How to Fill Out U.S. Courts Form 122C-2 (w/Examples) + FAQs

Form 122C-2 is the Chapter 13 Statement of Your Disposable Income, and you fill it out by listing your IRS-allowed living expenses, secured debt payments, priority debts, and administrative costs, then subtracting those from your current monthly income to calculate the monthly disposable income you must pay unsecured creditors over a 5-year plan. You only complete this form if your income is above the state median, because 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b)(3) forces above-median debtors to use the means test math instead of their actual budget.

The problem this form solves is simple but high-stakes. Without a uniform calculation, every above-median Chapter 13 debtor would propose a different repayment number, and unsecured creditors would receive whatever the debtor felt like paying. Congress fixed this in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which tied disposable income to the IRS Collection Financial Standards and made the result presumptively binding.

The Supreme Court later softened that math in Hamilton v. Lanning, which lets courts adjust the form’s output for known or virtually certain changes. The official PDF of the form lives on the U.S. Courts forms page and was last meaningfully amended on April 1, 2022.

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, Chapter 13 filings represent roughly 28% of all consumer bankruptcies, and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported about 247,000 Chapter 13 filings in the year ending March 2025, meaning hundreds of thousands of debtors face this form every year.

Here is what you will learn in this article:

• 📋 How to complete every line of Form 122C-2 from Part 1 through Part 4, with the right boxes checked.
• 💰 Which IRS National and Local Standards apply to your household and how to plug them in correctly.
• ⚖️ How federal law and key Supreme Court rulings like Ransom v. FIA Card Services shape your deductions.
• 🧾 Three named-debtor examples in Texas, California, and Florida that walk through real disposable-income math.
• 🚫 The most common mistakes pro se debtors and paralegals make, and the consequence each one triggers in court.

What Form 122C-2 Actually Does

Form 122C-2 is officially titled the Chapter 13 Calculation of Your Disposable Income, and it is the second half of a two-form set. The first form, Form 122C-1, tells you whether your annualized current monthly income is above or below your state’s median family income. If you are at or below the median, you stop after Form 122C-1 and check the box that says you do not have to fill out 122C-2.

If you are above the median, the law treats you as someone who can afford to pay creditors more than just your reasonable budget allows. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b)(2), your “projected disposable income” must be paid into your plan for the applicable commitment period, which is 5 years for above-median filers. Form 122C-2 is the worksheet that produces that disposable income number.

The consequence of skipping or fudging the form is severe. The Chapter 13 Trustee will object to plan confirmation, the bankruptcy judge will deny confirmation under § 1325(a)(1), and your case can be dismissed or converted to Chapter 7. A common misconception is that you can substitute your Schedule J household budget for Form 122C-2’s IRS-driven deductions, but you cannot. The two serve different statutory purposes and live side by side in your case.

A real-world example: when Maria, a paralegal in Phoenix, filed her client’s plan using Schedule J numbers instead of Form 122C-2’s IRS standards, the trustee in the District of Arizona objected within two weeks, and the debtor lost three months while the plan was redrafted.

Before You Open Form 122C-2: What You Need

You cannot fill the form correctly without three documents in front of you. The first is your completed Form 122C-1, because line 1 of 122C-2 pulls directly from line 14 of 122C-1. The second is the current IRS Collection Financial Standards for the month your case is filed. The third is your six-month payment history on every secured debt and tax obligation.

You also need your household size as defined by the U.S. Trustee Program, which uses the “heads on beds” rule in most districts but the “income tax dependent” rule in others. The consequence of using the wrong household size is direct: every IRS standard scales with household size, so a wrong number cascades through every line of the form. A common misconception is that “household” means everyone living under your roof, but the Sixth Circuit’s reasoning in In re Robinson and the U.S. Trustee’s Means Test Information page show district-by-district variation.

The form itself is a fillable PDF. Type your answers directly into the form rather than handwriting them. Bankruptcy clerks in districts like the Southern District of New York reject illegible handwritten forms under their local rules, which delays your petition.

