There is no fixed limit on how many times you can file Chapter 13 bankruptcy. To qualify for another discharge after a prior discharge, you generally need two years between Chapter 13 filings or four years between a Chapter 7 filing and a new Chapter 13 filing. Filing sooner may be possible, but prior dismissals and court orders can restrict refiling or automatic-stay protection.
Here are the general discharge rules that affect how often you can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy:
- If your earlier Chapter 13 case resulted in a discharge, you generally need two years between the filing dates to qualify for a discharge in a new Chapter 13 case.
- If your earlier Chapter 7 case resulted in a discharge, you generally need four years between that filing and a new Chapter 13 filing to qualify for a Chapter 13 discharge.
These periods are usually measured from the filing date of the earlier case to the filing date of the subsequent case.
If you are considering Chapter 7 after a Chapter 13 discharge, a different rule generally requires six years between filing dates. Under 11 U.S.C. Section 727(a)(9), that discharge restriction does not apply if the earlier plan paid all allowed unsecured claims in full, or paid at least 70%, and was proposed in good faith and represented your best effort.
How Stone Rose Law Can Help You With a Subsequent Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
An experienced Stone Rose Law bankruptcy attorney can help you understand your best debt relief options if you have already filed for bankruptcy once and are contemplating the need to do so again to seek a fresh financial start.
We have two quality bankruptcy lawyers on our legal team, Victoria Q Av and Estrella Aguilar, who can guide you in understanding when the nearest Chapter 13 filing date is available. They can also guide you on possible alternatives to Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief, including Chapter 7 and other debt settlement options.
To learn more about our bankruptcy court legal services and to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our experienced bankruptcy lawyers, call Stone Rose Law at (480) 739-2448 or use our online contact form.
Can You File for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?
The threshold question of whether you can file a subsequent Chapter 13 bankruptcy case is whether you are eligible to file for it in the first place.
Chapter 13 is sometimes called a wage earner’s plan because you need regular income and must commit disposable income to make regular payments under a court-approved debt management plan.
Federal law limits Chapter 13 eligibility to individuals with regular income whose noncontingent, liquidated unsecured debts are less than $526,700 and whose noncontingent, liquidated secured debts are less than $1,580,125. These limits are periodically adjusted; your attorney can confirm the limits that apply when you file.
Your bankruptcy attorney can help you to know whether you can petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Before Filing for Chapter 13 Again, Gather These Records
The bankruptcy trustee and the bankruptcy judge will generally want to review the following information:
- The petition date and chapter of every previously filed bankruptcy case
- Any conversion from one chapter to another
- The discharge date, dismissal, or closing order
- The confirmed Chapter 13 plan and any modifications
- The trustee’s final report or payment history
- Any prior motion or order concerning relief from the automatic stay
- Any order restricting future filings
- Current income, expenses, debts, arrears, and property values
Those documents help answer three separate questions: Can you file, will the automatic stay protect you, and can you receive a discharge? The answer to one does not automatically answer the other two.
How Do Waiting Periods Work in Subsequent Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Cases?
The bankruptcy discharge waiting periods we are describing here are not blanket prohibitions against opening a subsequent bankruptcy case. 11 U.S.C. Section 1328(f), for example, does not say that you cannot file a new Chapter 13 petition during the waiting period; rather, it directs that the court cannot grant a Chapter 13 discharge when you received a qualifying prior discharge within the specified period.
Two years: Chapter 13 to Chapter 13
If you received a discharge in an earlier Chapter 13 case, then you generally must wait two years from the date that case was filed before filing for another Chapter 13 and qualifying for another discharge.
Because an ordinary Chapter 13 debt payment plan commonly lasts three to five years, this two-year period will often have elapsed by the time you complete the first plan and receive a standard discharge.
The calculation can become more complicated, however, if your prior case ended unusually quickly, involved a hardship discharge, was converted from another bankruptcy chapter, or did not end in a discharge. Your attorney should review the previous filing of your petition, conversion history, dismissal or discharge order, and filing dates to be certain of when you can file for Chapter 13 again after your prior Chapter 13 case.
