Filing Bankruptcy in Texas: Means Test, Exemptions and Courts

Texas has 4 federal bankruptcy court districts, each with its own U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Texas (https://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/); Eastern District of Texas (https://www.txeb.uscourts.gov/); Southern District of Texas (https://www.txs.uscourts.gov/page/bankruptcy-court); Western District of Texas (https://www.txwb.uscourts.gov/).

Median family income for Texas: 1 person $66,837; 2 people $86,714; 3 people $99,273; 4 people $117,962; add $11,100 for each additional person beyond 4. These figures apply to bankruptcy cases filed on or after July 15, 2026.

Texas law sets no dollar limit on the homestead exemption; it is limited by area instead. An urban homestead (or an urban home also used for a business) may be up to 10 acres, in one or more contiguous lots. A rural homestead may be up to 200 acres for a family, or 100 acres for a single adult, in one or more parcels. The homestead is exempt from seizure for creditors' claims except for liens properly fixed on it (such as purchase money, property taxes, written contracts for improvements, certain refinances, home equity loans, and reverse mortgages that meet constitutional requirements). Proceeds from selling a homestead are protected for six months after the sale.

A two-, three-, or four-wheeled motor vehicle is exempt for each member of a family or single adult who holds a driver's license, or who does not hold one but relies on someone else to drive for them. Vehicles count toward the overall personal property cap: an aggregate fair market value of not more than $100,000 for a family or $50,000 for a single adult, not counting liens. Boats and motor vehicles used in a trade or profession, and farming or ranching vehicles, are separately listed within the same cap.

Texas has no wildcard exemption. The personal property exemption covers only the categories listed in the statute (such as home furnishings, clothing, vehicles, tools of a trade, two firearms, certain animals, and pets), up to the $100,000 family or $50,000 single-adult aggregate cap; there is no general allowance for any property of the debtor's choice.

In addition to the personal property cap, a person's interest in and right to receive payments from a qualified savings plan, vested or not, is exempt. This includes employer, government, and church retirement plans, plans for the self-employed, SEP plans, traditional and Roth IRAs (including inherited IRAs), health savings accounts, Coverdell and 529 education accounts, Texas prepaid tuition and savings plans, ABLE accounts, and annuities bought with plan distributions, to the extent the plan is tax-exempt or tax-deferred. Distributions stay exempt for 60 days (and after that if rolled over). Not exempt: excess contributions under IRC § 4973 and their earnings, and unfunded, unsecured employer promises of deferred compensation.

Current wages for personal services are exempt from seizure and are not counted toward the personal property cap, except for enforcement of court-ordered child support. Unpaid commissions for personal services are exempt up to 25 percent of the aggregate cap ($100,000 for a family, $50,000 for a single adult) and do count toward that cap.

Texas has four bankruptcy districts. Northern District: its pro se information page strongly recommends consulting an attorney and watching the Bankruptcy Basics videos; it requires credit counseling, the local forms BTXN 194 (Verification of Mailing List) and BTXN 222 (required Chapter 13 plan form), a Social Security number statement, and a valid Texas driver's license or ID at filing; it accepts only money orders or cashier's checks from debtors, and lists Dallas-area lawyer referral and legal aid contacts. Eastern District: offers Electronic Self-Representation (eSR) for submitting Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petitions online, online fee payment, eFinCert, DeBN e-noticing, and an Electronic Document Submission system for limited situations; its Filing Without an Attorney page links checklists, local rules, forms, the local verification of creditor matrix form (1007-b-6), fee waiver and installment applications, and notes the clerk no longer accepts cash as of January 1, 2025. Southern District: self-represented parties may e-file in CM/ECF only with the judge's permission, but may use the Bankruptcy Electronic Document Submission System (BK EDSS) without permission after consenting to e-service; a Chapter 7 petition is filed with the divisional office, a mailing matrix is due within 5 days, and the court links the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program. Western District: its Filing Without an Attorney page notes clerks cannot give legal advice and links credit counseling, case filing requirements, forms, filing fees, the Chapter 7 fee waiver application and poverty guide, and means-test median income data.

Northern District of Texas: General Order 2026-01, Standing Order Concerning All Chapter 13 Cases (effective February 11, 2026), provides that in an individual non-business case or Level 1 business case the court presumes $4,250.00 (the "Standard Fee") to be reasonable compensation and reimbursement of expenses for debtor's counsel under 11 U.S.C. 330(a)(3)(B), and in a Level 2 business case presumes $5,000.00 (the "Business Standard Fee"); the court allows these fees plus costs without a fee application. Southern District of Texas: under the court's fixed fee procedure, Form No. 13-10, Standard Application for Fixed Fee Agreement (effective April 1, 2025), caps the agreed fixed fee (including all expenses except the filing fee) at $5,000.00 ($4,500.00 maximum if the case is dismissed before confirmation or less than 120 days after confirmation), with separate capped fixed fees for listed later matters; Form No. 13-11, Non-Standard Application for Fixed Fee Agreement (effective April 1, 2025), used in listed complex cases (e.g., multiple real properties or larger businesses), caps the fixed fee at $6,200.00 ($5,700.00 if dismissed before confirmation or within 120 days after). Eastern District of Texas: under LBR 2016(h)(1) (local rules revised August 22, 2022), a formal fee application is not required if counsel requests $4,500 or less for the Benchmark Fee Period (through the first post-confirmation modification after the trustee's claims reconciliation, or the trustee's certification that claims are reconciled) where counsel handled no automatic stay litigation, or $5,000 or less where counsel did handle stay litigation; each benchmark includes prepetition payments and may be increased by $500 for a debtor engaged in business when certified by the trustee. Western District of Texas: the Standing Order Regarding Benchmark Fees in Chapter 13 Cases (signed December 18, 2024; Order 25-04), under Local Rule 2016-1(f)(2), sets the benchmark fee for basic required services in cases filed on and after February 3, 2025: Austin $5,400 business / $4,900 non-business (plus an additional $300 if the plan is confirmed at the first hearing); El Paso, San Antonio, Waco and Midland $5,000 business / $4,500 non-business; supplemental benchmark fees apply to listed non-basic services (e.g., $750 for a post-confirmation contested stay relief motion).