If you’re trying to understand the means test for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Louisiana, you’ve likely spent a few late nights with a calculator. Maybe you’re wondering whether your paycheck is the one thing standing between you and a fresh start. That worry makes sense, and it deserves a straight answer.
Bankruptcy is federal law, and the Louisiana Chapter 7 means test follows a national formula in two steps. First, your average income from the last six months is compared to the state median for your household size. If you’re above it, the test then subtracts living costs like your mortgage, car payment, and health insurance. So earning more on paper doesn’t automatically rule you out.
If you’d like a second set of eyes on your numbers, Kat Wiley at Wiley & Jowers is happy to go through them with you, including which filing month gives you the best six-month average. There’s no charge for that first conversation.
Key Takeaways
- Your income is a six-month average of gross income, not take-home pay.
- Louisiana’s 2026 median is $59,447 for one person and $103,628 for four.
- Above the median, allowed expenses and your parish’s housing figure decide the result.
- Certain disabled veterans, reservists, and business-debt filers skip the expense math.
What Is the Chapter 7 Means Test?
The means test asks whether you’d have money left each month, after covering the basics, to repay some of what you owe. If so, 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) lets the court dismiss your Chapter 7 case or offer you Chapter 13 instead.
Who Doesn’t Have to Take the Means Test
First, check whether you’re one of three exempt groups.
- Disabled veterans whose debts built up mainly during active duty or homeland defense service.
- People with mostly business debt, like a failed restaurant or shrimping operation.
- National Guard members and reservists called up for at least 90 days, under an exclusion that runs through December 19, 2027.
Each one needs proof, and a Louisiana Chapter 7 means test attorney at Wiley & Jowers can confirm whether one fits you.
What Counts as Income on the Means Test
The Six-Month Look-Back
Next comes your own number, called current monthly income. The form averages your gross income from the six full calendar months before filing, so a November 20 filing covers May 1 through October 31. A $4,000 bonus in one month gets spread across all six and can push you over the median until it drops out of the window.
What’s Included and What Isn’t
Wages, net business income, and regular help with household bills all count. Social Security benefits don’t.
With more than 15 years in consumer bankruptcy, Kathryn Wiley can sort out which deposits count as income.
Louisiana Median Income Limits for Cases Filed in 2026
Then compare your number to the Louisiana median family income figures, which the U.S. Trustee Program updates more than once a year:
- 1 person: $59,447
- 2 people: $72,348
- 3 people: $84,602
- 4 people: $103,628, plus $11,100 for each additional person
At or below your number, you pass and skip the longer worksheet.
What Happens If You Earn More Than the Louisiana Median
Above the median, Official Form 122A-2 subtracts allowed living expenses. What’s left is your monthly disposable income, which the form multiplies by 60.
Under the current thresholds, which apply through March 31, 2028, you pass below $10,275 and don’t at $17,150 or more. In between, it depends on whether that amount would repay 25% of your nonpriority unsecured debt.
Why Your Parish Changes the Means Test Math
Your housing deduction depends on where you live. The IRS Local Standards for bankruptcy cases filed since July 15, 2026, allow a renting family of four $1,269 a month for rent in Iberia Parish and $1,558 in Lafayette Parish. That’s a $17,340 difference over 60 months.
For a Jeanerette family, a $640 truck note and $1,100 a month in health premiums both get subtracted, which can help bring their five-year total under $10,275. A Louisiana Chapter 7 means test attorney makes sure every deduction you’re allowed gets counted. If you still don’t qualify, Chapter 13 lets you repay part of your debt over three to five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my spouse’s income count if only I file for bankruptcy?
It does if you’re married and living together, but you can subtract what they spend only on their own bills, called the marital adjustment.
Can I keep my house or car if I pass the means test?
Often, yes. What you keep depends on Louisiana’s exemptions, not the means test, and they protect up to $35,000 of equity in your home and, since August 1, 2026, up to $15,000 of equity in a vehicle. If you stay current on your mortgage and car payments, you can usually keep both.
What should I do before filing Chapter 7?
Take a course from an approved credit counseling provider within 180 days before you file, since a case filed without that certificate can be dismissed. Iberia Parish cases are then filed in the Lafayette-Opelousas Division of the Western District of Louisiana bankruptcy court.
How much does it cost to file Chapter 7 in Louisiana?
The court filing fee is $338 under the national bankruptcy fee schedule, and you can ask to pay in installments. Some low-income filers can get it waived. Attorney fees are separate.
Wiley & Jowers: Your Bankruptcy Law Firm
If you’re worried your income is over the limit, that number alone doesn’t decide your case. Kathryn Wiley has helped hundreds of people through this same worry, and she’d rather you know your options than guess. Contact our firm today and bring six months of pay stubs so we can look at them together.
