Bankruptcy Schedule B: Form 106A/B, Valuation, and Exemptions

Bankruptcy Schedule B is the personal property section of the federal bankruptcy schedules — the place where you list every asset you own that is not real estate, along with a dollar value for each item. On the current form it is combined with the real estate schedule into a single document called Official Form 106A/B, but most attorneys, trustees, and filers still call the personal property portion “Schedule B.”

Schedule B Today: Official Form 106A/B

Federal law requires every individual bankruptcy filer to submit a schedule of assets and liabilities.¹ Official Form 106A/B satisfies that requirement by merging the former Schedule A (real estate) and Schedule B (personal property) into one form.² Part 1 covers real estate. Part 2 covers vehicles. The remaining parts cover every other kind of personal property and financial asset you might own.

The bankruptcy trustee uses this form to see everything you own. In a Chapter 7 case, the trustee looks for assets that are not protected by exemptions and can be sold to pay creditors. In a Chapter 13 case, the total value of your property sets a floor for what your repayment plan has to pay unsecured creditors: at least as much as they would have received in a Chapter 7 liquidation.³ Either way, completeness is the point.

What You Have to List

The form breaks personal property into detailed categories so nothing slips past. You must list every item you own or have an interest in, even if you think it has no real value. The categories on Form 106A/B include:²

Household goods and furnishings — furniture, appliances, linens, kitchenware.
Electronics — computers, televisions, audio and video equipment, cell phones, cameras, gaming devices.
Collectibles — antiques, artwork, stamp or coin collections, memorabilia.
Firearms and related equipment, including ammunition.
Jewelry — everyday pieces, engagement and wedding rings, heirlooms, watches, gems.
Clothing.
Bank accounts — checking, savings, certificates of deposit, brokerage balances.
Security deposits and prepayments — utility deposits, rent deposits, prepaid expenses.
Tax refunds you expect or are owed as of the filing date.
Insurance interests — life insurance with cash value, health savings accounts.
Retirement accounts — 401(k), 403(b), IRA, pension, 457 plans.
Business interests — ownership in partnerships, corporations, or LLCs.
Legal claims — pending or potential lawsuits, workers’ compensation claims, insurance claims, even ones you have not yet filed.

Each item gets its own line with a brief description. A vehicle entry should include make, model, year, and mileage. Vague entries like “miscellaneous electronics” invite follow-up questions from the trustee and slow the case down. If an item is kept somewhere other than your primary address, note the location.

How to Value Each Item

The Bankruptcy Code sets the valuation standard: replacement value, meaning the price a retail merchant would charge for an item of similar kind, age, and condition on the date you file.⁴ That is not what you paid. It is not what you could get at a garage sale. It is closer to what a thrift store or used-goods retailer would charge for a comparable item.

For most household goods and clothing, replacement value is quite low. A five-year-old couch that cost $1,200 new might have a replacement value of $100 to $200. Vehicles are more straightforward: standard pricing guides give values based on make, model, year, mileage, and condition. Jewelry, artwork, and collectibles are harder. If the trustee disagrees with your stated value for a higher-value item, the trustee may ask for a professional appraisal or inspect the property in person. Comparable listings on auction sites are a reasonable starting point for most belongings; formal appraisals carry more weight for items worth several thousand dollars or more.

Listing Something Doesn’t Mean Losing It

Putting an item on Schedule B does not by itself put it at risk. After Schedule B, you file Schedule C, where you claim exemptions — the legal protections that shield property from creditors. Every item you want to protect has to appear on both: listed on Schedule B with a value, and claimed on Schedule C under the specific law that protects it.

Under the federal exemption system, which is available in some states, the dollar limits effective April 1, 2025 include:⁵

Household goods: up to $800 per item and $16,850 total across all household goods, furnishings, clothing, appliances, books, animals, and musical instruments.
Tools of the trade: up to $3,175 in work-related tools, books, and equipment.
Wildcard: $1,675 in any property, plus up to $15,800 of any unused portion of the homestead exemption, for a possible $17,475 you can apply to any asset.

