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Chapters / A side-by-side guide

Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13: which one fits?

Neither chapter is better in general. Chapter 7 is a liquidation: a trustee may sell nonexempt property, and a typical case reaches discharge about 60 to 90 days after the meeting of creditors is first set. Chapter 13 is a repayment plan for people with regular income: you keep your property and pay debts over three to five years, which can also be a way to catch up on a mortgage.

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Talk to a lawyer Compare the details
Sage and ivory folders resting together on a warm, sunlit desk.
Chapter 7Liquidation Chapter 13Repayment plan
By Bankruptcy Route Editorial Team Updated 6 min read

01 / Start with your situation

Who each chapter
is built for

Liquidation

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is open to individuals, partnerships, corporations and other businesses. Individual filers face a means test that compares their income with Census Bureau median income figures and IRS expense standards.

1 3 4

When it may fit

  • Your income passes the means test and your debts are mostly ones a discharge can release. 3 5 1

  • You want the case to end in months rather than years. 1

  • Most of what you own is exempt, so there is little for a trustee to sell. 6 1

Repayment plan

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 is for individuals with regular income, including self-employed people, whose debts are under the Chapter 13 debt limits.

2

When it may fit

  • You are behind on your mortgage and want to keep the house by catching up over time. 2 7

  • You have regular income and property you want to keep. 2

  • Someone co-signed a consumer debt with you and you want them protected while the plan runs. 2

02 / The details, together

Compare, point by point

View the sources
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, head to head
Chapter 7 Liquidation Chapter 13 Repayment plan
What it isuscourts.gov, Bankruptcy Basics 1 2
Liquidation: a trustee may sell nonexempt property and pay creditorsA repayment plan: keep your property and pay debts over time
Income testuscourts.gov Glossary; uscourts.gov, Chapter 13 3 2
The means test decides whether a filing is presumed to be an abuseIncome sets the plan length: below the state median, generally three years; above it, generally five
How long it takesuscourts.gov, Bankruptcy Basics 1 2
Discharge about 60 to 90 days after the first date set for the meeting of creditorsThree to five years of plan payments
Court fees (effective December 1, 2023)The federal court fee statute and the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule 8
$338$313
Meeting of creditorsuscourts.gov, Bankruptcy Basics 1 2
21 to 40 days after filing21 to 50 days after filing
Behind on the mortgageFTC, How To Get Out of Debt; Bankruptcy Code, what a Chapter 13 plan may include 9 7
Filing may stop a foreclosure for now, but without a Chapter 13 plan to catch up you usually cannot keep a home the lender has a lien onThe plan may cure a mortgage default over a reasonable time
Car loanBankruptcy Code, the statement of intention; uscourts.gov, Chapter 13 10 2
File a statement of intention: surrender, redeem or reaffirmThe loan can be rescheduled over the life of the plan
Co-signersuscourts.gov, Chapter 13; Bankruptcy Code, effect of discharge 11 2
Your discharge does not cover a co-signer, who can still be pursued for the debtA codebtor stay generally protects someone who owes a consumer debt with you
Course after filingU.S. Trustee Program; uscourts.gov, Chapter 13 12 2
Debtor education course, usually required for a dischargePersonal financial management course, required before the discharge
Filing the same chapter againBankruptcy Code, discharge limits for repeat filings 13 14
No discharge if you got a Chapter 7 discharge in a case filed in the previous 8 yearsNo discharge if you got a Chapter 13 discharge in a case filed in the previous 2 years

03 / Key figures

A few useful markers

60 to 90 days

from the first meeting date to a typical Chapter 7 discharge

1

Three to five years

the length of a Chapter 13 plan

2

$338 / $313

court fees for Chapter 7 / Chapter 13, effective December 1, 2023

8

04 / The state you file in

Your state matters

What you can keep depends on exemptions, and depending on your state you may choose the federal list or be limited to state exemptions. The means test uses income figures the U.S. Trustee Program updates regularly, so check the current ones on its means testing page.

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General information, not legal advice. Which chapter fits depends on your income, property and state; a bankruptcy lawyer can tell you.

05 / Common questions

A little more clarity

Can a Chapter 7 case become a Chapter 13 case?

If an individual's Chapter 7 filing is presumed to be an abuse under the means test, the case may be dismissed or converted, usually to Chapter 13.

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Which chapter stops a foreclosure?

Filing either chapter triggers the automatic stay, which stops foreclosures. Chapter 13 can also let you catch up on missed mortgage payments through the plan.

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Who runs each case?

In Chapter 7 a trustee runs the case and sells nonexempt assets. In Chapter 13 plan payments go to a trustee, who pays creditors and reviews the case.

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06 / Check the source

The sources behind this page

  1. Chapter 7 - Bankruptcy Basics (uscourts.gov)
  2. Chapter 13 - Bankruptcy Basics (uscourts.gov)
  3. Glossary of Legal Terms (uscourts.gov)
  4. U.S. Trustee Program: Means Testing
  5. Discharge in Bankruptcy - Bankruptcy Basics
  6. 11 U.S. Code § 522(b) (Cornell LII)
  7. 11 U.S. Code § 1322(b)(5) (Cornell LII)
  8. 28 U.S. Code § 1930 (Cornell LII)
  9. FTC Consumer Advice: How To Get Out of Debt
  10. 11 U.S. Code § 521(a)(2) (Cornell LII)
  11. 11 U.S. Code § 524(e) (Cornell LII)
  12. U.S. Trustee Program: Credit Counseling & Debtor Education Information
  13. 11 U.S. Code § 727(a)(8) (Cornell LII)
  14. 11 U.S. Code § 1328(f)(2) (Cornell LII)

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