How Much Does Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Cost? Calculator & Plan Payments

The cost of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy comes in two parts: the up-front cost to file (a fixed federal court fee plus your attorney's fee) and the ongoing cost of your repayment plan, which is a monthly payment you make for either three or five years. The federal filing fee is set nationally by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code system and is the same in every state, but attorney fees and your monthly plan payment depend heavily on your income, your debts, and where you live.

This guide walks through each piece so you can build a rough estimate before you ever talk to a lawyer. Think of it as general information to help you ask better questions, not a substitute for legal advice tailored to your situation.

The two costs: filing fees vs. plan payments

People searching for the "cost" of Chapter 13 usually mean one of two very different things:

• The cost to start the case. This is the court filing fee plus your attorney's fee. It is a few thousand dollars in most cases, and a big portion of it can often be paid through the plan rather than all at once.
• The cost of the plan itself. This is your monthly payment over 3 to 5 years. Over the life of a plan, this is by far the larger number, and it is the figure a "calculator" is really trying to estimate.

Understanding the difference matters, because Chapter 13 is specifically designed so that most filers do not need to bring a large lump sum to the table. Much of the cost is folded into the monthly payments.

The federal filing fee

The court filing fee for a Chapter 13 case is set by the federal Judicial Conference and applies in every bankruptcy court nationwide. As of this writing it is $313 (broken into a case filing fee plus a small administrative fee). Because filing fees are adjusted periodically, always confirm the current amount on your local bankruptcy court's website before you rely on it.

Unlike Chapter 7, Chapter 13 filers generally cannot get this fee waived. However, the court will usually let you pay it in installments after you file, often in four payments. You ask for this by filing an Application to Pay the Filing Fee in Installments at the time you open your case.

Attorney fees and "no money down" Chapter 13

Attorney fees are the part that varies most. Many bankruptcy courts publish a "presumptively reasonable" or "no-look" fee, which is a flat amount a lawyer can charge for a standard Chapter 13 case without itemizing every hour. This figure is set locally and differs from district to district, so the going rate in a rural district may be very different from a major metro area. This varies by state and even by court district.

A key advantage of Chapter 13 is that attorney fees can usually be paid through the plan. That is why you often see lawyers advertise "no money down" or "low money down" Chapter 13: you may pay only a small amount and the court costs up front, and the bulk of the attorney fee gets built into your monthly plan payments and paid over time as a priority claim. Always get the fee arrangement in writing and ask specifically how much you must pay before filing versus through the plan.

The real cost: how the plan payment is calculated

Your monthly plan payment is the heart of a Chapter 13. It is not a number a website can pin down precisely, because it depends on several moving parts that a court and a trustee scrutinize. But you can estimate it. Your plan payment must be large enough to cover the highest of several requirements:

1. Your disposable income

The Bankruptcy Code requires you to commit your projected disposable income to the plan. In plain terms: your monthly income minus reasonable, allowed living expenses. If you earn above your state's median income for your household size, your allowed expenses are partly set by national and local standards (the "means test"), not just your actual spending. If you earn below the median, your actual budget matters more. State median income figures are published and updated regularly, so the threshold that applies to you depends on your state and household size.

2. Your priority debts

Certain debts must be paid in full through a Chapter 13 plan. These include recent income taxes, past-due child support and alimony (domestic support obligations), and similar priority claims. If you owe these, your payment has to be high enough to clear them over the plan term.

3. Curing what you are behind on (arrears)

One of the main reasons people choose Chapter 13 is to catch up on a mortgage or car loan they have fallen behind on. The total amount you are past due gets spread across the plan months and added to your payment. So if you are behind on your house, that back-due amount is a major driver of your monthly number.

4. The "best interest of creditors" test

Unsecured creditors (credit cards, medical bills, personal loans) must receive at least what they would have gotten if you had filed Chapter 7 and your non-exempt property had been sold. The value of any property you cannot protect with exemptions sets a floor on what unsecured creditors get. Exemptions are partly federal and partly state-specific, so how much property you can protect varies significantly by state.

