Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Las Vegas lets you keep your house, car, and other property while you catch up on what you owe through a court-supervised repayment plan that runs three to five years. You file in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada at the Foley Federal Building, 300 Las Vegas Boulevard South.1U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada. Locations and Hours Instead of liquidating assets, you commit your future income to a plan that pays priority and secured debts in full and unsecured creditors whatever your budget supports, often only a fraction of what they are owed.
When Chapter 13 Is the Right Choice Over Chapter 7
Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured debt quickly, but a trustee can sell non-exempt property to pay creditors. Chapter 13 is structured the opposite way: you repay from future income over several years and keep your assets. That difference matters in Las Vegas, where home equity and vehicle values can be significant.
Chapter 13 is usually the better fit in three situations. You are behind on your mortgage or car payment and want to save the property. Your income is too high to pass the Chapter 7 means test. Or you have a co-signer on a consumer debt you want to protect, because the Chapter 13 stay reaches co-signers and Chapter 7’s does not.
Who Can File in Nevada
Chapter 13 is for individuals with regular income. That includes wages, self-employment earnings, pensions, and Social Security, as long as the money comes in consistently enough to fund a multi-year plan. Corporations and partnerships cannot file.2Internal Revenue Service. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – Voluntary Reorganization of Debt for Individuals
Debt limits also apply. The temporary combined cap of $2,750,000 under the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act expired on June 21, 2024, and Congress did not extend it.3United States Bankruptcy Court – Central District of California. Subchapter V and Chapter 13 Debt Thresholds to Sunset June 21, 2024 The caps reverted to the separate limits: non-contingent, liquidated unsecured debts under $526,700 and non-contingent, liquidated secured debts under $1,580,125.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics These thresholds adjust periodically. Confirm the current figures before filing.
Before filing, federal law requires a credit counseling session with a court-approved agency, completed within 180 days of your petition. The certificate from that session must accompany your filing or the court will reject it.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
Nevada Exemptions and Why They Still Matter
In Chapter 13 you keep your property regardless of its value, but exemptions still drive the math. Your plan must pay unsecured creditors at least as much as they would get if your non-exempt assets were sold in a Chapter 7 liquidation. Nevada’s exemptions are generous, so for many filers that hypothetical liquidation would yield little or nothing.
- Homestead: Up to $550,000 in equity in your primary residence.
- Motor vehicle: Up to $15,000 in equity per vehicle.
- Wild card: Up to $10,000 for property not covered by another exemption.
For a Las Vegas homeowner with substantial equity protected by the $550,000 homestead, credit card and medical bill creditors may receive only a small percentage of their claims, because there would be nothing for them in a liquidation scenario either.
Three-Year or Five-Year Plan: Nevada Median Income
Your household income relative to Nevada’s median determines whether your plan runs three or five years. For cases filed between November 2025 and March 2026, the Nevada figures the U.S. Trustee Program publishes are:
- One earner: $70,370
- Household of two: $85,660
- Household of three: $99,032
- Household of four: $111,184
- Each additional person: add $11,100
Below the median for your household size, you can propose a three-year plan, though the court may approve a longer period for cause. Above the median, you generally must commit to a full five-year plan.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics These numbers update twice a year, so check the table that applies to your filing date.5United States Department of Justice. November 1, 2025 Median Income Table
What the Plan Pays Each Type of Creditor
The plan must commit all of your projected disposable income over the applicable period, and it sorts debts into tiers that determine how much each creditor actually receives.
Priority debts almost always must be paid in full. These include domestic support obligations like child support and alimony, and certain tax debts.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1322 – Contents of Plan The plan can spread them across its full duration, but any balance left unpaid at the end is not discharged.
Secured debts like mortgages and car loans get special treatment. The plan lets you cure past-due amounts on your mortgage over the plan period while you resume regular monthly payments, which is the main reason Las Vegas homeowners use Chapter 13 to stop a foreclosure.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics You generally cannot modify the terms of a loan secured only by your primary residence. Car loans and other secured debts are more flexible.
Unsecured debts such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans often receive only a fraction of what is owed. The percentage depends on what disposable income remains after priority and secured payments, and on the Chapter 7 liquidation floor. Any unpaid balance on qualifying unsecured debts is wiped out when you complete the plan.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 – Confirmation of Plan
A standing Chapter 13 trustee for the District of Nevada collects your monthly payment and distributes it. The trustee’s administrative percentage is typically in the range of 6 to 10 percent and comes out of each payment, so build that into your budget.
Saving Your Home, Car, and Co-Signer
Stopping a Foreclosure or Repossession
The moment you file, an automatic stay takes effect. Creditors must immediately stop foreclosure proceedings, vehicle repossessions, wage garnishments, and lawsuits.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 362 – Automatic Stay No separate court order is needed. If you had a prior bankruptcy case dismissed within the previous year, the stay may be limited to 30 days unless the court extends it on your motion.
Stripping a Second Mortgage
If your first mortgage balance exceeds your home’s current market value, any junior lien such as a second mortgage or HELOC is effectively unsecured. Chapter 13 lets you strip that junior lien. The court reclassifies it as unsecured, so it gets paid at the same reduced rate as your credit cards, and the lender must release the lien when you complete the plan. This tool is not available in Chapter 7.
