Filing Bankruptcy in Pennsylvania: Means Test, Exemptions and Courts

Pennsylvania has 3 federal bankruptcy court districts, each with its own U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania (https://www.paeb.uscourts.gov/); Middle District of Pennsylvania (https://www.pamb.uscourts.gov/); Western District of Pennsylvania (https://www.pawb.uscourts.gov/).

Median family income for Pennsylvania: 1 person $72,230; 2 people $87,534; 3 people $110,151; 4 people $135,862; add $11,100 for each additional person beyond 4. These figures apply to bankruptcy cases filed on or after July 15, 2026.

Real property can be covered only by the $300 general monetary exemption, which applies to any property of the debtor (it does not apply against the mortgage in a foreclosure judgment on that property).

A vehicle can be covered only by the $300 general monetary exemption, which applies to any property of the debtor.

A general exemption of $300 in value applies to any property of the debtor, including money, bank notes, securities, real property, and debts owed to the debtor. The debtor may pick the specific items it covers or take it in cash from sale proceeds. It does not apply to judgments for support, for board for four weeks or less, for $100 or less in wages for manual labor, or in a mortgage foreclosure as to the mortgaged property.

Exempt are certain public employee pensions (public school, state employee and municipal retirement systems, subject to the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act), private employer pensions or annuities that cannot be assigned, self-employed retirement funds (up to amounts deducted for federal tax), and retirement or annuity funds under Internal Revenue Code sections 401(a), 403(a) and (b), 408, 408A, 409 or 530, including growth, income, benefits, and rollovers. For the IRC-qualified funds, the protection does not cover amounts the debtor contributed within one year before filing for bankruptcy, contributions over $15,000 in any one-year period (rollovers excepted), or amounts found to be fraudulent conveyances.

Wages, salaries and commissions are exempt from attachment while they are in the employer's hands, except in actions for divorce-related orders, support, board for four weeks or less, final residential-landlord judgments (limited to 10% of net wages per pay period or an amount that keeps net income above the federal poverty guideline, whichever is less), Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency student loans, and criminal restitution, costs, fines or bail. An employer may not take adverse action against an employee solely because their wages were attached.

Pennsylvania has three bankruptcy districts. Eastern District: the 'Individuals Filing Documents Without an Attorney' pages explain what clerk's staff cannot do (no legal advice or help completing forms) and offer an eSR electronic bankruptcy package submission for chapter 7 only, chapter 7 and chapter 13 checklists, fee waiver information, Spanish-language information, and FAQs; corporations and partnerships must have an attorney. Middle District: the 'Filing Without an Attorney' section has Before You File, When You File, and After You File pages, an online list-of-creditors upload, an Electronic Document Submission System (EDSS) for self-represented parties (governed by Local Rule 5005-1; not for the creditor matrix or claims), email notices through DeBN, and a referral to a volunteer-attorney Self-Help Program run by the local bar association (not the court); fees are paid online by debit card or by cashier's check or money order, and cash and personal checks are not accepted. Western District: the 'Filing Without an Attorney' page recommends consulting an attorney and links to the voluntary petition form with instructions, filing fees, credit counseling and debtor education providers, means testing information, and bar association and pro bono referral programs.

Eastern District of Pennsylvania: under L.B.R. 2016-3(a) (local rules dated 2025-12-01), counsel may use a short form application (L.B.F. 2016-3A), or seek approval through Section 2(f) of the chapter 13 plan without a separate application, if total compensation for all services rendered before confirmation is $6,633 or less for an above-median-income debtor or $5,335 or less for a below-median-income debtor; otherwise a long form application is required. The clerk's notice dated March 26, 2025 states these thresholds were automatically adjusted (from $5,875 and $4,725) effective April 1, 2025, for cases commenced on or after that date. Middle District of Pennsylvania: L.B.R. 2016-2(c) allows an attorney to charge a Presumptively Reasonable Fee not to exceed $5,000.00 that includes all legal services through the conclusion of the case, plus up to $1,000.00 additional if the debtor must file business reports or controls an operating business, up to $600.00 for a conduit (mortgage-through-plan) plan, and up to $600.00 for each approved post-confirmation plan modification; the dollar amounts were updated in 2024 and apply to cases filed on or after October 1, 2024. Western District of Pennsylvania: Standing Order (Misc. Proc. #20-222, December 8, 2020) amended W.PA.LBR 2016-1(f) so that the chapter 13 "no-look attorney fee" is limited to a maximum of $5,000.00 and the "no-look expense charge" to a maximum of $500 (including the petition filing fee, postage, copying and similar costs); when counsel's fee and expenses are at or below those amounts, no fee application is required. The amounts include any retainer and are reduced for amounts the client pays directly.