The one-sentence version
Form 122A-1 calculates your "Current Monthly Income" (CMI) - a 6-month gross income average - and compares it to the median income for a household of your size in your state. Below median, you've passed; you don't need Form 122A-2.
The 6-month lookback
"Current Monthly Income" is misleadingly named - it's actually the average over the prior 6 full calendar months. If you file in mid-July, you average January through June (the six full months before filing). The current month, plus any current week, is excluded.
This 6-month window is the same regardless of what your income looks like today. Lost a job last week? Doesn't matter - if you were employed for the prior 6 months, that income still counts. The reverse is also true: a new high-paying job that started 2 weeks ago doesn't push you over median if the prior 6 months were low.
What's on the form
Part 1 - Calculate your current monthly income
You list, for the 6-month period:
- Gross wages, salary, tips, bonuses, overtime, commissions
- Income from operating a business (gross minus ordinary and necessary expenses)
- Income from rental property (same)
- Interest, dividends, royalties
- Pension and retirement income
- Unemployment compensation - except amounts received as a result of the Social Security Act (this distinction matters and many filers don't realize it; pandemic-era special unemployment generally still counts)
- Regular contributions from anyone else to household expenses
- Other income - alimony, gambling winnings, lawsuit settlements, etc.
Notable exclusions: Social Security benefits (retirement, disability, survivor) are not counted as income for the Means Test. Same for VA disability and certain war-crime/terrorism victim payments.
You sum the 6-month totals, divide by 6 to get a monthly average, then multiply by 12 to annualize.
Part 2 - Compare to state median
You look up the median income for your state and household size on the U.S. Trustee Program's table (updated twice a year, available at justice.gov/ust). If your annualized CMI is less than or equal to the median for your household size in your state, you've passed and the form ends there.
Part 3 - Sign
If you're above median, you keep going with Form 122A-2.
Good to know: Household size for Means Test purposes follows the "heads on beds" approach in most districts - everyone who actually lives in the household, including non-debtor adults and minor children. Some districts use the IRS "dependent" test instead, which is stricter. Your district's local rule matters; check before you guess.
Above median - what happens next
Being above median doesn't disqualify you. It just means the analysis continues on Form 122A-2, where you deduct allowed expenses (IRS standards plus actual amounts for some categories) and see whether enough disposable income remains to fund a Chapter 13 plan. Plenty of above-median filers still qualify for Chapter 7 after the deductions.
Joint filers
A joint case combines both spouses' incomes for the 6-month period. If only one spouse is filing, you still have to report your non-filing spouse's income - but you can claim a "marital adjustment" on Form 122A-2 (if you reach it) for amounts the non-filing spouse uses for their own separate expenses.
Who is exempt from the Means Test entirely
A few special categories skip the Means Test:
- Disabled veterans whose debts were incurred primarily during active duty or in performing a homeland-defense activity
- Active-duty reservists and National Guard members on active duty for at least 90 days
- Debtors whose debts are primarily non-consumer (business) debts - over 50% non-consumer
If any of these apply, you check the relevant box and don't complete the Means Test calculation.
Watch out: Don't try to time the filing to manipulate the 6-month window unless you've thought it through. A single big bonus in month 5 of the lookback can blow up an otherwise-easy below-median case. Sometimes waiting a month or two pushes a high-earning month out of the window. Other times, filing sooner makes more sense. This is one of the most strategic decisions in a Chapter 7 case.
Common mistakes
- Using net pay instead of gross. CMI is gross income before deductions.
- Including Social Security retirement or disability. Excluded by statute.
- Picking the wrong 6-month period (including or omitting a month).
- Forgetting other adults' household contributions that pay shared bills.
- Using the wrong state's median. The applicable state is where you've lived the longest portion of the 180 days before filing.
- Using an outdated median income table. The U.S. Trustee Program updates twice yearly; use the table in effect on your filing date.
Related forms
If you're above median, continue to Form 122A-2. For a plain-English overview of qualification, see Do I qualify for Chapter 7?. See the complete forms index.