and local practice vary, so confirm with your own district.

Does everyone have to take the means test?

No. Form 122A-1Supp asks first whether your debts are primarily consumer debts as defined in 11 U.S.C. § 101, and separately whether disabled-veteran or Reservist and National Guard provisions apply. Filers who fall into those categories may be excluded from the presumption of abuse. The supplement is filed together with Form 122A-1.

Where does the median income figure come from?

From published data, not from your case. E.D. Mo. L.R. 1007-1 provides that, absent evidence to the contrary, median family income will be the amounts established by the United States Bureau of the Census and made available on the court's website as provided by the Office of the United States Trustee. Medians vary by state and household size.

Fundamentals

Current monthly income in the means test

Current monthly income is the average monthly income you received from all sources during the 6 full calendar months before you file bankruptcy. You add those six months together and divide by six. It is defined in 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A), and it is the starting figure for the means test in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

Key points

Current monthly income is a 6-month backward-looking average, not what you earn today.
The lookback runs over the 6 full calendar months before the filing month, so the month you file is excluded.
A non-filing spouse's income is generally included when you live in the same household and are not legally separated.
Chapter 7 uses the figure to test for a presumption of abuse under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b); Chapter 13 uses it to set the commitment period.
The figure changes as the lookback window moves, so the filing date can change the number.

If your income dropped recently, or spiked once because of a bonus or a severance check, the number bankruptcy uses may not look like your paycheck. Current monthly income is a defined term with a fixed formula, and understanding it explains most of what people find confusing about the means test. This page covers what it is, where the number comes from, and where people get it wrong.

What is current monthly income, exactly?

Current monthly income is a defined term in the Bankruptcy Code, not a description of your paycheck. The official Chapter 7 form directs you to fill in the average monthly income you received from all sources, derived during the 6 full months before you file, and cites 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A) as the authority. The instruction is arithmetic: add the income for all 6 months and divide the total by 6.

The form gives its own example. If you file on September 15, the 6-month period runs March 1 through August 31. The month you file in is not part of the window, because it is not a full month.

The name is misleading and that trips people up constantly. "Current" describes the defined lookback period, not your current earnings. Someone who lost a job in July can still show a high current monthly income if January through June were good months.

Why does it matter in a bankruptcy case?

Current monthly income is the input that drives almost everything else in the means-test analysis. In Chapter 7 it feeds the abuse inquiry under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b), where the court considers whether granting relief would be an abuse of the chapter. The statute directs that the court shall presume abuse exists if the debtor's current monthly income, reduced by the allowed expense deductions and multiplied by 60, is not less than the thresholds the statute sets.

Several local rules make the same point from the filing side. Under E.D. Mich. LBR 1007-4, an individual Chapter 7 debtor must file a statement of current monthly income, and if that income exceeds the median family income for the applicable state and household size, must also file the fuller calculation required by § 707(b). IBR 1007-11 in New Hampshire states the requirement in nearly identical terms.

So the figure determines both what you must file and what the trustee reviews.

How is the 6-month average actually calculated?

You work from the official form, and the form works line by line. Official Form 122A-1 begins by asking your marital and filing status, then walks through categories of income across six months. Gross wages, salary, tips, bonuses, overtime and commissions go in before all payroll deductions. Alimony and maintenance payments have their own line. There is a line for all amounts from any source which are regularly paid.

The form is explicit about double counting. Do not include any income amount more than once. If both spouses own the same rental property, the income from that property goes in one column only. If you have nothing to report on a line, you write $0 rather than leaving it blank.

Married filers use two columns. If your spouse is filing with you, or you live in the same household and are not legally separated, you fill out both columns. If you are living separately or legally separated, you fill out only your own column, and the form treats that as a declaration under penalty of perjury.

Gross wages before payroll deductions, not take-home pay
Alimony and maintenance received
Amounts regularly paid to you from any source
Six full calendar months, divided by six
Non-filing spouse income in a second column where the form requires it

When is it filed, and what happens next?

The statement of current monthly income is a required filing, not an optional worksheet. The Southern District of Indiana states that it is required for all Chapter 7 individual debtors and must be filed with the petition or within 14 days of filing. IBR 1007-11 sets the same 14-day outside limit in a voluntary case, and E.D. Mich. LBR 1007-4 does as well.

What you file depends on what the first form shows. If Form 122A-1 requires it, you also file the fuller Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation, Form 122A-2. Some filers instead file Form 122A-1Supp, the statement of exemption from the presumption of abuse, which asks whether debts are primarily consumer debts and whether military service provisions apply.

After filing, the United States Trustee reviews the statement. The Middle District of Florida procedure describes the Trustee filing a statement as to whether a presumption of abuse arises, with the clerk then noticing creditors.

What are the main exceptions and limits?

The means test does not reach every filer. Form 122A-1Supp asks first whether your debts are primarily consumer debts, defined in 11 U.S.C. § 101(8) as incurred by an individual primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose. If the answer is no, the form directs you to check that there is no presumption of abuse.

Military service creates further exclusions. The supplement asks whether you are a disabled veteran who incurred debts mostly while on active duty or performing a homeland defense activity, and separately whether you are or have been a Reservist or member of the National Guard called to active duty or performing a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days. Local rules in Michigan and New Hampshire both carve out debtors to whom § 707(b)(2)(D) applies.

