An official notice from the Judicial Conference of the United States was just published announcing that certain dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code will be increased ever so slightly — only about 3% this time — for new cases filed on or after April 1, 2016. Follow this link for the Federal Register page with a chart listing all of the updated dollar amounts.  Among the most meaningful increases for Chapter 11 and other business bankruptcy cases:

  • The employee compensation and employee benefit plan contribution priorities under Sections 507(a)(4) and 507(a)(5) both increase to $12,850 from $12,475;
  • The consumer deposit priority under Section 507(a)(7) rises to $2,850 from $2,775;
  • The total amount of claims required to file an involuntary petition rises to $15,775 from $15,325;
  • The dollar amount in the bankruptcy venue provision, 28 U.S.C. Section 1409(b), which requires that actions to recover for non-consumer, non-insider debt be brought against defendants in the district in which they reside, has increased to $12,850 from $12,475;
  • The minimum amount required to bring a preference claim against a defendant in a non-consumer debtor case, specified in Section 547(c)(9), rises to $6,425 from $6,225; and
  • The total debt amount in the definition of small business debtor in Section 101(51D) will rise to $2,566,050.

Other adjustments will affect consumers more than business debtors. For example, the debt limit for an individual to qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case will rise to $1,184,200 of secured debt, and certain exemption amounts will also increase.

Although the changes aren’t substantial, be sure to keep them in mind when assessing cases filed after April 1st.