You qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Virginia under the means test if your household’s average income over the six full calendar months before filing falls below Virginia’s median for a household your size. For a single filer, that median is $78,491 per year for cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. Earn less and you generally skip the detailed expense analysis entirely. Earn more and you move to a second step that compares your allowed monthly expenses against your income to see whether enough is left over to fund a Chapter 13 repayment plan instead.
Who Skips the Means Test Entirely
Several categories of filers never have to run the numbers. The test only applies when your debts are “primarily consumer debts,” so if you are filing mainly because of business debts, tax liabilities, or lawsuit judgments, you are out of its reach from the start.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
Disabled veterans get a full exemption if they qualify under federal law and incurred their debts primarily while on active duty or performing a homeland defense activity. The court cannot apply means testing to those cases at all.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(2)(D)
National Guard members and military reservists get a temporary pass. If you were called to active duty or performed homeland defense activity for at least 90 days after September 11, 2001, the test does not apply during that period or for 540 days after your release. Once that window closes, you would need to pass the test like anyone else.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(2)(D)(ii)
Virginia Median Income Thresholds
The first step is a straight comparison: does your annualized household income fall at or below the Virginia median for your household size? If yes, there is no presumption of abuse and you qualify for Chapter 7 without going further. The U.S. Trustee Program publishes these figures using Census Bureau data and updates them periodically.4United States Department of Justice. Means Testing
For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026, Virginia’s annual median income thresholds are:
- 1-person household: $78,491
- 2-person household: $101,171
- 3-person household: $123,159
- 4-person household: $144,826
- Each additional person: add $11,100
For cases filed between November 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, slightly lower thresholds apply: $76,479 for one person, $98,577 for two, $120,001 for three, and $141,113 for four.6United States Department of Justice. Census Bureau Median Family Income By Family Size If you are close to the line, the timing of your filing relative to these updates can decide the question. Always confirm the current figures on the Department of Justice website before you file.
How Your Income Is Actually Counted
The means test does not use last month’s paycheck or your current take-home. It calculates “current monthly income” (CMI) as the average of all income you received during the six full calendar months before your filing date. File on June 15 and the lookback covers December 1 through May 31.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 101 – Section: (10A)
CMI casts a wide net. It covers wages, salary, business income, rental income, interest, dividends, pension and retirement distributions, and regular contributions from others toward your household expenses. Taxable or not, it goes in.
A few categories are excluded. Social Security benefits do not count, which is a significant break for retirees. Payments to victims of war crimes or terrorism are also excluded, along with certain military disability payments, combat-related compensation, and death benefits paid under federal military statutes.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 101 – Section: (10A)(B)
If You Are Married and Only One Spouse Files
The non-filing spouse’s income still gets included in the CMI calculation for the initial median-income comparison.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(7) This surprises a lot of people. A filer with modest personal income can be pushed over the median because a spouse earns well.
The workaround is the “marital adjustment” deduction. On the forms you can subtract any portion of your spouse’s income that goes toward expenses unrelated to your household, such as the spouse’s separate credit card debt, child support from a prior relationship, or taxes on income that does not benefit your household. Every dollar you subtract needs documentation: account statements, payment records, and similar proof. If the spouses are legally separated or living apart (and not doing so to game the test), the non-filing spouse’s income may be excluded entirely.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(7)(B)
Timing the Six-Month Window
Because the test averages six months, when you file can change the result. A bonus, severance package, or heavy overtime inside the lookback window inflates your average. Waiting a few months can push high-income months out of the window and replace them with lower ones. This is a standard, legal piece of Chapter 7 planning. Add up the six months that would fall in the window for several possible filing dates and see which produces the lowest average.
If You Are Above the Median: The Expense Test
Exceed the Virginia median and you move to Form 122A-2. The goal is to figure out your monthly disposable income after allowed expenses. Many above-median filers still qualify for Chapter 7 here.
