The Idaho means test is the income gate for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It's the first thing a bankruptcy attorney runs at your free consultation, and it's the first thing the U.S. Trustee checks after you file. Most people pass; some need the long-form calculation; a few fail and go to Chapter 13 instead.
This guide walks through it the way we actually walk through it with a client, in two passes.
Pass 1: The Idaho median income comparison
The first pass takes 30 seconds. We add up your gross household income for the last six full calendar months, multiply by 2 to annualize, and compare it to the Idaho median for your household size.
The current median figures (updated by the U.S. Trustee twice a year) look roughly like:
- 1-person household: ~$63,000
- 2-person household: ~$77,000
- 3-person household: ~$90,000
- 4-person household: ~$99,000
- Each additional person: add ~$10,200
These numbers move. We pull the current figure at your consultation.
If your annualized six-month income is under the median, you pass automatically and Chapter 7 is open. About 60–70% of our Boise and Nampa consultations pass on Pass 1.
If you're over the median, you go to Pass 2.
What counts as income (and what doesn't)
A few rules cause most of the confusion:
Counts as income:
- W-2 wages, salaries, tips
- Self-employment net income
- Rental property net income
- Unemployment benefits
- Alimony received
- Regular contributions from household members (a parent paying part of rent, for example)
- Pension and annuity payments
- Regular gifts (a grandparent who sends $200/month)
Does not count as income:
- Social Security retirement, SSI, SSDI
- Most VA benefits
- One-time gifts or settlements (some exceptions for inheritances received within 180 days of filing)
- Tax refunds (though they may be assets at filing)
- Money from a spouse you're separated from who maintains a separate household
The Social Security exclusion is a big one. Older filers and disabled filers who look over the median on paper often pass once Social Security is backed out.
Timing matters
The means test uses your average over the last six full calendar months preceding the filing month. That window slides every month.
This matters when:
- You just got a raise or a bonus, and a small wait can drop the average
- You lost a job, and waiting a couple months can bring you under the median
- You had one anomalous month (a sale, a settlement, severance), and waiting can age it out of the window
We don't manipulate the test, but we don't ignore it either. If a 30-day delay would change your math significantly, we tell you.
Pass 2: The long-form calculation
If you're over the median, you're not disqualified. You go to Form 122A-2, the long-form means test. The form takes your monthly income and subtracts allowed expenses. If your "disposable income" after expenses is low enough, you still qualify.
Allowed expenses come from a combination of:
- IRS national standards for food, clothing, household supplies (a flat per-person amount)
- IRS local standards for housing and utilities (varies by Idaho county and household size)
- Actual transportation costs (vehicle payments, insurance, and fuel, within IRS caps)
- Actual secured debt payments (mortgage, car loan)
- Health care, taxes, mandatory payroll deductions, child support paid
- Term life insurance, court-ordered payments
Run those numbers correctly and many over-median filers come out with very low or negative disposable income, which means Chapter 7 is back on the table.
This is the form most people get wrong when they try to do the math themselves. We've seen filers convince themselves they don't qualify, then qualify easily once we run it with the right local standards.
If you fail both passes
Failing the means test isn't the end of the road. It's a fork. Chapter 13 has no income ceiling. You file Chapter 13, propose a plan, and at the end of the 3- to 5-year plan, your remaining unsecured debt is discharged.
This is actually the right path for many over-median filers anyway. Why?
- They often have non-exempt assets they want to keep
- They sometimes have a mortgage arrears situation that Chapter 7 can't solve
- The plan payment is calculated from their disposable income, so most of the debt still gets discharged at the end
We walk through this trade in detail at your consultation.
Common means test mistakes
A few errors we see when people try to DIY the math:
- Including Social Security. It's excluded, and backing it out can change the answer.
- Using gross instead of net for self-employment. Self-employment income is net of legitimate business expenses, not gross revenue.
- Using the wrong household size. The IRS definition isn't identical to the tax definition, and a non-filing dependent who lives with you counts.
- Pulling stale median figures. The medians update twice a year. A six-month-old figure can flip the outcome.
- Mis-categorizing expenses on the long form. Local standards have specific definitions for what counts as housing, vehicle, healthcare.
What to do next
Call us. We run the means test live at your free consultation, both passes if needed, and tell you before you leave whether you qualify for Chapter 7, should go to Chapter 13, or shouldn't file at all.