Part 1: How to Calculate Your Disposable Income (Lines 1–4)

Part 1 is short but it sets the ceiling for everything that follows. Line 1 asks for your “current monthly income” copied from line 14 of Form 122C-1. This is the average of your gross income from all sources during the six full calendar months before the month you file, as defined by 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A).

Line 1: Current Monthly Income

You copy the exact dollar figure from Form 122C-1 line 14 onto Form 122C-2 line 1. Do not round. Do not adjust for any change since the lookback period ended, because the form is intentionally backward-looking. The Supreme Court in Hamilton v. Lanning held that the projected disposable income at the plan-confirmation stage can be adjusted for known changes, but the form itself still uses the historical six-month average.

The consequence of putting a different number on line 1 than on Form 122C-1 line 14 is automatic: the trustee’s software flags the inconsistency and you face a meeting-of-creditors challenge under § 341. A common misconception is that a recent raise or job loss should be netted into line 1, but those events belong in the Lanning adjustment argument, not on this line. For example, when David, a software engineer in Austin who lost his job two weeks before filing, tried to lower line 1 to reflect his new $0 income, the trustee in the Western District of Texas corrected it back to the six-month average and David made the Lanning argument at confirmation instead.

Line 2: Marital Adjustment

If you are married, did not file jointly, and your non-filing spouse’s income was included in line 1 because it was paid into the household, line 2 lets you back out the portion not used for household expenses. Common deductions include the non-filing spouse’s payroll taxes, retirement contributions, student loan payments, and personal expenses unrelated to the household. The deduction is allowed under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I).

The consequence of inflating line 2 to wipe out a non-filing spouse’s contribution is a trustee objection and possible bad-faith finding under § 1325(a)(3). A real-world example: Sandra, a teacher in Miami whose non-filing husband earns $9,000 a month, claimed $7,500 of his income on line 2 as “personal,” and the Southern District of Florida trustee objected, forcing her to itemize each subtraction. A common misconception is that the entire non-filing spouse’s income can be excluded; only the non-household portion qualifies.

Lines 3–4: Adjusted Current Monthly Income

Line 3 subtracts line 2 from line 1, giving “current monthly income for § 1325(b)(2).” Line 4 multiplies line 3 by 12 to produce annualized income, which the form uses to confirm your above-median status from Form 122C-1.

The math here is mechanical, but errors in this section poison every later calculation. The consequence is a re-do, often after the Section 341 meeting where the trustee surfaces the mistake. A common misconception is that line 4’s annualized number is what you owe creditors; it is not, because Part 2 still has to subtract IRS-allowed expenses.

Part 2: Calculate Your Deductions From Income (Lines 5–44)

Part 2 is the heart of the form and the hardest part to fill out. It uses the IRS Collection Financial Standards as the deduction floor and ceiling for most categories, with a few real-expense lines layered in.

Lines 6–7: National Standards for Food, Clothing, and Out-of-Pocket Health Care

Line 6 is the IRS National Standards amount for food, clothing, household supplies, personal care, and miscellaneous, indexed to your household size. As of the 2025 IRS tables, a family of four can deduct roughly $2,134 per month on this line. Line 7 is the IRS Out-of-Pocket Health Care standard, age-tiered at one rate for those under 65 and a higher rate for those 65 and over.

The consequence of substituting your actual grocery bill for line 6 is rejection: line 6 is a fixed standard, not an actual-expense line. A common misconception is that you must spend the full standard to deduct it, but the Ransom decision (which is about vehicle ownership) confirms by analogy that fixed standards apply regardless of actual expense, as long as the underlying expense category exists.

For example, David in Austin, with a household of three, deducted $1,872 on line 6 in 2025 even though his grocery receipts averaged $1,400, because the IRS National Standard does not require receipts.

Lines 8–9: Local Standards for Housing and Utilities

Line 8 is the IRS Local Standard for non-mortgage housing and utilities (insurance, repairs, gas, electric, water, trash, telephone). Line 9 is the IRS Local Standard for mortgage or rent. Both vary by county and household size.

