Florida bankruptcy laws require residents who file to use the state’s own asset exemptions instead of the federal default list, and those exemptions are unusually generous for homeowners and surprisingly thin for almost everything else.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 222 – Method of Setting Apart Homestead and Exemptions Which chapter you can file, what property you keep, and whether Florida’s rules even apply to you all depend on specifics worth sorting out before you file.
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13
Most individual filings in Florida go under one of two chapters. Chapter 7 is liquidation: a trustee reviews your assets, sells anything not protected by an exemption, pays creditors from the proceeds, and the qualifying debt that’s left gets wiped out. A straightforward case typically closes about four months after filing.2United States Courts. Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics
Chapter 13 keeps your property in exchange for a three-to-five-year repayment plan funded by your future income. To qualify, your unsecured debts must be below $526,700 and your secured debts below $1,580,125.3United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics Chapter 13 is also the usual route for people behind on a mortgage who want to keep the house, because the plan can include a catch-up schedule for missed payments.
You don’t always get to choose. If your income is too high, the means test can push you out of Chapter 7 and into Chapter 13.
What You Keep: Florida’s Exemptions
The Homestead
Florida’s constitutional homestead protection has no dollar cap. A primary residence is fully protected regardless of equity, as long as the lot is no larger than half an acre inside a municipality or 160 acres outside one.4Justia Law. Florida Constitution – Article X, Section 4
A federal rule modifies this. If you acquired your homestead interest within 1,215 days (roughly three and a half years) before filing, your protected equity is capped at $214,000 regardless of what Florida law allows.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 522 – Exemptions – Section (p) Own the home longer than that and the cap drops away.
Vehicles, Personal Property, and the Wildcard
The Florida Constitution itself protects only $1,000 of personal property for an individual filer.4Justia Law. Florida Constitution – Article X, Section 4 Florida Statute 222.25 adds up to $5,000 of equity in one motor vehicle, plus professionally prescribed health aids with no dollar limit.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 222.25 – Other Individual Property of Natural Persons Exempt From Legal Process
Filers who don’t claim the homestead exemption get a wildcard worth up to $4,000 that can be applied to any personal property or cash. This is particularly useful for renters. The wildcard does not apply to debts owed for child support or spousal support.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 222.25 – Other Individual Property of Natural Persons Exempt From Legal Process
Wages, Retirement, and Life Insurance
Head-of-family wages get strong protection under Florida Statute 222.11. All disposable earnings of a head of family making $750 per week or less are completely exempt from garnishment, and earnings above that threshold are also protected unless the debtor agreed otherwise in writing.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 222.11 – Exemption of Wages From Garnishment
Retirement accounts are broadly protected under Florida Statute 222.21. Tax-qualified 401(k)s, 403(b)s, traditional and Roth IRAs, and government 457(b) plans are exempt regardless of balance.8The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 222.21 – Exemption of Pension Money and Certain Tax-Exempt Funds or Accounts From Legal Processes The cash surrender value of life insurance policies and the proceeds of annuity contracts are also protected, as long as the policy wasn’t taken out specifically to benefit a creditor.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 222.14 – Exemption of Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance Policies and Annuity Contracts From Legal Process
You May Be Able to File Here Without Using Florida’s Exemptions
Filing in a Florida court and claiming Florida’s protections are two different questions. You can file in a Florida district after living in the state for the majority of the 180 days before your petition.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1408 – Venue of Cases Under Title 11 But Florida’s exemptions require 730 consecutive days of domicile in the state before filing.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 522 – Exemptions
If you haven’t lived in Florida for two full years, the court looks at where you were during the 180 days just before that 730-day window and applies that state’s exemptions instead.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 522 – Exemptions A recent transplant can end up filing in a Florida courthouse but using another state’s protections. The rule exists to stop people from moving to Florida specifically to get its exemptions.
