To pass the Tennessee Chapter 7 means test income limits, a single-person household must earn less than $62,339 per year, with the cutoff rising for larger households. Come in under the median for your household size and you qualify without further math. Earn more, and you can still qualify by running a detailed expense calculation that measures whether your disposable income is low enough.
Current Tennessee Median Income Figures
The Department of Justice publishes the median income figures used in the means test, drawn from Census Bureau data and updated roughly every six months. For Chapter 7 cases filed between November 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, the Tennessee thresholds are:1U.S. Trustee Program. Census Bureau Median Family Income By Family Size
- 1 person: $62,339
- 2 people: $80,722
- 3 people: $95,011
- 4 people: $106,775
- Each additional person: add $11,100
These are annual figures. You compare them against your current monthly income multiplied by 12. If you file after March 31, 2026, pull the updated table from the U.S. Trustee Program before you rely on the numbers above.
What Counts as Your Income
The bankruptcy code defines “current monthly income” as the average of all gross income you received during the six full calendar months before your filing date.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 101 – Definitions That includes wages, self-employment earnings, rental income, pension distributions, and regular financial contributions from anyone living with you, including a roommate who pays part of the rent.
Several income types are excluded. Social Security benefits do not count. Neither do payments to victims of war crimes or terrorism, or certain military disability compensation.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 101 – Definitions If a large share of your income comes from Social Security, the exclusion alone can drop you under the Tennessee median.
The six-month window can help or hurt you depending on timing. If you lost a job three months ago, your average still carries three months of full pay. If you started a higher-paying position recently, the average reflects the lower prior months. Choosing a filing date around that window is one of the more useful tools available, and it’s worth working out with an attorney before you file.
Married Filers Whose Spouse Is Not Filing
When you’re married and filing alone, your non-filing spouse’s income gets added to your current monthly income on Form 122A-1. That often pushes filers above the median. You can offset it with the marital adjustment deduction on the same form, which subtracts your spouse’s expenses that don’t benefit the household: separate student loan payments, credit card debt in your spouse’s name only, child support from a prior relationship. Keep account statements and payment receipts to support each deduction.
Counting Your Household
Household size decides which median column applies, so it needs to be right. The bankruptcy code doesn’t give one definition, and courts have taken different approaches. Many use the “heads on beds” method, counting everyone whose primary residence is your home: you, your spouse, your children, stepchildren, and any other relatives under the roof.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 101 – Definitions Others follow the IRS dependent test or an “economic unit” approach. The distinction matters most for borderline cases: an adult child living at home, a partner’s child, an elderly parent you support. Check the prevailing approach with a local Tennessee bankruptcy attorney or the trustee for your district before you settle on a number.
If You’re Over the Median
Being above the median doesn’t disqualify you. It moves you to the second stage of the means test, calculated on Official Form 122A-2, which subtracts allowed expenses from your monthly income to find projected disposable income over five years.3United States Courts. Bankruptcy Forms
Expenses Come From IRS Standards, Not Your Actual Spending
The expense allowances aren’t tied to what you actually spend. The form uses IRS-published standards that set fixed amounts for basic living costs.4U.S. Trustee Program. Means Testing National Standards cover food, clothing, housekeeping supplies, personal care, and out-of-pocket healthcare, and you get the full allowance for your household size regardless of what your receipts show.
Local Standards cover housing, utilities, and transportation, and they vary by county within Tennessee. The housing and utilities allowance for Davidson County (Nashville) differs from rural McNairy County. Transportation splits into a nationwide figure for a car payment or lease and a regional figure for operating costs like gas, insurance, and maintenance. How many vehicles you own affects which allowances apply.5Internal Revenue Service. Collection Financial Standards Current local amounts for bankruptcy purposes live on the U.S. Trustee Program’s website, not on the IRS site.
Form 122A-2 also lets you subtract several other expenses: mandatory payroll withholding (taxes, Social Security, Medicare), health and disability insurance premiums, court-ordered obligations like child support or alimony, contributions to the care of elderly or disabled household members, and certain education expenses for dependent children. Each has its own line.
The Disposable Income Thresholds
After the deductions, the form multiplies your remaining monthly disposable income by 60 (five years). The resulting figure determines your outcome:6Federal Register. Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Applicable to Bankruptcy Cases
- Below $10,275 over 60 months: no presumption of abuse. You qualify for Chapter 7.
- Above $17,150 over 60 months: presumption of abuse. You’re expected to file Chapter 13 unless you can show special circumstances.
- Between $10,275 and $17,150: the court compares your 60-month disposable income to 25% of your total nonpriority unsecured debt. If your disposable income is less than 25% of that debt, you pass.
These dollar thresholds adjust every three years. The figures above took effect April 1, 2025, and apply to cases filed in 2026.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13 Older printed versions of Form 122A-2 may still show the previous amounts of $9,075 and $15,150, so verify which figures are current when you file.
Rebutting the Presumption
Even if your disposable income triggers the presumption of abuse, you can rebut it by showing special circumstances that justify higher expenses or lower income than the standard formulas capture. The statute names two examples: a serious medical condition and a call to active military duty.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13 Courts have recognized others, but the bar is high. You must itemize the added expense, provide documentation, explain why no reasonable alternative exists, and swear to the accuracy of everything under oath. If the adjusted numbers still put your 60-month disposable income below the thresholds, the presumption falls away.
Filers Who Skip the Means Test
Some Chapter 7 filers don’t take the means test at all. You qualify for an exemption if more than half your total debt by dollar amount is business or investment debt rather than personal consumer debt. In that case you file Form 122A-1Supp instead of the full means test.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13 Disabled veterans whose debts arose primarily during active duty also qualify for the exemption, as do reservists and National Guard members who served at least 90 days on active duty after September 11, 2001, and file within a set window after their service ends.
Why Congress Set These Limits
The means test came out of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, aimed at filers who earn enough to repay at least a portion of their debts through a Chapter 13 plan rather than eliminating them through Chapter 7 liquidation.9U.S. Government Publishing Office. Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 The two-stage structure reflects that goal: below-median filers pass without further review under 11 USC 707,7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13 and above-median filers go through the expense analysis to see whether real disposable income remains.
Confirm the Numbers Before You File
Every input in this test moves. The Tennessee median income table updates about twice a year, the disposable income thresholds adjust every three years, and the IRS local standards change on their own schedule. Before you rely on any figure, including the ones above, pull the current version from the U.S. Trustee Program for your filing date. Using an expired table is one of the easier errors to make, and one of the easiest to avoid.