If you have no mortgage and no rent, you still arguably deduct the full Local Standard under Ransom v. FIA Card Services, although Ransom itself was a vehicle case and circuits split on whether the housing analogy holds. The consequence of ignoring the county-specific rate is a trustee objection in high-cost districts like the Northern District of California where the San Francisco County standard is dramatically higher than a flat national rate.

A common misconception is that a homeowner with a mortgage deducts both the IRS standard and the mortgage payment on line 9; the form forces you to deduct only the IRS standard on line 9 and then back out the mortgage as a secured-debt deduction on line 33. A real-world example: Lin, a nurse in San Jose, deducted the $3,348 Santa Clara County housing standard on line 9 and her actual $4,500 mortgage on line 33, properly avoiding double counting.

Lines 12–14: Local Standards for Transportation

Line 12 is the IRS Local Standard for vehicle operation, based on your Census region and metropolitan statistical area. Line 13a is the ownership cost for the first vehicle, and line 13b is the ownership cost for the second vehicle, each capped by the IRS Ownership Standard.

Under Ransom, you can take the IRS Ownership Standard only if you have a loan or lease payment on that vehicle. If you own the car free and clear, the ownership deduction is zero. The consequence of taking the deduction on a paid-off car is automatic disallowance, sometimes accompanied by a § 1325(a)(3) bad-faith finding.

A common misconception is that a partially paid-off vehicle still earns the full ownership deduction; only the loan or lease balance counts. For example, Marcus, a contractor in Houston, claimed the full $588 ownership deduction on his free-and-clear pickup, and the Southern District of Texas trustee struck the line, raising his disposable income by $588 a month and his 60-month plan obligation by $35,280.

Lines 16–24: Other Necessary Expenses

These lines cover taxes (line 16), mandatory payroll deductions (line 17), life insurance for the debtor only (line 18), court-ordered payments (line 19), education for employment or for a physically or mentally challenged child (line 20), childcare (line 21), additional health care expenses above the standard (line 22), telecommunication services beyond basic phone (line 23), and total of other necessary expenses (line 24).

The consequence of stretching “necessary” to cover Netflix or premium cable on line 23 is a line-item objection. A common misconception is that life insurance for your spouse or kids counts on line 18; only term life on the debtor qualifies. A real-world example: Sandra in Miami deducted $250 a month for her son’s tutoring on line 20, supported by a doctor’s letter establishing his learning disability, and the trustee accepted it.

Lines 25–32: Additional Expense Deductions

Line 25 is health insurance, line 26 is disability insurance, line 27 is HSA contributions, line 28 is care for elderly/chronically ill/disabled household members, line 29 is protection against family violence, line 30 is additional home energy, line 31 is education for dependent children under 18, and line 32 is food and clothing above the standard (capped at 5%).

Line 31 is capped at $189.58 per child per month for the 2025 fiscal year under the U.S. Trustee’s published figures, and only covers private elementary or secondary school costs. The consequence of exceeding the cap is a partial disallowance to the cap. A common misconception is that college tuition for an adult dependent qualifies; it does not under § 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(IV).

Lines 33–34: Deductions for Debt Payment

Line 33 is the average monthly payment on each secured debt over the next 60 months, including arrears divided by 60. Line 34 totals priority claims (back taxes, domestic support arrears) divided by 60.

The consequence of misstating line 33 by leaving out cure amounts is a low disposable-income number that the trustee will correct upward, increasing your plan payment. A common misconception is that you list the current monthly mortgage; you actually list the contractual monthly payment plus 1/60 of any arrears. For example, Marcus in Houston had a $1,800 monthly mortgage and $12,000 in arrears, so his line 33 entry for that debt was $1,800 + ($12,000 / 60) = $2,000.

Line 36: Chapter 13 Administrative Expenses

Line 36 lets you deduct the projected administrative expenses of your Chapter 13 plan, calculated by multiplying your projected plan payment by the U.S. Trustee’s multiplier for your judicial district. The multiplier reflects the average trustee commission and attorney fee burden in your district, and it varies from roughly 4% to over 10%.

