A common question is, should you file bankruptcy? Understanding the Chapter 7 income limits can help you estimate whether you may qualify for Chapter 7 in Florida.
You experience financial hardship and realize you have to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy within a certain income in Florida. Bankruptcy is a legal debt relief option to help eliminate debt. It’s hard enough to have to deal with the stress of credit card debt, garnishment, lawsuit, foreclosure, etc. Now you have to navigate the complex means-testing government website to see whether you may qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
We have good news. The purpose of this article is to break down the Florida Chapter 7 bankruptcy income limits to explain how bankruptcy qualification works in simple terms. For example, if you do not file Chapter 7, you may file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Florida.
Florida Chapter 7 Income Limits 2021
The qualification for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida (and the rest of the states for that matter) is based on your median income limit and household size. Income can be complex. For example, you may know how much income you take home, but do you know your average income from the prior 6 months that is required for bankruptcy? I certainly didn’t. Another important thing to consider is net vs gross income.
Before we discuss more below, let’s cover the Chapter 7 income limits in Florida. Here is the list for Chapter 7 Florida cases filed on or after May 15, 2022. If your household size is greater than 9, you would add an additional $9,900 per person.
Understand Median Income
Now, let’s discuss median income because there is a lot of complexity within income. You may know how much you take home each week, but you may not know what your “average monthly income that you received from all sources, derived during the 6 full months” that is needed for the Chapter 7 statement of your current monthly income bankruptcy form. See the complex language in the bankruptcy form below.
It’s complex wording that I didn’t understand for a long time (and I write many articles on bankruptcy). There are a couple of things you can do here to make it easier.
1. Take a free Chapter 7 Income Limit Bankruptcy Calculator specific for Florida
A Chapter 7 income limit bankruptcy calculator can help you understand bankruptcy qualification in Florida without having to understand all the jargon. You can take it below.
2. Use our Average Income Calculator
An average income calculator can help you estimate your annual income to compare to the Chapter 7 bankruptcy income limits for Florida above. You may actually want to take an income calculator first and then plug your income into the calculator above.
Please note that if you are facing a Florida Wage garnishment, then you may want to take a Florida wage garnishment calculator to understand how your income may be affected.
Understand Household Size
Household size tends to be less complex because you generally will file a tax return and claim those individuals as dependents, but it’s important to consider such situations as the following:
- You have a 25 year old that you have been claiming as a dependent. Can you include them as a household member?
- Someone is legally separated and filing without a spouse. Can they include the spouse as a household member?
If you do not file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Florida, then you may look at Florida Debt Relief. For this, you may consider researching Florida Debt Relief reviews to make an informed decision.
Florida Counties Covered By These Bankruptcy Income Limits
The Florida Chapter 7 bankruptcy income limits cover all cities from Miami to Orlando. Let’s go through the list of counties in Florida that the bankruptcy income limits cover:
- Alachua
- Baker
- Bay
- Bradford
- Brevard
- Broward
- Calhoun
- Charlotte
- Citrus
- Clay
- Collier
- Columbia
- DeSoto
- Dixie
- Duval
- Escambia
- Flagler
- Franklin
- Gadsden
- Gilchrist
- Glades
- Gulf
- Hamilton
- Hardee
- Hendry
- Hernando
- Highlands
- Hillsborough
- Holmes
- Indian River
- Jackson
- Jefferson
- Lafayette
- Lake
- Lee
- Leon
- Levy
- Liberty
- Madison
- Manatee
- Marion
- Martin
- Miami-Dade
- Monroe
- Nassau
- Okaloosa
- Okeechobee
- Orange
- Osceola
- Palm Beach
- Pasco
- Pinellas
- Polk
- Putnam
- Santa Rosa
- Sarasota
- Seminole
- St. Johns
- St. Lucie
- Sumter
- Suwannee
- Taylor
- Union
- Volusia
- Wakulla
- Walton
- Washington