The statute also allows special circumstances. Form 122A-2 asks about circumstances that justify additional expenses or adjustments of current monthly income for which there is no reasonable alternative, citing 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(B), and requires a detailed explanation plus documentation to the trustee.

Debts that are not primarily consumer debts
Qualifying disabled-veteran status
Qualifying Reservist or National Guard active-duty periods
Documented special circumstances adjusting income or expenses

How does it differ between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13?

The income figure is calculated the same way in both chapters, but it does different work once you have it. Chapter 7 uses it to test for abuse. Chapter 13 uses it to shape the plan.

The forms mirror each other. Chapter 7 filers use Form 122A-1, Chapter 7 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income, and where required Form 122A-2, the Means Test Calculation. Chapter 13 filers use Form 122C-1, Chapter 13 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period, and Form 122C-2, Calculation of Disposable Income. The District of Massachusetts guidance lists both sets side by side.

On the Chapter 13 side, the figure connects to plan confirmation. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1322(a)(4), a plan may provide for less than full payment of certain priority amounts only if all of the debtor's projected disposable income for a 5-year period goes into plan payments. Confirmation standards live in 11 U.S.C. § 1325.

Same income figure, different job
	Chapter 7	Chapter 13
Primary statement	Form 122A-1	Form 122C-1
Second form	Form 122A-2 Means Test Calculation	Form 122C-2 Calculation of Disposable Income
What the figure drives	Presumption of abuse under § 707(b)	Commitment period and disposable income
Filing fee	$245 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1))	$235 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B))
Administrative fee	$78 (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8)	$78 (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8)

What do people most commonly get wrong?

The single biggest error is assuming current monthly income means what you earn now. It does not. It is a backward-looking average over 6 full months, so a recent job loss, hour cut, or return to work after leave may not show up in the number at all yet.

The second error is using take-home pay. The form asks for gross wages, salary, tips, bonuses, overtime and commissions before all payroll deductions. Taxes and involuntary payroll deductions are handled later, as expense deductions on Form 122A-2, not by netting them out of income.

The third is leaving out a non-filing spouse. If you are married, living in the same household, and not legally separated, the form directs you to complete both columns even though only one of you is filing.

A fourth is treating a high figure as the end of the road. Above-median income triggers the fuller calculation and the expense deductions in § 707(b)(2)(A), and the statute separately allows special circumstances. It is not a verdict.

Frequently asked questions

Does the month I file count in the 6-month average?: No. The form uses the 6 full months before you file. Its own example: filing on September 15 means the window runs March 1 through August 31. September is excluded because it is not a full month. This is also why the filing date can change the figure, since the window moves with it.
Is current monthly income gross or net?: Gross. Official Form 122A-1 asks for wages, salary, tips, bonuses, overtime and commissions before all payroll deductions. Taxes, involuntary payroll deductions, and other expenses are subtracted later on Form 122A-2 as allowed deductions, not netted out of the income figure itself.
Does my spouse's income count if only I am filing?: Generally yes, if you live in the same household and are not legally separated. Form 122A-1 directs married filers in that situation to complete both income columns. Filers living separately or legally separated complete only their own column, and the form treats that election as a declaration under penalty of perjury.
What if my income just dropped?: The average still looks back over 6 full months, so a recent drop may not be reflected yet. Official Form 122A-2 asks about special circumstances that justify adjustments of current monthly income where there is no reasonable alternative, citing 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(B). It requires a detailed explanation and documentation to the trustee.
When do I have to file the income statement?: With the petition or within 14 days after, in a voluntary case. The Southern District of Indiana states this for all Chapter 7 individual debtors, and local rules in Michigan and New Hampshire set the same 14-day limit. Deadlines and local practice vary, so confirm with your own district.
Does everyone have to take the means test?: No. Form 122A-1Supp asks first whether your debts are primarily consumer debts as defined in 11 U.S.C. § 101, and separately whether disabled-veteran or Reservist and National Guard provisions apply. Filers who fall into those categories may be excluded from the presumption of abuse. The supplement is filed together with Form 122A-1.
Where does the median income figure come from?: From published data, not from your case. E.D. Mo. L.R. 1007-1 provides that, absent evidence to the contrary, median family income will be the amounts established by the United States Bureau of the Census and made available on the court's website as provided by the Office of the United States Trustee. Medians vary by state and household size.

Sources

11 U.S.C. § 101 — Definitions · official source
11 U.S.C. § 707 — Dismissal of a case or conversion to a case under chapter 11 or 13 · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1322 — Contents of plan · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1325 — Confirmation of plan · official source
Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 7 Form Packet
Bankr. M.D. La. filing packet — Ch7_Vol_Petition_ Package-2026.pdf
Bankr. M.D. La. filing packet — Ch13_Vol_Petition_ Package-2026.pdf
Bankr. S.D. Ind. official page — Chapter 7 Statement of Current Monthly Income
Bankr. S.D. Ind. official page — Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation
Bankr. D. Mass. official guidance — Statements of Monthly Income (Means Test, Disposable Income & CMI)
E.D. Mich. LBR 1007-4
IBR 1007-11
E.D. Mo. L.R. 1007-1
Bankr. M.D. Fla. Procedure Manual — Presumption of Abuse - Chapter 7
U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Alaska, The Forms Individuals and Married Couples Need to File Bankruptcy
28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)
28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)
Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8

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

Sources verified July 27, 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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