The plan length: 3 years or 5 years

Chapter 13 plans run either three years or five years, and which one applies is generally driven by your income:

• If your income is below your state's median for your household size, your commitment period is usually three years (though you can choose longer to lower the monthly payment).
• If your income is at or above the median, the plan is generally five years.

The same total debt spread over 60 months is a smaller monthly payment than over 36 months, so plan length directly changes your monthly cost.

How to estimate your own plan payment (a DIY calculator)

You can sketch a rough estimate yourself. No online tool replaces a lawyer running the actual means test, but this gets you in the ballpark:

• Step 1 - Add up your mandatory catch-up amounts. Total everything you are behind on (mortgage arrears, car arrears) plus any priority debts like recent taxes and back child support.
• Step 2 - Divide by your plan months. Use 36 if you are below median income, 60 if you are at or above it. This gives the minimum your plan must pay toward those obligations each month.
• Step 3 - Add ongoing secured payments. If you are keeping a financed car and paying for it through the plan, add that. Mortgages are sometimes paid inside the plan and sometimes paid directly to the lender outside it.
• Step 4 - Add the trustee's fee. The Chapter 13 trustee takes a percentage of every payment that flows through the plan (commonly up to around 10 percent). Build that in.
• Step 5 - Compare to your disposable income. Your payment cannot realistically be lower than your projected disposable income from Step 1 of the calculation above. Whichever is higher governs.

If the number you get is more than you can afford, that is important information: a plan has to be feasible, meaning you must actually be able to make the payments, or the court will not confirm it.

Other costs to budget for

• Credit counseling and debtor education. The Bankruptcy Code requires a credit counseling course before filing and a financial management course before your debts are discharged. Each is taken from an approved provider and typically costs a modest fee, which can sometimes be waived or reduced based on income.
• Your credit report. It is worth pulling your reports so your debts are listed accurately. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are entitled to free reports, and you can dispute errors with the bureaus and the furnisher.

How costs differ from Chapter 7

Chapter 7 has a higher court filing fee but no multi-year plan payment, so its total out-of-pocket cost is usually lower and the case is over in a few months. Chapter 13 costs more over time because you are repaying a portion of your debts, but it lets you keep property you are behind on and stop a foreclosure or repossession. The choice is less about price and more about what you are trying to protect.

When to talk to a lawyer

Chapter 13 is one area where doing it yourself is genuinely hard. The plan math, the means test, and local court practices are detailed, and a plan that is not feasible or not properly structured can get dismissed. Most bankruptcy attorneys offer a free initial consultation and will quote you a flat fee, and because much of that fee can be paid through the plan, cost is rarely a barrier to at least talking to one.

It is especially worth getting advice quickly if you are facing a foreclosure sale date, a wage garnishment, or a vehicle repossession, because filing triggers an automatic stay that can stop those actions, but timing matters. And if you have been sued by a creditor, remember that a debt lawsuit has a strict deadline to file a written answer (the exact number of days varies by state and court), and missing it can lead to a default judgment. The federal consumer protections enforced by the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), govern how collectors may behave, but they do not pause a lawsuit clock. When in doubt, get the deadline confirmed by a professional rather than guessing.

This article is general information to help you understand and estimate costs. It is not legal advice, and the right answer for your case depends on your specific numbers and your state's rules.

Know the law

Bankruptcy is a federal legal process under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code; state exemptions decide what property you keep.

Key federal laws:

• U.S. Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C.

Where to get help or file a complaint:

• U.S. Courts — Bankruptcy Basics

Your state matters too. Federal law is the floor — your state sets the statute of limitations on debt, garnishment and exemption limits, payday and repossession rules, and has its own Attorney General and consumer-protection laws. Always check your state’s rules. This is general legal information, not legal advice.