The Means Test
Chapter 7 requires passing the means test. It compares your average monthly income over the six full calendar months before filing to the Florida median income for your household size. Fall below the median and you qualify. The 2026 Florida median income figures, effective April 1, 2026, are:
- 1 person: $69,876 per year
- 2 people: $86,523 per year
- 3 people: $97,540 per year
- 4 people: $114,761 per year
For households larger than four, add $11,100 per additional person.12United States Department of Justice. Median Family Income by State – Effective April 1, 2026 If your income is above the median, you have to complete the full means test calculation on Official Form 122A-2 to see whether Chapter 7 is still available or whether Chapter 13 is required. Chapter 13 filers use Form 122C-1, which sets the length of the repayment plan.13United States Department of Justice. Means Testing
How Filing Works
You file by submitting a petition and schedules to the clerk’s office in your district. The filing fee is $338 for Chapter 7 and $313 for Chapter 13.14United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule The Chapter 7 fee can be waived if your income is below 150% of the federal poverty level and you can’t pay even in installments.2United States Courts. Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics
Before filing, you must complete a credit counseling briefing from an approved nonprofit agency within the 180 days before your petition date.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 109 – Who May Be a Debtor You’ll also prepare schedules listing all assets, every debt with the creditor’s correct mailing address, current monthly income, and itemized expenses. Omit a debt or misaddress a creditor and that particular debt can survive the bankruptcy.
Twenty-one to forty days after filing, you attend the Meeting of Creditors, usually called the 341 meeting. Creditors rarely show up. The trustee runs it and questions you under oath about your schedules.16United States Department of Justice. Section 341 Meeting of Creditors Before discharge, you also have to complete a second course, this one on personal financial management, from an approved provider. Skip it and the case won’t close.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 727 – Discharge A typical Chapter 7 discharge comes about 60 days after the 341 meeting. Chapter 13 runs three to five years because the plan has to finish first.
Debts Bankruptcy Won’t Erase
Some obligations survive both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. The main categories:
- Child support and alimony are never dischargeable.
- Most student loans survive unless you can prove “undue hardship,” a standard courts have historically applied strictly.
- Income taxes generally survive if the return was due within three years before filing, was filed late within two years before filing, or involved fraud.
- Debts obtained through fraud or misrepresentation can’t be discharged.
- Debts for death or personal injury caused by driving while intoxicated are permanently nondischargeable.
- Criminal restitution and most government-imposed fines survive.
Two timing rules can also trip you up. Luxury goods charges over $500 to a single creditor within 90 days before filing are presumed nondischargeable, as are cash advances exceeding $750 taken within 70 days before filing.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 523 – Exceptions to Discharge Running up a credit card right before you file invites a fraud objection.
Mistakes That Can Cost You the Discharge
Transferring Assets Before Filing
Giving property away, moving money to a relative’s account, or selling something for less than it’s worth before filing is one of the most consequential errors a debtor can make. The trustee can reverse any transfer made within two years before the petition if you acted with intent to hinder or defraud creditors, or if you were insolvent and received less than fair value.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 548 – Fraudulent Transfers and Obligations Florida’s own fraudulent transfer statutes can extend the lookback further. These transfers tend to be obvious from bank records and title documents, and the consequences go beyond losing the asset: concealing property or making fraudulent transfers can result in denial of your discharge entirely.
Reaffirming a Debt You Can’t Afford
If you file Chapter 7 and want to keep a financed car or similar collateral, you may be asked to sign a reaffirmation agreement. That’s a voluntary contract keeping you personally liable for the debt, carving it out of the discharge. The agreement must be filed within 60 days after the first scheduled 341 meeting, and the court holds a hearing on affordability.
Keep paying and you keep the collateral. Fall behind later and the lender can repossess and still pursue you for any deficiency, exactly as if you’d never filed. Most mortgage lenders in practice don’t require reaffirmation; staying current on the loan is usually enough to stay in the home. The trade-off without reaffirming is that on-time mortgage payments may not get reported to credit bureaus, which slows credit recovery.
After the Discharge
A Chapter 7 stays on your credit report for 10 years from the filing date. Chapter 13 drops off after seven. Both come off automatically. The initial credit hit is severe, but many filers see scores start recovering within one to two years as positive payment history builds.
Waiting periods between cases run from filing date to filing date, which surprises people. You can’t file Chapter 7 again for eight years after a prior Chapter 7 discharge. You need a four-year gap between a Chapter 7 discharge and a later Chapter 13 filing, and two years between Chapter 13 cases. For many Florida filers, the uncapped homestead means bankruptcy’s practical cost is mostly the credit damage rather than the loss of a home.