Filing Bankruptcy in Tennessee: Means Test, Exemptions and Courts

Tennessee has 3 federal bankruptcy court districts, each with its own U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Tennessee (https://www.tneb.uscourts.gov/); Middle District of Tennessee (https://www.tnmb.uscourts.gov/); Western District of Tennessee (https://www.tnwb.uscourts.gov/).

Median family income for Tennessee: 1 person $63,979; 2 people $82,846; 3 people $97,511; 4 people $109,585; add $11,100 for each additional person beyond 4. These figures apply to bankruptcy cases filed on or after July 15, 2026.

Tennessee has opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions. State law declares Tennessee's exemptions adequate and says Tennessee citizens are not authorized to claim the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. § 522(d); Tennessee residents use Tennessee exemptions.

An individual may exempt up to thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) of real property owned and used by the individual, spouse, or dependent as a principal residence. Joint owners who both use the property as their principal residence may claim a combined total of up to fifty-two thousand five hundred dollars ($52,500), divided equally if claimed in the same proceeding (if only one joint owner is in the proceeding, that person's exemption is $35,000). The exemption does not apply against property taxes, purchase-money debt for the home or its improvements, or a debt secured by the home where the exemption was waived in a written contract. The statute sets no acreage limit.

Tennessee has no separate motor vehicle exemption. A vehicle can be protected only within the general personal property exemption of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) of the debtor's equity in personal property of the debtor's choosing. A vehicle used as a tool of the debtor's trade might instead fall within the tools-of-the-trade exemption (up to one thousand nine hundred dollars ($1,900) in implements, professional books, or tools of the trade).

A bona fide Tennessee resident may select personal property of the debtor's choosing, including money and funds on deposit in a bank or other financial institution, up to an aggregate of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) of the debtor's equity interest. Items bought or maintained with fraudulently obtained funds are not eligible. This applies to personal property only.

Funds or other assets payable from, or a participant's or beneficiary's interest in, a retirement plan qualified under Internal Revenue Code §§ 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, or 408A (including IRAs and Roth IRAs), an Archer medical savings account, or a health savings account are exempt from all creditors' claims except the state's, and except an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order. Pensions from the state or a Tennessee political subdivision are exempt before and after receipt, except for support assignment orders and qualified domestic relations orders. Payments from other (non-qualified) pension, annuity, and similar plans on account of death, age, or length of service are exempt to the same extent as wages, with conditions.

Tennessee's exemption statutes have no separate exemption for earned but unpaid wages in bankruptcy. Tennessee's wage garnishment limit allows no more than the lesser of 25 percent of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage to be garnished. Earnings include wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, and periodic pension payments.

Tennessee has three bankruptcy districts. Western District: has a Pro Se page saying individuals may represent themselves (corporations and partnerships need an attorney), must follow the local bankruptcy rules, the Bankruptcy Code, and federal rules, and that clerk staff cannot help prepare petitions or schedules; it offers Electronic Self-Representation (eSR), a free online tool for preparing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 petitions with up to 45 days to finish. After submitting through eSR, the filer must deliver or mail the signed Declaration form, Statement of Social Security Number, and filing fee (or fee application) before a case number is assigned; eSR is not suited to emergency filings such as stopping a foreclosure. Eastern District: its "Filing Without an Attorney" menu links to national general information, the Chapter 7 fee waiver application, fees, means testing data, approved credit counseling and debtor education providers, creditor matrix information, local rules, and forms required by local rules. Middle District: no dedicated filing-without-an-attorney page was found on the court's site; it offers an Understanding Bankruptcy page, local bankruptcy forms, and Debtor Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing (DeBN).

Eastern District of Tennessee: under Local Rule 2016-1(b) (local rules amended effective December 1, 2024 by General Order 2024-05), without filing a Rule 2016(a) application, a chapter 13 debtor's attorney may request a reasonable flat fee for representing the debtor in an amount not to exceed $4,500, based on a good-faith estimate of services and the 11 U.S.C. 330(a)(3)-(4) factors; the flat fee is contemplated to cover all services and expenses, though the disclosure may exclude certain listed matters. The request must be set forth in the chapter 13 plan and may be objected to like the plan. Middle District of Tennessee: Administrative Order 23-1, Standing Order Relating to Attorney Fees in Chapter 13 Cases (entered January 9, 2023; amending and restating AO 20-2), for cases filed on and after January 1, 2023, allows a presumptively reasonable "No App Fee" for services in filing, administering and closing a chapter 13 case without a lodestar application, not to exceed $4,950 for attorneys certified in consumer bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification and $4,700 for attorneys who are not certified (including prepetition payments; other amounts may be added as allowed by the order). Western District of Tennessee: Standing Order No. 24-0001, effective March 1, 2024, sets the presumptively reasonable fee for debtor's attorneys in chapter 13 cases filed on and after that date at $4,750.00, covering all reasonably necessary services and expenses from the outset of the case (counsel may exclude adversary proceedings, contempt proceedings, expert witnesses and appeals); if a case is dismissed before confirmation, the presumptively reasonable fee is $1,200.00.