To file Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Massachusetts, you confirm you fit the debt and income rules, complete a credit counseling course, prepare a petition with full financial schedules and a three-to-five-year repayment plan, file electronically with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, and begin paying the trustee within 30 days. The steps below walk through each piece in the order you’ll actually do them.
Confirm You Qualify
Chapter 13 is for individuals with regular income. That income can come from wages, self-employment, Social Security, a pension, or any similar recurring source, as long as it’s enough to sustain plan payments. Businesses can’t file Chapter 13, but a sole proprietor with both personal and business debts can.
Federal law also caps how much debt you can carry. For cases filed between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2028, your noncontingent, liquidated unsecured debts must be under $526,700 and your secured debts under $1,580,125.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor Above those caps, Chapter 11 becomes the alternative.
How Your Income Sets the Plan Length
Your household income, compared to the Massachusetts median for a family of your size, decides whether the plan runs three years or five. Below the median, the plan is three years, though the court can approve up to five for good reason. At or above the median, you must propose five. No Chapter 13 plan can run longer than that.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1322 – Contents of Plan
For cases filed between November 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, the Massachusetts median income figures are:3United States Department of Justice. Median Family Income Table
- One earner: $85,941
- Household of two: $109,818
- Household of three: $135,837
- Household of four: $173,947
- Each additional person: add $11,100
These numbers update periodically, so check the U.S. Trustee’s website close to your filing date.
Complete the Pre-Filing Steps
Credit Counseling
Before you can file, you must complete a credit counseling session with a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Trustee Program.4United States Department of Justice. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Information The session covers budgeting and alternatives to bankruptcy, runs about an hour, usually costs around $20, and can be done by phone or online.
The counseling has to happen within 180 days before you file.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor You’ll get a certificate of completion that goes in with your petition. Skip the course and the court can dismiss your case.
Pull Your Financial Records
Expect to gather pay stubs for the six months before filing, your two most recent federal tax returns, bank statements, mortgage and loan documents, vehicle titles, a list of every debt with the creditor’s mailing address, and records of any recent property transfers or large payments. The more organized this is, the smoother the rest of the process goes.
Choose Your Exemptions
Exemptions decide which assets you keep. Massachusetts lets you choose between the state exemption system and the federal one, but you have to pick one set and stick with it. For most Massachusetts homeowners, state exemptions are more protective; for renters, the federal set often works better.
Record a Homestead Declaration First If You Can
If you’ve recorded a Declaration of Homestead with the registry of deeds in your county, up to $1,000,000 of equity in your primary residence is protected. Without a recorded declaration, the automatic homestead covers only $125,000 of equity.6Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mass General Laws c188 Section 1 Recording is inexpensive, and doing it well before any financial trouble gives you the stronger figure.
Other State Exemptions
Beyond the homestead, Massachusetts protects personal property under Chapter 235, Section 34:
- Motor vehicle equity up to $7,500, rising to $15,000 if you’re over 60 or have a disability
- Household furniture up to $15,000 in necessary furnishings
- Tools of the trade up to $5,000
- Jewelry up to $1,225
- A wildcard of $1,000 in any personal property, plus up to $5,000 of unused motor vehicle, tools, and furniture exemption value
- Wages: the greater of 85% of gross wages or 50 times the state or federal minimum wage
Retirement accounts, including 401(k)s and IRAs, are protected under both state and federal law.
The Federal Alternative
If you don’t own a home or have little home equity, the federal set may fit better. Its wildcard is $1,675, plus up to $15,800 of any unused homestead exemption, giving you up to $17,475 to protect any property you choose.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor For renters with cash savings or significant personal property, that flexibility can matter more than a homestead exemption you can’t use.
Prepare the Petition, Schedules, and Plan
The core filing document is the Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy, Official Form 101.7United States Courts. Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy It identifies you, your address, the chapter, and the basics of your situation.
The petition travels with the Form 106 schedules, which build out the full picture:
- Schedule A/B: all property you own or have an interest in
- Schedule C: the exemptions you’re claiming for each asset
- Schedule D: secured creditors like mortgage holders and car lenders
- Schedule E/F: priority and general unsecured creditors
- Schedule I: current income
- Schedule J: current expenses
You also complete Form 122C-1, the Chapter 13 Statement of Current Monthly Income, which feeds the means test and confirms whether your plan is three or five years. Every creditor must be listed with a correct mailing address; leaving one off can mean that debt survives the case.