The consequence of using the wrong district’s multiplier is a trustee objection and a recalculation. A common misconception is that this line covers your filing fee; it does not, because the filing fee is paid through the plan but is not an “administrative” deduction here.

Part 3: Determine Your Disposable Income (Lines 39–45)

Part 3 totals your deductions and subtracts them from line 4’s annualized income to find your monthly disposable income. Line 39 is total deductions from income, line 44 is monthly disposable income under § 1325(b)(2), and line 45 is the calculated 60-month plan minimum.

If line 44 is positive, that number multiplied by 60 is the minimum you must pay unsecured creditors over the life of your plan. If line 44 is zero or negative, you may owe nothing to unsecured creditors based on the means test, but you can still face a “best efforts” or “good faith” objection under § 1325(a)(3) using your Schedule I/J actual budget.

The consequence of a confirmed plan that pays less than line 45 multiplied by 60 is denial of confirmation. A common misconception is that line 44 is the final word; the Supreme Court in Hamilton v. Lanning held it is presumptively correct but adjustable for known or virtually certain changes. For example, Lin in San Jose had a line 44 of $1,200, but because she had a confirmed pay raise starting in month two, the bankruptcy judge adjusted her plan upward under Lanning to $1,500 per month.

Part 4: Special Circumstances (Line 46)

Part 4 is one line, but it can save your case. Line 46 lets you list “special circumstances” that justify additional expenses or income adjustments not captured by the IRS standards, under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(B).

Examples that courts have accepted include serious medical conditions, a call to active military duty, and the costs of caring for a disabled non-dependent. The debtor must itemize each circumstance, the dollar amount, and provide documentation. The consequence of leaving line 46 blank when special circumstances exist is permanent forfeiture of the deduction, because the form treats line 44 as the final number absent a Part 4 entry.

A common misconception is that “special circumstances” means anything inconvenient. Courts in cases like In re Turner require true necessity, not lifestyle preference. For example, Sandra in Miami listed her son’s autism therapy of $850 a month on line 46, which the IRS Standards did not capture, and the bankruptcy judge accepted it.

Three Common Scenarios

Below are the three most common Form 122C-2 scenarios and the consequence of how each one plays out in court.

Scenario	Disposable Income Outcome
Above-median single filer with paid-off vehicle and W-2 income	Line 13 ownership deduction is $0 per Ransom, line 44 is positive, and the debtor must pay unsecured creditors at least line 44 × 60.
Above-median married debtor with non-filing spouse and shared mortgage	Line 2 marital adjustment partially reduces income, line 9 takes the IRS housing standard, and line 33 captures the mortgage; line 44 is often modest but positive.
Above-median debtor with disabled child and high medical costs	Lines 22, 28, and 46 absorb most of the income above the IRS standards, frequently driving line 44 to zero.

Three Named-Debtor Examples

David Chen is a 38-year-old software engineer in Austin, Texas, with a household size of three and current monthly income of $11,500. He uses line 6 for $1,872 (food/clothing/personal care) and line 8 for $612 (Travis County non-mortgage housing). His line 44 disposable income comes out to $1,925, locking in a 60-month plan obligation of $115,500 to unsecured creditors before any Schedule J adjustments.

Sandra Lopez is a 45-year-old public school teacher in Miami-Dade County, Florida, with a non-filing husband earning $9,000 a month. She uses line 2 to back out $1,800 of her husband’s payroll taxes and personal expenses, line 31 to deduct $189.58 for her younger child’s private school, and line 46 to deduct $850 for her older son’s autism therapy. Her line 44 lands at just $215 a month, producing a relatively low $12,900 unsecured creditor pool.