Four years: Chapter 7 to Chapter 13
If you received a Chapter 7 discharge and then you want a subsequent discharge in Chapter 13, the general waiting period is four years from the date you filed the Chapter 7 case.
Filing Chapter 13 before that four-year period expires may still be possible, but the bankruptcy court cannot grant a Chapter 13 discharge in the later case under 11 U.S.C. Section 1328(f)(1).
A Chapter 13 filed after Chapter 7 but before discharge eligibility returns is sometimes informally called a “Chapter 20” case. There is no Chapter 20 in the Bankruptcy Code; the term simply describes a Chapter 7 followed by Chapter 13.
The Ninth Circuit’s decision in In re Blendheim, 803 F.3d 477, confirms that discharge ineligibility does not by itself prevent a debtor from using Chapter 13’s lien-avoidance tools. Whether a particular lien can be removed still depends on the applicable legal requirements and successful plan completion.
Filing a Case and Receiving a Discharge Are Not the Same Thing
A bankruptcy filing begins a court case. A debt discharge is the court order that releases you from personal liability for qualifying debts and prohibits creditors from collecting those obligations, although a valid lien may survive even if personal liability is discharged.
In a typical Chapter 13, your discharge comes after you complete the required plan payments and satisfy other statutory requirements. So, successfully filing a Chapter 13 case does not guarantee that the court will confirm your repayment plan, or that your case will remain open, or that you will ultimately receive a discharge.
Even when you are not eligible for a discharge, you must still file a proposed Chapter 13 case in good faith, and your proposed payment plan must also be in good faith. You must demonstrate your ability to make the plan payments and comply with it.
This distinction matters because a Chapter 13 case can sometimes address an immediate financial problem when another discharge is unavailable. But paying into a plan without being eligible for a discharge can have major negative consequences, so you should be clear about what your intended benefit is before filing the petition.
Why Would You File Chapter 13 Before Becoming Eligible for Another Discharge?
A no-discharge Chapter 13 is not right for everyone, but valid reasons may include the following.
Catching Up on Your Mortgage
A Chapter 13 plan may provide for curing a default within a reasonable time while maintaining payments on a qualifying long-term debt. For your principal residence, the Bankruptcy Code generally allows you to cure a mortgage default until the property is sold at a foreclosure sale.
This can make Chapter 13 valuable if you are an Arizona homeowner who received a recent Chapter 7 discharge but later fell behind on your mortgage payments. The goal of the new Chapter 13 case may be to cure the mortgage arrears through a workable plan and not to discharge debts.the mortgage debt a second time.
Organizing Debts that Survived an Earlier Bankruptcy
Some debt obligations may survive a prior discharge.
For example, a Chapter 13 debt repayment plan can provide an organized method for paying priority or nondischargeable obligations, including certain taxes and domestic support obligations, while you manage other secured debts. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code generally requires full deferred payment of priority claims unless the claim holder agrees to different treatment.
A later Chapter 13 discharge will not be available, however, if the statutory waiting period has not expired. In this situation some debts would remain nondischargeable even if a discharge were available. The benefit to you may instead be the structured repayment process.
Addressing an Urgent Collection Threat
A bankruptcy petition normally creates an automatic stay that stops many collection actions. But repeat filers should not assume that full stay protection will be available. Creditors may seek relief from the stay, and recently dismissed cases can sharply limit its duration or prevent it from taking effect automatically.
Do not wait until a scheduled foreclosure or repossession to investigate these rules. Your bankruptcy attorney will need time to examine your prior dockets, determine whether a stay will arise, and decide whether a motion must be filed immediately.
Refiling After an Earlier Chapter 13 Was Dismissed
The two-year and four-year rules in 11 U.S.C. Section 1328(f) apply when you have received a discharge in the earlier case. If an earlier Chapter 13 was dismissed without a discharge, then that discharge bar generally does not apply.
11 U.S.C. Section 349 ordinarily provides that dismissal does not prejudice you from a later filing or prevent a later discharge unless the court orders otherwise or 11 U.S.C. Section 109(g) applies (see below).