Allowed deductions come from three buckets. IRS National Standards provide fixed monthly allowances for food, clothing, housekeeping supplies, personal care, and similar costs based on household size; you get those amounts regardless of what you actually spend. IRS Local Standards cover housing, utilities, and transportation and vary by county, so Northern Virginia figures run well above those for rural parts of the state. “Other Necessary Expenses” are your actual costs for things like taxes, mandatory payroll deductions, childcare, health care costs beyond the standard allowance, and court-ordered payments.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(2)(A)(ii)
You can also deduct payments on secured debts like mortgages and car loans. Add up the total contractually due to each secured creditor over the 60 months after filing and divide by 60 for the monthly figure.12United States Courts. Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation
Health insurance premiums, disability insurance, and health savings account contributions for you, your spouse, and your dependents are separately deductible, based on actual or reasonably necessary costs.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) If financial hardship has forced you to go without coverage, you can still claim a reasonable amount for coverage you need; the deduction is forward-looking.
Charitable contributions to qualified religious or charitable organizations cannot be used against you. Federal law bars the court from treating them as a factor in dismissing a Chapter 7 case.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(1) Regular giving or tithing will not be reclassified as disposable income.
The Pass/Fail Thresholds
Subtract all allowed expenses from your CMI, multiply what remains by 60 (five years of payments), and compare the result against two dollar thresholds that are adjusted periodically for inflation. For cases filed on or after April 1, 2025:
- $17,150 or more in five-year disposable income: a presumption of abuse applies automatically, regardless of total debt. At roughly $286 per month, the court presumes you can fund a Chapter 13 plan.
- Between $10,275 and $17,150: a presumption of abuse applies only if that amount would repay at least 25% of your nonpriority unsecured debts.
- Below $10,275: no presumption of abuse. You pass.
The middle tier is where contested cases usually land. Say your five-year disposable income is $12,000 and your unsecured debts total $60,000. Twenty-five percent of those debts is $15,000, more than your $12,000, so no presumption of abuse. But if the unsecured debts were only $40,000, twenty-five percent is $10,000, and your $12,000 clears it. Presumption of abuse applies.
Rebutting a Presumption of Abuse
A presumption of abuse is not a final rejection. The statute lets you rebut it by showing “special circumstances” that require additional expenses or reduce your income in ways the standard calculation misses.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 707 – Section: (b)(2)(B)
The law names a serious medical condition and a call to active military duty as examples. Courts have also considered caring for a disabled family member, a job loss that happened after the lookback period ended, or imminent large medical expenses. The expenses or income changes must be documented in detail, non-discretionary, and have “no reasonable alternative.” You file a written statement describing the circumstances and attach supporting documentation such as medical records, termination letters, or bills. Assertions without proof will not do it.
Succeed and your Chapter 7 case can proceed even though the numbers showed disposable income. Fail and the case is dismissed or converted to Chapter 13, where you repay creditors over three to five years.
Required Forms and Documentation
Every Chapter 7 filer completes Official Form 122A-1, the Statement of Your Current Monthly Income. It captures all income sources during the lookback period and compares your annualized CMI to the Virginia median.4United States Department of Justice. Means Testing If you are at or below the median, you check a box confirming no presumption of abuse arises and you are done with means testing.
Above the median, you also complete Official Form 122A-2, the Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation. That is the longer form where you itemize allowable expense deductions and calculate monthly disposable income.12United States Courts. Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation Both forms are on the United States Courts website.
Accurate completion depends on thorough documentation. Pull together at least six months of pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, profit and loss statements if you are self-employed, retirement account statements, and records of any other income. For expenses, gather mortgage statements, car loan contracts, insurance premium notices, and receipts for anything you plan to claim as “other necessary expenses.” Discrepancies between your forms and your records are the fastest way to draw trustee scrutiny.
You have 45 days from the date you file your petition to submit all required documents, including the means test forms. Miss that deadline and your case is automatically dismissed on the 46th day. One extension of up to 45 additional days is available for good cause, but the court is not required to grant it.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 521 – Section: (i)