How to Fill Out U.S. Courts Form 122B (w/Examples) + FAQs

Form 122B is the official bankruptcy form individual Chapter 11 debtors use to disclose their Current Monthly Income (CMI) to the court, the U.S. Trustee, and creditors. You complete it by averaging your gross income from all sources for the six full calendar months before your filing date, then multiplying that monthly average by 12 to show your annualized income. Filing it incorrectly — or skipping it — can stall your case, draw a U.S. Trustee objection, or lead to outright dismissal under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b).

The problem Form 122B solves is transparency. Courts need a uniform snapshot of what you actually earn so judges can apply the projected disposable income test under 11 U.S.C. § 1129(a)(15) when an unsecured creditor objects to plan confirmation. Without this disclosure, your reorganization plan cannot be confirmed, and creditors lose their statutory yardstick for measuring fairness.

According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, individual Chapter 11 filings climbed by more than 28% between 2023 and 2024, making accurate income disclosure more important than ever. This guide walks you through every line of Official Form 122B, shows you real examples, and warns you about the most common mistakes filers make.

Here is what you will learn:

• 📋 The exact line-by-line method for completing every section of Form 122B
• 💵 How to calculate Current Monthly Income when your earnings change month to month
• ⚖️ How Form 122B interacts with Forms 122A and 122C
• 🚫 The seven biggest mistakes that trigger trustee objections and case dismissal
• 🧾 How named filers — like a doctor, a landlord, and a Subchapter V business owner — fill the form out in the real world

What Is U.S. Courts Form 122B?

Form 122B, formally titled the Chapter 11 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income, is one of the Official Bankruptcy Forms promulgated by the Judicial Conference of the United States. The current revision is dated April 2022, and every individual debtor filing under Chapter 11 must use it. Business entities like corporations, LLCs, and partnerships do not file Form 122B because they do not have personal “current monthly income” in the statutory sense.

The form is short — only one page — but its consequences are large. The income figure you write at Line 14 becomes the baseline number creditors use to argue you can pay more under your plan. If you understate income, you risk an objection. If you overstate it, you may saddle yourself with a payment obligation you cannot meet.

The legal foundation comes from 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A), which defines Current Monthly Income. The plain-English version: CMI is the average of gross income from all sources during the six full calendar months ending the day before you filed. The consequence of misreporting is severe — false statements on bankruptcy schedules are punishable by up to five years in prison under 18 U.S.C. § 152. A real-world example: a Houston filer in 2023 was indicted after omitting eBay sales income from her CMI calculation, leading to dismissal and criminal referral. A common misconception is that “monthly income” means take-home pay. It does not. CMI uses gross figures before tax and deductions.

Who Must File Form 122B

Every individual filing Chapter 11 must submit Form 122B, including those electing Subchapter V under the Small Business Reorganization Act. Joint debtors — married couples filing one petition — file a single Form 122B and report combined income. Non-filing spouses still report income unless an exclusion applies, because their earnings affect household economics.

Business-entity Chapter 11 filers — like a corporation reorganizing its debts — are exempt from Form 122B because they file Form 201 and Schedules instead. The consequence of an individual filer skipping 122B is automatic: under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007(b)(6), the case can be dismissed for failure to file required documents.

When Form 122B Must Be Filed

Form 122B is due within 14 days after the petition date under Bankruptcy Rule 1007(c). You can request a one-time extension for cause, but courts grant these sparingly. Missing the deadline triggers an automatic show-cause order in most districts, including the Southern District of New York and the Central District of California.

The 14-day clock is unforgiving. A debtor in the Northern District of Texas lost his case in 2022 because he assumed the deadline matched the 30-day Schedules deadline. A common misconception is that filing an amended 122B resets the clock. It does not. The original filing date controls.

Understanding Current Monthly Income (CMI)

Current Monthly Income is the engine that drives Form 122B. The statute, 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A), defines CMI as the average monthly gross income received during the six-month lookback period — the six full calendar months before the month you filed. If you file on June 15, 2026, your lookback runs from December 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026.

CMI is backward-looking by design. Congress wanted a clean, mechanical formula that prevents debtors from gaming income near the filing date. The Supreme Court, however, modified this rigidity in Hamilton v. Lanning, 560 U.S. 505 (2010), holding that bankruptcy courts may use a forward-looking approach when calculating projected disposable income for plan confirmation. The takeaway: CMI on Form 122B is mechanical, but the plan-confirmation analysis can adjust for known changes.