Chapter 13 Payment Calculator
Estimate Your Chapter 13 Monthly Payment
Answer five quick questions and we will estimate your monthly plan payment, your plan length, and how it breaks down. It takes about a minute.
Is your household income above or below your state median?
This sets whether your plan runs 3 years (below) or 5 years (above). Not sure? Pick "I am not sure" and we will note it.
What is your average net monthly income?
Your take-home pay after taxes, averaged over recent months.
What are your reasonable monthly living expenses?
Rent or mortgage, utilities, food, insurance, transportation, etc. Do NOT include the catch-up debts on the next screens.
Monthly catch-up on secured debt you want to keep?
If you are behind on a house or car you intend to keep, roughly how much per month to catch it up through the plan. Enter 0 if none.
Monthly priority debt?
Recent income taxes, child support, or spousal support arrears that must be paid in full. Enter 0 if none.
Estimate only. Real Chapter 13 payments are set by official forms 122C-1 and 122C-2, your district's trustee percentage, allowed expenses, and the value of any non-exempt property. Confirm with a bankruptcy attorney.
How the Calculation Works
Let me set expectations honestly, because Chapter 13 math trips a lot of people up. There is no single flat number. Your plan payment is assembled from several moving parts, and the bankruptcy court's goal is to capture your "disposable income," what is left after reasonable living expenses, and direct it to your creditors over a set period. The official version lives on two forms, 122C-1 and 122C-2, but the logic underneath is approachable, and that is what the calculator above mirrors.
3-Year vs 5-Year Plans
The first fork is how long your plan lasts, and it is decided by your income relative to your state's median. If your household income is below the median, you can propose a three-year plan, which is 36 monthly payments. If you are above the median, your plan must run five years, 60 months, unless you pay your unsecured debts in full sooner. This matters a lot: stretching the same obligations over 60 months instead of 36 lowers the monthly payment, but it is two more years on a court-supervised budget.
What Goes Into Your Payment
Your monthly plan payment generally has to cover these, layered together:
- Secured debt arrears. If you are behind on a house or car you want to keep, the past-due amount gets caught up through the plan.
- Priority debts. Things like recent income taxes and child or spousal support arrears must generally be paid in full.
- Disposable income to unsecured creditors. Whatever is left of your disposable income after the above goes toward nonpriority unsecured debts like credit cards and medical bills, but only up to what you actually owe them.
- The trustee fee. A percentage off the top for administering your plan.
There is also a floor called the "best interests test": your unsecured creditors must receive at least what they would have gotten if you had filed Chapter 7 and your non-exempt property were sold. If you own valuable non-exempt assets, that can raise your required payment.
The Trustee Fee
One piece people forget is the Chapter 13 trustee, the person who administers your plan and distributes your payments to creditors. The trustee takes a percentage of each payment as an administrative fee, typically somewhere in the 6 to 10 percent range depending on your district. The calculator above adds an estimate for this, because the amount you send each month has to cover the trustee's cut on top of what reaches your creditors. Your attorney's fees are also commonly folded into the plan.
A Worked Example
Say your net monthly income is $4,200 and your reasonable living expenses are $3,000, leaving $1,200. You are $300 a month behind catching up a car you want to keep, and you owe $150 a month toward recent taxes. That is $450 in secured and priority obligations, leaving about $750 of disposable income for unsecured creditors. Add an estimated trustee fee on top, and your plan payment lands a bit above $1,200 a month. Below median, that runs 36 months; above median, 60. This is exactly the kind of estimate the calculator produces, your real number depends on your district and your specific forms.
Before You File: Alternatives
Here is something I tell people often, after 25 years in this work: Chapter 13 is a powerful tool, but it is not the only one, and for some people it is not the best fit. A five-year, court-supervised repayment plan is a serious commitment. Depending on your situation, other approaches, debt settlement, a debt management plan, or negotiating directly, may resolve your debt without a bankruptcy filing on your record for up to a decade. None of these is universally better; they fit different situations, and the right move depends on your income, your debts, and your goals.
That is why it is worth comparing your options before you commit to filing. Bankruptcy makes sense for many people, and for others a different path resolves things with less long-term cost. A free, no-obligation look at your options is just smart due diligence.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a Chapter 13 monthly payment calculated?
How long is a Chapter 13 plan, 3 or 5 years?
Does the trustee take a fee in Chapter 13?
Is a Chapter 13 calculator accurate?
Do I have to repay all my debt in Chapter 13?
This calculator and guide are for general educational purposes based on the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and official bankruptcy forms as of June 2026, and do not constitute legal or financial advice. Estimates are approximate and your actual Chapter 13 plan payment is determined by the court, official forms 122C-1 and 122C-2, your district's rules, and your individual circumstances. Consider consulting a licensed bankruptcy attorney. CuraDebt is a matching service that connects consumers with independent debt relief providers; results vary by situation.
