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Business and the Means Test

By Douglas Jacobs, California Bankruptcy Attorney

Filing bankruptcy if you have a business can be different from a typical consumer case.  First of all, if 51% of your debts were incurred for your business, you won?t have to file the means test! Thus, you avoid the problem of having too much income to qualify for a Chapter 7.  Fortunately, it is not too difficult to determine which bills are business debts and which ones aren?t.  Just be sure you can defend that position with invoices or contracts should the need arrive.

If you don?t qualify for the business debt exception, you?ll have to list your gross monthly income on Form B22 ? the means test form.  You do get to deduct the costs of operations and running the business.   But where do you take the deduction?  There is a difference of opinion in the judicial community.

Here in the 9th Circuit (California and the western states), you can?t deduct those expenses until after the determination of your gross monthly income. You do get to deduct them later, but ?below the line.?

The ?line? is the determination of monthly income. If it is above ?median? (determined on a state by state basis), then you may have to sign up for a five year plan. If it?s below that figure, then you can qualify for a three year plan.  Two less years of making the Chapter 13 payments!  [Note that there is also a difference of opinion on whether or not you can do less than a five year plan if you are above median income but have little or no disposable income at the bottom of the form.]

All pretty complicated, and it varies greatly depending on where you live.  Just one more good reason to contact a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your area.

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Full post as published by Credit Law Network on March 11, 2011 (boomark / email).