Marcus Johnson is a 52-year-old self-employed contractor in Harris County, Texas, with two paid-off trucks and a $1,800 mortgage with $12,000 in arrears. He correctly takes $0 ownership on line 13 for both trucks, $1,800 contractual + $200 arrears = $2,000 per month on line 33, and the IRS Local Standard housing on line 9. His line 44 comes out at $785, generating a $47,100 minimum pot for unsecured creditors.

Mistakes to Avoid

Pro se debtors and even experienced paralegals trip on the same Form 122C-2 errors. Below are the seven most damaging.

• Mis-copying line 1 from Form 122C-1, which makes every downstream deduction misaligned and triggers an automatic trustee objection.
• Taking the IRS vehicle ownership deduction on a paid-off car, which violates Ransom v. FIA Card Services and inflates your deductions.
• Using the wrong county’s IRS Local Standard on line 9, which is common when debtors recently moved and do not realize the form uses the county at the petition date.
• Listing actual grocery or utility bills on lines 6–8 instead of the IRS Standards, which the form does not allow except in narrow above-standard categories.
• Leaving line 46 blank when real special circumstances exist, which permanently forfeits the deduction under § 707(b)(2)(B).
• Forgetting to divide arrears by 60 on line 33, which understates your secured debt deduction and overstates disposable income.
• Using the wrong household size, often by counting “heads on beds” in a district that uses the income-tax-dependent rule, per the U.S. Trustee Means Test guidance.

Do’s and Don’ts

The form leaves no room for guesswork, but a short list of do’s and don’ts protects you from the most common rejections.

• Do download the most current version of Form 122C-2 from the U.S. Courts forms page to ensure you are using the post-2022 version, because old versions trigger clerk rejections.
• Do pull your IRS Standards from the month of filing on the IRS Collection Financial Standards page, because numbers refresh each spring and using an outdated table invites objection.
• Do keep documentation for every above-standard deduction (lines 22, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 46), because the trustee can demand proof at the § 341 meeting.
• Do confirm your district’s administrative expense multiplier on the U.S. Trustee Means Test page, because line 36 depends on this district-specific number.
• Do reconcile Form 122C-2 with Schedule I and J, because large gaps between the two forms invite a “good faith” objection under § 1325(a)(3).
• Don’t substitute Schedule J actual expenses for IRS Standards, because the Bankruptcy Code expressly requires the standards on Form 122C-2.
• Don’t claim ownership deductions on free-and-clear vehicles, because Ransom forecloses that argument.
• Don’t round numbers; pennies matter at the meeting of creditors.
• Don’t leave line 2 blank if you are married and filing alone with a non-filing spouse’s income on line 1, because failing to claim the marital adjustment overstates income.
• Don’t file the form unsigned; an unsigned 122C-2 is treated as not filed in most districts and can lead to dismissal under § 521(i).

Pros and Cons of Form 122C-2

Although the form feels punitive, it has both upsides and downsides for the debtor.

• Pro: The IRS Standards are sometimes higher than what you actually spend, allowing you to keep more income.
• Pro: The form is uniform, which means trustees and judges apply the same math to every debtor.
• Pro: Line 46 special circumstances allow individualized adjustments for genuine hardship.
• Pro: Once line 44 is set, you have a defined minimum pot for unsecured creditors and predictability for the next 60 months.
• Pro: The Hamilton v. Lanning “forward-looking approach” allows downward adjustment when income is virtually certain to drop.
• Con: The IRS Standards may be lower than your actual expenses in high-cost areas, forcing a higher plan payment than your real budget supports.
• Con: The form ignores recent income changes, often forcing debtors to wait or argue Lanning at confirmation.
• Con: Errors cascade because every line depends on prior lines.
• Con: Above-median debtors are stuck with a 5-year plan, which is two years longer than below-median debtors under § 1325(b)(4).
• Con: The form is technically demanding and frequently requires attorney review, raising legal costs.

Federal vs. State Nuances

Federal bankruptcy law governs the form, but the IRS Local Standards and trustee multipliers vary state to state and even county to county. The Northern District of California has some of the highest housing standards in the country, while the Southern District of Texas often produces lower line 9 numbers. The Southern District of New York and Middle District of Florida sit in between.