The Repayment Plan Itself
The plan goes on Official Form 113 and tells the court and your creditors exactly how much you’ll pay each month, for how long, and how the money gets divided.8United States Courts. Official Form 113 – Chapter 13 Plan
Two tests shape what the plan has to look like. First, you must commit all of your disposable income for the full plan period. Disposable income is what remains after necessary living expenses and payments on secured debts. The court uses standardized IRS expense allowances for some categories, though you can sometimes argue actual expenses when they exceed the standard figures.
Second, the plan has to pass the best interests of creditors test: your unsecured creditors must receive at least as much through the plan as they would have gotten if you had filed Chapter 7 and your nonexempt assets were liquidated.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 – Confirmation of Plan Generous Massachusetts exemptions work in your favor here. If all your assets are fully exempt, unsecured creditors might receive very little or nothing through the plan.
Payments are distributed in order: administrative expenses first (including trustee and attorney fees), then priority claims like recent tax debts and child support arrears, then secured debt payments on the collateral you want to keep. General unsecured creditors receive whatever is left.
What It Costs to File
The court filing fee for Chapter 13 is $313, and you can request to pay it in installments. Add the pre-filing credit counseling (around $20) and the post-filing debtor education course (similar).
Attorney fees in Massachusetts generally run $2,500 to $6,000 depending on complexity. One advantage of Chapter 13 is that most of the attorney fee can be paid through the plan rather than upfront. You typically pay a retainer, and the trustee pays the balance out of your monthly plan payments.
File and Begin Payments
You file electronically with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, which has courthouses in Boston, Worcester, and Springfield.10United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. Court Locations
The Automatic Stay
The moment your petition is filed, the automatic stay under Section 362 takes effect and stops most collection activity against you: foreclosure, wage garnishment, repossession, collection calls, and lawsuits.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay Creditors who violate it can face sanctions. The stay isn’t absolute. Domestic support obligations continue, and a creditor can ask the court to lift the stay if its collateral is losing value without adequate protection. If you’ve filed and dismissed a bankruptcy case within the past year, the stay may last only 30 days unless the court extends it.
First Payment Within 30 Days
You have to start making plan payments to the trustee within 30 days of filing, before the plan is confirmed.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1326 – Payments The trustee holds these early payments and distributes them once the plan is confirmed. The court wants to see you can sustain the proposed payments.
The 341 Meeting of Creditors
Between 21 and 50 days after filing, you attend the meeting of creditors (the 341 meeting). Under oath, you answer questions from the Chapter 13 trustee about your income, expenses, assets, and plan. Creditors can attend but rarely do. Most meetings run 10 to 15 minutes, and many in Massachusetts are conducted virtually.
Plan Confirmation Hearing
The judge then holds a confirmation hearing to decide whether the plan meets the legal requirements: it must commit all disposable income, pass the best interests test, be proposed in good faith, and be feasible.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 – Confirmation of Plan The trustee or any creditor can object. If the judge denies confirmation, you typically get a chance to amend and resubmit.
Finishing the Case
Before the court can grant a discharge, you must complete a second course: debtor education in personal financial management from an approved provider, within 45 days after the first date set for the 341 meeting.13United States Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses Skipping it blocks the discharge even after you’ve made every plan payment.
Once you’ve finished the payments and the course, the court grants a discharge that eliminates your personal liability on most debts covered by the plan.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge The clerk mails the discharge order to you, your attorney, the trustee, and all creditors.15United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy
Some debts survive the discharge no matter what: domestic support obligations, most student loans, certain recent tax debts, criminal restitution and fines, debts from willful or malicious injury, and long-term obligations like a mortgage whose final payment falls after the plan ends.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge If much of your debt is in these categories, Chapter 13 can still restructure the terms and cure arrears, but the underlying obligations stay.
If You Can’t Keep Up With Payments
A three-to-five-year payment schedule leaves plenty of room for job loss, medical bills, or other surprises. You have options.
You can ask the court to modify your plan to reduce payments or extend the timeline, as long as the total stays within five years. If your income dropped, a modified plan may still meet the legal requirements at a lower payment level.
You can dismiss your Chapter 13 case at any time.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1307 – Conversion or Dismissal Dismissal lifts the automatic stay, and creditors can resume collection immediately. You’ll owe whatever was due before bankruptcy minus payments the trustee already distributed, and interest that was frozen during the case may start accruing again.
If no repayment plan is feasible anymore, you can convert to Chapter 7 at any time.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1307 – Conversion or Dismissal Chapter 7 liquidates nonexempt assets and discharges qualifying debts without a repayment plan. Conversion involves a fee, a new trustee, a new 341 meeting, and updated schedules. The trade-off: immediate relief from the repayment obligation, but potential loss of nonexempt property that Chapter 13 would have let you keep.