Common Errors With The Means Test

• Calculating CMI based on the 180 day period prior to the Petition date rather the 180 days prior to the last day of the month ending prior to the Petition date.
• Calculation CMI Based on the 60 days pay stubs (required to be filed with the court) rather than the 180 days prior to the last day of the month ending prior to the Petition date.
• Using 'net' monthly income (i.e., take home pay) rather than 'gross' monthly income.
• Not including all of the non-debtor's spousal income (as a starting point) in Column B.
• Not including non-Social Secutiry Income (SSI) retirement distributions (even 'one time' distributions) received within 180 days prior to the Petition date as income.
• Erroneously including tax refunds as income.
• Not using the most current median income amounts corresponding to household size.
• Claiming dependents/household size inconsistent with schedule I and/or inconsistent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines and/or inconsistent with tax returns.  There may be reasonable exceptions.
• Not providing a complete itemization of expenses claimed as the marital adjustment.
• Not checking to make sure the county local standards being used match the debtor's county of residence.
• Using housing adjustment to claim additional housing expenses (instead of Line 37 for excess home energy costs); Line 21 is intended for the (rare) challenge of the allocation of the IRS Local Standard for housing into separate rent/mortgage and non-mortgage components.
• Double-dipping on the secured payments and local standard amounts.
• Claiming the extra $200 "operating" expense for a vehicle older than five (5) years on which payments are still being made.
• Claiming an "ownership" expense on a vehicle on which no payments are owed.
• Claiming tax expenses in excess of, or below the amounts actually owed, ignoring"over withholding" or "under-withholding."
• Claiming as "involuntary deductions" amounts withheld for "voluntary" 401K contributions or loan repayments.
• Double dipping on health-care expenses and health-spending accounts.  Health-care expenses should be net of reimbursement from spending account only in amounts in excess of the National Standard for Health Care.
• Claiming telecommunication expenses for basic phone, long distance, and cell-phone service, when those amounts are already included in the local standards for housing and utilities (non-mortgage expenses).
• Treating repayment of 401K loans as payments on secured debt.
• Including student loans as priority debts.