The consequence of using a generic standard rather than your county-specific number is a routine trustee objection. A common misconception is that a debtor can pick the county with the most favorable standard; you must use the county where you reside on the petition date.

A real-world example: when Lin in San Jose initially used the median California rate, her Northern District of California trustee corrected the line 9 entry to the higher Santa Clara County figure, which actually helped her by reducing line 44.

Key People, Places, and Concepts

The form sits inside a network of statutes, agencies, and decisions you should know by name. The Bankruptcy Code Title 11 governs the underlying rules. The Executive Office for U.S. Trustees publishes the Means Test data. The IRS Collection Financial Standards supply the deduction floors. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the form.

The Supreme Court rulings in Hamilton v. Lanning and Ransom v. FIA Card Services shape how the form’s outputs are read. Your local Chapter 13 trustee, your bankruptcy judge, your attorney (or you, pro se), and the unsecured creditors committee are the human players. The consequence of misunderstanding any of these roles is a longer, more expensive case.

Recap of Key Rulings

Hamilton v. Lanning, 560 U.S. 505 (2010) holds that “projected disposable income” is the historical mean test number adjusted for known or virtually certain changes. Ransom v. FIA Card Services, 562 U.S. 61 (2011) holds that the IRS vehicle ownership deduction is available only if the debtor has a current loan or lease payment. Baud v. Carroll, 634 F.3d 327 (6th Cir. 2011) holds that above-median debtors with zero or negative disposable income are still bound to a 5-year applicable commitment period.

The consequence of ignoring these rulings is predictable: trustees and judges apply them every day, and your form will be corrected if you do not.

FAQs

Do I have to file Form 122C-2 if my income is below the state median?

No. Below-median Chapter 13 debtors stop after Form 122C-1 and check the box stating Form 122C-2 is not required, because the means test only governs above-median filers under § 1325(b)(3).

Is the IRS Standard for housing the same in every state?

No. The IRS Local Standards for housing and utilities vary by county, with high-cost counties in California and New York producing far higher allowances than low-cost rural counties.

Can I deduct the IRS vehicle ownership cost on a paid-off car?

No. Under Ransom v. FIA Card Services, the ownership deduction is available only if the debtor has a current loan or lease payment on the vehicle in question.

Does Form 122C-2 replace Schedule J?

No. Form 122C-2 governs the means test calculation under § 1325(b)(2), while Schedule J reflects actual monthly expenses, and both are filed together in every Chapter 13 case.

Can I use my actual grocery bill on line 6?

No. Line 6 is a fixed IRS National Standard amount tied to household size, and actual grocery receipts neither raise nor lower the deduction.

Is the disposable income on line 44 the final amount I owe creditors?

No. Hamilton v. Lanning lets the bankruptcy court adjust the line 44 number for known or virtually certain changes in income or expenses before plan confirmation.

Do I get the full IRS Standard if I have no rent or mortgage?

Yes. Many courts allow the full Local Standard for non-mortgage housing under the Ransom analogy, although a circuit split exists, so check your district.

Can I deduct private college tuition for my adult dependent?

No. Section 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(IV) caps the education deduction at $189.58 per minor child for elementary or secondary school, and excludes adult college tuition.

Should I list my current monthly mortgage on line 33?

Yes. Line 33 captures the contractual monthly secured payment plus 1/60 of any arrears, divided across the 60-month plan.

Can the trustee challenge my Form 122C-2 after confirmation?

Yes. Trustees and creditors may seek modification under § 1329 if a material change in circumstances surfaces after confirmation, including a discovered Form 122C-2 error.

Do I have to use the version of Form 122C-2 effective on my filing date?

Yes. Clerks reject older versions, so always download the form from the U.S. Courts forms page on the day you prepare it.

Is line 46 mandatory if I have special circumstances?

Yes. Failing to list special circumstances on line 46 forfeits the deduction, because the form treats line 44 as final absent a Part 4 entry.