Many states have their own exemption systems, some more generous than the federal one and some less, and some states require you to use the state list rather than the federal one. Which exemptions you can claim depends on where you have lived during the two years before filing.

Retirement funds in tax-qualified accounts — 401(k), 403(b), traditional and Roth IRAs, pensions, and 457 plans — are protected under both the federal and state tracks.⁵ For employer-sponsored plans, the exemption has no dollar cap. For traditional and Roth IRAs (excluding rollover amounts from employer plans), the cap is $1,711,975 as of April 2025. You still have to list these accounts on Schedule B with their current balances, even though they are almost always fully protected. Leaving them off can look like concealment.

The same logic applies to low-value belongings. Many Chapter 7 cases end as “no-asset” cases because everything the debtor owns fits inside the available exemptions.⁶ The trustee can only confirm that by seeing a complete Schedule B paired with a complete Schedule C.

Property You Transferred Before Filing

Schedule B captures what you own now, but the bankruptcy process also asks about property you recently gave away or sold. The Statement of Financial Affairs, a separate required form, covers transfers made within two years before filing. The trustee can reverse any transfer made during that window if it was done to keep property away from creditors, or if you received significantly less than the property was worth while you were already unable to pay your debts.⁷

For transfers into certain self-settled trusts, the look-back period extends to ten years.⁷ Common red flags include selling a car to a family member for $1, moving a bank account into a relative’s name, or making unusually large retirement contributions right before filing.

Property You Receive After Filing

Your disclosure duty does not end on filing day. Any inheritance, life insurance payout, or property from a divorce settlement that you receive, or become entitled to receive, within 180 days after filing automatically becomes part of the bankruptcy estate.⁸ You have to tell the court and the trustee promptly, and the trustee will file amended schedules.

Wages you earn after filing and property you buy with post-filing income are generally not part of a Chapter 7 estate. In a Chapter 13 case, though, your post-filing income is what funds the repayment plan, so significant changes in income or assets have to be reported.

Filing Deadlines and Amendments

In a voluntary case, you must file Schedule A/B, along with the rest of the schedules and statements, either with your petition or within 14 days after the petition is filed.⁹ Miss the deadline without a court-approved extension and the court may dismiss your case.¹

You can ask for an extension before the 14 days run out. Once the deadline has passed, you have to show “excusable neglect,” a harder standard that requires explaining why you could not comply on time.¹⁰

If you catch an error or omission after filing, file an amended schedule. The court charges $34 to amend schedules of creditors or mailing lists, though a judge can waive the fee for good cause.¹¹ Correcting an honest mistake yourself is much better than having the trustee find it at the meeting of creditors.

What Happens If You Leave Something Off

The trustee reviews your schedules alongside tax returns, bank records, and other documents. If something looks missing, the trustee will question you under oath at the meeting of creditors. Deliberate concealment carries real consequences.

A court can deny your discharge — the order that wipes out your debts — if you intentionally hid, destroyed, or transferred property within one year before filing, or after filing, with the intent to keep it away from creditors.¹² Losing your discharge means you went through the entire process, possibly surrendered property, and still owe every debt.

Concealing assets or lying under oath in a bankruptcy case is also a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and fines.¹³ Prosecutions happen, especially in cases involving large hidden assets or repeated dishonest filings. Even the low-value items you think are not worth mentioning belong on the schedule.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 521 – Debtor’s Duties
2
United States Courts. Official Form 106A/B Schedule A/B: Property
3
United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 506 – Determination of Secured Status
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions
6
United States Courts. Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 548 – Fraudulent Transfers and Obligations
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 541 – Property of the Estate
9
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007 – Lists, Schedules, Statements, and Other Documents; Time to File
10
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9006 – Computing and Extending Time; Motions
11
United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 152 – Concealment of Assets; False Oaths and Claims; Bribery