What Happens if Your Previous Bankruptcy Was Dismissed?
A dismissed bankruptcy case is treated differently from a completed case with a discharge. If your previous bankruptcy was dismissed without a discharge, then the waiting periods above generally do not apply, but other restrictions may exist.
180-Day Filing Restriction
Under 11 U.S.C. Section 109(g), federal bankruptcy law may prohibit you from filing another case for 180 days if your previous case was dismissed for willful failure to follow a court order or prosecute the case. The restriction can also apply if you voluntarily dismiss a case after a creditor requests relief from the automatic stay.
Good Faith Requirement
Your new petition and plan must be filed in good faith and must now be feasible; simply repeating an unsuccessful filing without meaningful changes can create problems for you because the bankruptcy judge may see it as a bad faith filing.
The court may consider your previous bankruptcy cases, reasons why they failed, changes in your financial circumstances, and whether your new plan is feasible. A legitimate change, such as job loss followed by new employment, is different from repeated filings intended only to delay creditors.
One Dismissed Case During the Previous Year
If one bankruptcy case was pending during the preceding year and was dismissed, Section 362(c)(3) generally provides that the automatic stay terminates on the 30th day of the later case with respect to the debtor unless the court continues it. The request must be addressed promptly, and the court must find that the new filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.
Two or More Dismissed Cases During the Previous Year
If you had two or more bankruptcy cases pending and dismissed during the preceding year, then the automatic stay generally does not become effective on your new filing. A party in interest may request the court to impose the stay, but the statutory request period is short, and the required good-faith showing can be demanding.
These rules are among the strongest reasons not to treat refiling as a do-it-yourself emergency measure. A petition that the clerk accepts may still provide far less protection than you expect.
Multiple Bankruptcy Filings and the Automatic Stay
The automatic stay begins when a bankruptcy case is filed and stops many creditor collection actions, including lawsuits, wage garnishments, and certain foreclosure proceedings.
If one bankruptcy case was dismissed in the previous year, the automatic stay in a new case generally lasts only 30 days unless the court extends it. The debtor can request an extension by showing the new case was filed in good faith.
If two or more cases were dismissed during the previous year, the automatic stay does not take effect automatically upon filing. The debtor must ask the bankruptcy court to impose it.
These rules help prevent multiple filings from being used solely to delay creditors. The timeline to request the court to extend the automatic stay is short and the burden is on the debtor to show good faith in that new filing. An experienced bankruptcy attorney is recommended to navigate this.
What Is Different for Arizona Bankruptcy Filers?
The two-year and four-year discharge rules we have covered above are federal rules. Arizona does not create a separate set of waiting periods under the state’s bankruptcy rules.
Arizona law matters when determining what property bankruptcy may protect. Arizona has opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemption list, so qualifying Arizona residents generally rely on exemptions provided by Arizona law rather than the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. Section 522(d).
Bankruptcy exemptions can also influence your Chapter 13 plan, because the plan must generally provide unsecured creditors at least as much as they would receive in a Chapter 7 liquidation. If you are considering a repeat filing, then changes in home equity, vehicle equity, income, or other assets since your previous case can materially change your required plan payments.
Talk to Stone Rose Law Before You Refile
There is no general limit on how many times you can file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but previous cases can affect discharge eligibility, the automatic stay, and whether another filing is appropriate. The rules depend on the type and filing date of the previous bankruptcy, whether you received a discharge, and whether prior cases were dismissed.
Repeat-bankruptcy timing is more than counting years. A Stone Rose Law bankruptcy lawyer can help you determine whether your previous case ended in discharge or dismissal, calculate the period from the correct filing date, review potential Section 109(g) restrictions, evaluate the automatic stay, and identify what a new Chapter 13 plan could realistically accomplish.
Stone Rose Law helps Arizona consumers understand Chapter 13 bankruptcy options and develop a custom strategy to regain control over their finances. Call Stone Rose Law at (480) 739-2448 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with a qualified bankruptcy attorney.
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