Cramming Down a Car Loan
If you owe more on a vehicle than it is worth and you bought it more than 910 days (roughly two and a half years) before filing, you can cram down the loan. The court splits the debt into a secured portion equal to the car’s fair market value and an unsecured portion for the rest. You pay the secured amount through the plan, often at a lower interest rate, and the remainder joins your other unsecured debts. Vehicles purchased inside the 910-day window cannot be crammed down.
Co-Debtor Stay
Filing Chapter 13 extends the automatic stay to anyone who co-signed a consumer debt with you, as long as the plan provides for paying that debt.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1301 – Stay of Action Against Codebtor Creditors cannot pursue your co-signer while the case is active. A creditor can ask the court to lift the co-debtor stay if the plan does not propose to pay the debt or if the co-signer actually received the benefit of the loan.
How Filing Works in the District of Nevada
You file your petition at the Foley Federal Building or electronically through the court’s system. The total filing fee is $313, and you can apply to pay in installments if you cannot pay the full amount at filing.10U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filing Requirements
You must begin making payments to the trustee within 30 days of filing, even before the plan is confirmed.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics Starting on time demonstrates good faith and begins reducing your arrears right away.
About a month after filing you attend the 341 Meeting of Creditors. In the Southern Division of the District of Nevada, these meetings are now conducted by video conference through Zoom.11U.S. Trustee Program. Region 17 – Local Section 341 Meeting Information The trustee asks questions under oath about your financial situation and the accuracy of your schedules. Creditors may attend but usually do not in routine consumer cases.
A bankruptcy judge then holds a confirmation hearing. The plan must be proposed in good faith, be feasible on your income and expenses, pay unsecured creditors at least what a Chapter 7 liquidation would yield, and commit all projected disposable income for the required period. Once confirmed, the plan binds you and every creditor. All federal, state, and local tax returns for the four tax years ending before your filing date must also be on file with the taxing authorities before the plan can be confirmed.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 – Confirmation of Plan
What It Costs
Most Chapter 13 attorneys in Las Vegas require only a small upfront payment, with the bulk of the fee paid through the plan alongside your other debts. Bankruptcy courts set a “no-look” fee, a presumptive amount approved without detailed time records. Nationally, Chapter 13 attorney fees tend to range from roughly $3,000 to $6,000, with above-median cases costing more because they involve more paperwork and a longer plan.
Beyond attorney fees, plan on the $313 court filing fee, the pre-filing credit counseling course (typically $25 to $50), and the post-filing financial management course (similar range). The trustee’s percentage fee comes out of plan payments rather than as a separate bill.
If You Can’t Keep Up With Payments
Missing plan payments is the fastest way to lose protection. If you fall significantly behind, the trustee will move to dismiss. If the court grants dismissal, the automatic stay lifts and collection, foreclosure, and garnishment can resume. The court can alternatively convert the case to Chapter 7, which means liquidation of non-exempt assets.
Rather than letting the case collapse, you or your attorney can file a motion to modify the plan. Modification options include reducing monthly payments, extending the plan up to the five-year maximum, or temporarily suspending payments during a hardship. The trustee and creditors can object, and the court evaluates good faith and feasibility. Courts tend to approve modifications when the hardship was beyond your control and the new terms still give creditors a fair result.
If modification is not practical and the hardship is permanent, you may qualify for a hardship discharge. The court can grant one only if the failure to complete payments is due to circumstances you should not be held accountable for, unsecured creditors have already received at least what Chapter 7 would have produced, and further modification is not feasible.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge A hardship discharge leaves more debts surviving than a regular Chapter 13 discharge does.
Finishing the Plan and Getting Your Discharge
After you make every payment the confirmed plan requires, two steps remain. Complete a financial management course from an approved provider — this is separate from the pre-filing counseling, and joint filers each need a certificate. Without the certificate, the court will not enter a discharge.
Once the certificate is filed and the trustee confirms all plan payments were made, the court enters the discharge order. The discharge eliminates your personal liability on qualifying debts, remaining balances on unsecured debts are wiped out, and secured creditors paid in full through the plan must release their liens.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
Debts That Survive a Chapter 13 Discharge
Not every debt disappears when the plan ends. Federal law carves out categories that survive even a successful Chapter 13 discharge:
- Domestic support obligations like child support and alimony.
- Certain tax debts that do not meet specific age and filing requirements.
- Student loans, unless you file a separate adversary proceeding and prove undue hardship, which is a high bar.
- Debts obtained through fraud, false pretenses, or misrepresentation.
- Debts for willful and malicious injury to a person.
- Criminal fines and restitution owed to government entities.
These exceptions are set out in 11 U.S.C. § 523.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge A full Chapter 13 discharge does eliminate a few debts that would survive Chapter 7, including debts for willful and malicious damage to property and certain debts arising from divorce settlements.
Credit Impact
A Chapter 13 filing stays on your credit report for up to seven years from the filing date. The initial drop in your score depends on where it stood before filing; a previously strong score falls further than one already marked by missed payments and collections. Most filers find they can begin rebuilding with secured credit cards and small installment loans well before the seven-year reporting window closes.