Eric Pemper Founder, CuraDebt

Chapter 13 Payment Calculator

For eligibility, costs, comparisons, and alternatives, read our Chapter 13 bankruptcy guide.

Estimate Your Chapter 13 Monthly Payment

Use these five questions for a rough Chapter 13 payment estimate. Have your income, living expenses, secured-debt arrears and priority debts handy. No contact details are needed to use the calculator. A bankruptcy attorney can confirm the allowed expenses, plan length and court requirements for your case.

See the U.S. Courts Chapter 13 overview for the court process and plan requirements.

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

Your income relative to your state median generally affects the applicable commitment period. Below-median income generally means three years, but the court may approve a longer plan for cause. Above-median income generally means five years. The period may be shorter if unsecured claims are paid in full, and a plan cannot exceed five years. This calculator uses 36 or 60 months as illustrative assumptions, not a court-approved term. Changing the term can change the payment needed for some obligations, but disposable-income and other confirmation requirements still apply.

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. The calculator illustrates 36 months below median or 60 months above median; an approved plan may differ. This is an estimate, and your real number depends on your district, required forms and court-approved plan.

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

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.