Although it hasn’t gotten much publicity, certain dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code will be increased for cases filed on or after April 1, 2007. You can find a chart listing all of the changes on this Federal Register page, which printed last month’s official notice from the Judicial Conference of the United States. 

Among the most meaningful for business bankruptcy cases:

• The total amount of claims required to file an involuntary petition increases to $13,475 from $12,300;
• The employee compensation priority under Section 507(a)(4) increases to $10,950 from the $10,000 level established by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (known as BAPCPA);
• The consumer deposit priority under Section 507(a)(7) increases to $2,425 from $2,225;
• The dollar amount in the bankruptcy venue provision, 28 U.S.C. Section 1409(b), that requires actions for non-consumer, non-insider debt to be brought against defendants in the district in which they reside, has increased to $10,950 from $10,000.

Other adjustments will affect consumers more than business debtors. For example, the debt limit for an individual to qualify to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case will top $1,000,000 of secured debt for the first time, and certain exemption amounts will also rise. 

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