The Chapter 7 means test in Georgia is a two-part income calculation. First, you average your gross income from the last six full calendar months, annualize it, and compare that number to Georgia’s median income for your household size. If you’re at or below the median, you pass and can file Chapter 7. If you’re above it, a second form subtracts standardized IRS expense allowances and certain actual costs to see whether you have enough monthly disposable income left over to repay creditors. Fall below the disposable-income threshold and you still qualify. Land above it and the court presumes your Chapter 7 filing is abusive.
Step One: Your Current Monthly Income
The first form, Official Form 122A-1, asks for what the Bankruptcy Code calls “current monthly income,” or CMI. The name is misleading. CMI is the average of your gross income from all sources over the six full calendar months before the month you file.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 101 – Definitions Add wages, salary, bonuses, overtime, self-employment profits, rental income, interest, dividends, pensions, and regular contributions anyone else makes toward your household expenses. Divide by six.
Some income is excluded. Social Security benefits don’t count. Neither do VA disability payments, combat-related compensation, or payments to victims of terrorism or war crimes.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 101 – Definitions If a large share of your money comes from Social Security, your CMI can be much lower than your take-home pay suggests.
Timing the Six-Month Window
Because CMI uses the six months before filing, a stretch of overtime, a bonus, or a second job can inflate your average even after those earnings stop. Waiting a month or two can push a high-income month off the back end of the window. The opposite is also true. If you recently lost a job or took a pay cut, filing sooner keeps more of the higher months in the average, which is not what you want.
Georgia Median Income Thresholds
Multiply your CMI by 12 to annualize it, then compare that figure to Georgia’s median for your household size. The U.S. Trustee Program publishes the numbers using Census Bureau data and updates them every few months. For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026, the Georgia figures are:2U.S. Trustee Program. Census Bureau Median Family Income By Family Size
- 1 person: $68,478
- 2 people: $84,965
- 3 people: $101,479
- 4 people: $123,481
- Each additional person over 4: add $11,100
Household size generally includes you, your spouse (even if your spouse isn’t filing), and any dependents you claim on your taxes. If your annualized CMI is at or below the median for your household size, you pass. That’s the end of the test for most Georgia filers. If you’re above, you move to the second form.
Check the current table on the U.S. Trustee’s website before you file. Using an outdated figure can put you on the wrong side of the line.3United States Department of Justice. Means Testing
Step Two: The Full Calculation
Filers over the median complete Official Form 122A-2, which subtracts a series of expenses from your CMI to arrive at monthly disposable income. Most of those expenses are standardized IRS figures, not what you actually spend. This is where filers who assumed their real budget would carry them through often get an unpleasant surprise.4United States Courts. Official Form 122A-2 – Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation
National Standards
The IRS sets fixed monthly allowances for food, housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care, and miscellaneous expenses, based on household size. A separate national standard covers out-of-pocket healthcare on a per-person basis. You claim the published figure regardless of what you actually spend. If the standard allows $800 for a family of three, you deduct $800 even if your real spending is lower.5Internal Revenue Service. National Standards: Food, Clothing and Other Items
Local Standards
Housing, utilities, and transportation deductions come from county-level tables that reflect where you live in Georgia. A filer in Fulton County will see different housing figures than one in a rural south Georgia county. Transportation includes a vehicle ownership or lease allowance and a separate operating allowance, both scaled by the number of vehicles in the household. As with the national standards, you use the published figure even when your actual costs are lower.3United States Department of Justice. Means Testing
Other Necessary Expenses
This category uses your actual costs. Deductible items include income taxes, mandatory payroll withholdings (Social Security and Medicare), health insurance premiums, life insurance, child care, court-ordered support such as child support or alimony, and ongoing payments on secured debts like a mortgage or car loan. Keep documentation for each one: tax returns, pay stubs, insurance statements, and court orders.
