To file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your noncontingent, liquidated unsecured debts must total less than $526,700, and your noncontingent, liquidated secured debts must total less than $1,580,125.1United States Courts. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Basics These are the current Chapter 13 debt limits, in effect since April 1, 2025. If either figure is at or above the ceiling on the day you file your petition, you cannot use Chapter 13 and will need a different form of bankruptcy relief.
The two limits are separate, not combined. Being under one and over the other still disqualifies you. And how a particular debt gets classified, secured or unsecured, is not always obvious, because collateral value plays a role that surprises many first-time filers.
When the Limits Change
The Bankruptcy Code adjusts these dollar amounts every three years based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 104 – Adjustment of Dollar Amounts The Judicial Conference publishes the new figures in the Federal Register each cycle. The most recent adjustment took effect April 1, 2025, and the next one is scheduled for April 1, 2028.
Between 2022 and June 2024, Congress temporarily replaced the two ceilings with a single combined cap of roughly $2.75 million. That temporary provision expired on June 21, 2024, and the law reverted to two separate limits.3United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Missouri. Subchapter V and Chapter 13 Debt Thresholds Sunset on June 21, 2024 The 2025 CPI adjustment then produced the current numbers.
How Secured Debts Are Counted
A secured debt is one backed by collateral, such as a mortgage on your home or a loan on your car. For Chapter 13 eligibility, the amount that counts as secured is capped at the current value of the collateral, not the full balance you owe.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 506 – Determination of Secured Status
Say you owe $320,000 on a home worth $280,000. Only $280,000 counts as secured debt. The remaining $40,000 is reclassified as unsecured and counted against the $526,700 unsecured limit instead. This split matters because it can help you fit under the secured ceiling while quietly pushing you closer to the unsecured one.
The same valuation rule underlies two Chapter 13 tools that also move debt between the columns:
- Cramdown. Your repayment plan can reduce a secured claim to the collateral’s actual value. The undersecured portion becomes unsecured. One important restriction applies to vehicles: if you bought the car with a purchase-money loan within 910 days (about two and a half years) before filing, you cannot cram down the loan and must pay the full balance. Loans on vehicles you already owned before taking out the loan are not subject to this 910-day rule.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 – Confirmation of Plan
- Lien stripping. If your home is worth less than what you owe on the first mortgage, a second mortgage or home equity line of credit has no equity backing it. Chapter 13 lets you strip that junior lien and treat the entire balance as unsecured. Even a single dollar of equity above the first mortgage balance prevents stripping.
How Unsecured Debts Are Counted
Unsecured debt is anything without collateral: credit card balances, medical bills, personal loans, and similar obligations. The full balance of every noncontingent, liquidated unsecured debt counts toward the $526,700 ceiling.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor
The unsecured total also picks up the undersecured portion of any secured loan. Consider someone with $470,000 in credit card debt and a mortgage that leaves $40,000 unsecured after the collateral cap. Their unsecured total for eligibility purposes is $510,000. That is still under the limit, but the cushion is thin. Creditors can dispute your valuations, and if a court finds the collateral worth less than you estimated, more debt slides into the unsecured column and can push you over.
Debts That Don’t Count
Two categories are excluded from the debt-limit calculation entirely: contingent debts and unliquidated debts.1United States Courts. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Basics
A contingent debt depends on something that hasn’t happened yet. The classic example is a personal guarantee on someone else’s loan: you don’t owe anything unless the primary borrower defaults. Until that triggering event occurs, the guarantee doesn’t count toward either limit.
An unliquidated debt is one where the dollar amount hasn’t been fixed. A pending personal injury lawsuit against you has no set figure until it settles or a judgment is entered. You still list these debts on your bankruptcy schedules, but they won’t disqualify you from Chapter 13. Where a dollar estimate matters for plan purposes, the court can make a reasonable estimation, used only to determine eligibility and plan treatment, not to fix the final amount you owe.
Joint Filers Do Not Get Doubled Limits
Married couples can file a joint Chapter 13 petition, but the debt limits do not double. A joint filing aggregates both spouses’ debts and measures them against the same $526,700 unsecured and $1,580,125 secured ceilings that apply to a single filer.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The statute treats joint debtors’ unsecured debts in the aggregate, not as separate debts measured against separate limits.
This catches couples off guard when both spouses carry significant individual debt. If your combined debts exceed the limits, one option is for only the spouse whose individual debts fall within the caps to file alone. The non-filing spouse’s separate debts won’t count, though any jointly held debts still will.
What to Do If Your Debts Exceed the Limits
Being over either Chapter 13 ceiling doesn’t leave you without options. The alternatives are more expensive and more complicated, but they exist.
Chapter 11 Reorganization
Chapter 11 is the primary alternative for individuals whose debts are too high for Chapter 13. It has no debt limit and lets you propose a reorganization plan in much the same way Chapter 13 does.7United States Courts. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Basics The IRS specifically identifies Chapter 11 as the route for individuals who exceed Chapter 13 limits.8Internal Revenue Service. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – Reorganization
The cost difference is significant. The court filing fee for Chapter 11 is $1,738, compared to $313 for Chapter 13. Chapter 11 debtors also owe quarterly fees to the U.S. Trustee based on disbursements made during each quarter, with a minimum of $250 per quarter even if no money was distributed.9U.S. Department of Justice. Chapter 11 Quarterly Fees Those quarterly fees continue accruing until the case is closed, converted, or dismissed. Attorney fees run higher too, because Chapter 11 involves more court filings and procedural steps.
Subchapter V of Chapter 11
If your total debts fall below $3,024,725, you may qualify for Subchapter V of Chapter 11, a streamlined process designed for small business debtors.10U.S. Department of Justice. Subchapter V Subchapter V is faster and cheaper than a traditional Chapter 11, and it doesn’t require quarterly trustee fees. For someone who exceeds Chapter 13 limits but has debts well under $3 million, this middle path is worth discussing with an attorney.
Chapter 7 Liquidation
Chapter 7 eliminates most unsecured debts without a repayment plan, but it works differently in ways that matter. You must pass a means test based on your income, and non-exempt property can be sold to pay creditors.11U.S. Department of Justice. Means Testing Chapter 7 also lacks the tools that make Chapter 13 attractive: you can’t cure mortgage arrears to save a home from foreclosure, you can’t cram down car loans, and you can’t strip junior liens. If keeping specific property is your reason for filing, Chapter 7 is usually the wrong fit even when you qualify for it.