Opinion
Case No. 08-00715.
November 5, 2008
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OF THE CHAPTER 7 FILING FEE
The debtor, Margaret Cecelia Caraway Holmes, has filed an application for waiver of the chapter 7 filing fee (Docket Entry ("DE") No. 10, filed October 31, 2008). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1930 as amended by § 418 of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-8 (effective October 17, 2005), this court
may waive the filing fee in a case under chapter 7 of title 11 for an individual if the court determines that such individual has income less than 150 percent of the income official poverty line . . . applicable to a family of the size involved and is unable to pay that fee in installments.
The debtor's application reflects that she is from a household of one and that she has a combined monthly income of $2,500.00, or $30,000.00 per annum. This figure is more than 150% of the applicable poverty guideline figure maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services for a one-person household living in the District of Columbia. Thus, the debtor has failed to satisfy the first requirement for waiver under 28 U.S.C. § 1930.
Section 1930(f) specifies that the "official poverty line" figures used for purposes of the chapter 7 fee waiver refer to those "defined by the Office of Management and Budget ["OMB"], and revised annually in accordance with [§] 673(2) of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981. . . ." The Judicial Conference of the United States interprets this language to refer to the poverty guidelines maintained annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") because the OMB has never issued poverty guidelines or thresholds. Under the 2008 HHS guidelines, the poverty line for a one-person family living in the District of Columbia is $10,400.00 per year, making 150% of the applicable poverty line $15,600.00. The debtor's stated income exceeds this threshold.
To qualify for waiver of the filing fee, the debtor must also demonstrate that she is unable to pay the fee in installments. The debtor's application, however, reflects a monthly income of $2,500.00 and expenses of $2,370.00, leaving the debtor with $130.00 in monthly disposable income from which to pay the filing fee in installments. It is thus
ORDERED that the debtor's application for waiver of the chapter 7 filing fee (DE No. 10) is DENIED. It is further
ORDERED that within 15 days after entry of this order the debtor shall either pay the filing fee in full or file with the clerk of the court an application to pay the filing fee in installments setting forth the schedule of installment payments in accordance with Fed.R.Bankr.P. 1006(b).