When the Presumption of Abuse Applies
After all the deductions come off, the form multiplies your remaining monthly disposable income by 60, representing a five-year repayment period. That 60-month total gets tested against two thresholds. If it clears them, the court presumes your Chapter 7 filing is abusive.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of Case or Conversion to Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
Abuse is presumed if your 60-month disposable income is not less than the lesser of:
- 25 percent of your nonpriority unsecured debt, or $10,275, whichever is greater; or
- $17,150.
In monthly terms, the breakeven runs from roughly $171 to $286, depending on how much unsecured debt you have. Below $171 a month in disposable income and you pass. Above $286 a month and the presumption applies regardless of your debt level. Between those numbers, the outcome depends on the total unsecured debt in the case.7Federal Register. Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Applicable to Bankruptcy Cases
An example. Suppose your CMI minus deductions leaves $200 a month, and you owe $60,000 in credit card debt. The 60-month total is $12,000. Twenty-five percent of your unsecured debt is $15,000, which is greater than $10,275, so the first prong is $15,000. The lesser of $15,000 and $17,150 is $15,000. Because $12,000 is less than $15,000, no presumption of abuse arises, and you pass.
Rebutting the Presumption
Triggering the presumption doesn’t automatically end your case. You can rebut it by showing “special circumstances” that justify additional expenses or income adjustments the standard formula misses. The statute names a serious medical condition and a call or order to active duty as examples, and the list is not exhaustive.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of Case or Conversion to Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
To rebut successfully, you itemize each additional expense or adjustment, provide documentation, and explain under oath why the circumstances make the adjustment necessary and why no reasonable alternative exists. If the revised numbers bring your 60-month disposable income below the applicable threshold, the presumption is rebutted. Courts scrutinize these claims closely, and the burden sits on you. If you can’t rebut, the case will typically be dismissed or converted to Chapter 13, which restructures debts over three to five years using the disposable income the means test identified.
Married Filers and the Marital Adjustment
If you’re married, your spouse’s income goes into CMI on Form 122A-1 even when your spouse isn’t filing. Many people don’t expect this. Form 122A-2 offers a partial fix on line 3, the marital adjustment: you can subtract any portion of your spouse’s income that isn’t regularly used for household expenses of you or your dependents.4United States Courts. Official Form 122A-2 – Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation
Typical examples include a non-filing spouse’s own credit card payments, student loans on their own education, child support they pay for children from a prior relationship, or tax debts in their name alone. You’ll need receipts, account statements, and other proof of where the money goes each month. The adjustment can be decisive. If your spouse earns $4,000 a month and $1,500 goes to obligations that have nothing to do with your household, that $1,500 comes out of combined CMI before the comparison to the Georgia median.
Filers Who Skip the Test Entirely
Three groups don’t take the means test at all.
Disabled Veterans
If you have any VA or Department of Defense disability rating, even 10 percent, and at least half of your total debt was incurred while you were on active duty or performing a homeland defense activity, the means test doesn’t apply.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of Case or Conversion to Case Under Chapter 11 or 13 You’ll need documentation of both the rating and the timing of the debts.
Active Duty and National Guard Members
Reservists and National Guard members called to active duty or performing homeland defense activities for at least 90 days are exempt during that service and for 540 days after it ends.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of Case or Conversion to Case Under Chapter 11 or 13 Once the 540-day window closes, the standard requirements return.
Primarily Non-Consumer Debt
The means test only applies to individuals whose debts are “primarily” consumer debts, which most courts read as more than 50 percent. If the majority of your debt comes from a failed business, investment losses, or other non-personal obligations, you’re exempt. Courts look at whether the debt was incurred with a profit motive when classifying it.
Getting the Numbers Right
Every bankruptcy form is signed under penalty of perjury. Understating income, inflating expenses, or hiding assets on the means test forms is bankruptcy fraud, a federal crime. Consequences range from dismissal without discharge to criminal prosecution, and the court can revoke a discharge later if it finds you concealed assets or misrepresented your finances. Honest mistakes can usually be fixed by amendment. Intentional ones carry consequences that outweigh any short-term benefit from qualifying.