Questions on Nola Means Test Calculator????

[Fallonedward]

I have re taken the Nola Means Test. I have now included hubby's UI as income (since my state requires that) and I have a few questions.

I put my gross wages in line 3, column A
I put hubby's UI on line 9, column B

Question: Hubby's UI has no taxes taken out of it as we need every penny.
Should I put that amount down or should I deduct federal taxes out of the amount?

Lines 19 thru 20 automatically populated
On line 20A, it automatically placed the amount of $610 (non mortgage-Utilities)
Question: Am I entitled to this amount since I have a mortgage, I was under the impression that you get that amount only if you are renting

Line 20B took the amount I'm entitled to and subtracted it from line 42A
Question: We pay our taxes & mortgage together, so I placed that amount on line 42A and hit the dropdown that states does it include taxes "yes". So now 20B gives me a net allowance of zero. So does this mean that I get zero allowance for my mortgage?

Line 23 is for Vehicle Ownership or Lease Expense
I selected 2 vehicles for this part (1 car we own outright and one we have a car payment)

Question: Did I select correctly w/2?

Line 25 Monthly Taxes
Question: I added up from my pay stub the actual amount I pay for federal, & state taxes. I also included in this area the social security taxes, and Medicare taxes that are taken out of my check, did I do this right?

Line 42 Future payments on secured claims
Question: I put my home and car payment in this section. Should I have also placed my 2nd Mortgage in this section or does that amount go into line 43?


With filing this out as described above I get this happy message
Because the amount on line 51 is less than $7,025, the presumption of abuse does not arise. You pass the means test. Do not complete the remainder of Part 6

I hope this is right...

[justbroke]

Question: Hubby's UI has no taxes taken out of it as we need every penny.
Should I put that amount down or should I deduct federal taxes out of the amount?

You just add the "reasonable" taxes to the total taxes that you enter on the form later. Don't deduct it from the "income" line as that is gross income.

On line 20A, it automatically placed the amount of $610 (non mortgage-Utilities)
Question: Am I entitled to this amount since I have a mortgage, I was under the impression that you get that amount only if you are renting

Yes, it's called a "non-rent"/"non-mortgage" expense. It's for things like heating, electricity, basic phone service, etc.

Line 20B took the amount I'm entitled to and subtracted it from line 42A
Question: We pay our taxes & mortgage together, so I placed that amount on line 42A and hit the dropdown that states does it include taxes "yes". So now 20B gives me a net allowance of zero. So does this mean that I get zero allowance for my mortgage?

Yes, it should be $0 on line 20B. You are actually getting the ENTIRE amount, because line 42A is subtracted from your income to reach your disposable income. Had your mortgage and insurance/taxes been lower than the "allowance", you would receive the "offset". The amount on line 20B can never be negative.

Line 23 is for Vehicle Ownership or Lease Expense
I selected 2 vehicles for this part (1 car we own outright and one we have a car payment) Question: Did I select correctly w/2?

Well, this depends on your District. Most Districts do not allow an ownership expense for a vehicle owned outright.

Line 25 Monthly Taxes
Question: I added up from my pay stub the actual amount I pay for federal, & state taxes. I also included in this area the social security taxes, and Medicare taxes that are taken out of my check, did I do this right?

Yes. You should also include an estimate of taxes for your spouse's UI.

Line 42 Future payments on secured claims
Question: I put my home and car payment in this section. Should I have also placed my 2nd Mortgage in this section or does that amount go into line 43?

Yes! Your 2nd mortgage goes on line 42, not 43. Line 43 would be for things like arrearages on your home or property taxes.

Sounds good, but I think you have more work to do.

[Fallonedward]

JB: Thanks for going thru this and giving me some help

what extra work do you think I have? Is it adding in more for my medical?

[justbroke]

what extra work do you think I have? Is it adding in more for my medical?

Fixing those things I described above, like the taxes for your spouses UI checks. Also, if you're in arrears on your mortgage or car, make sure you put those on line 43. If you're behind in income taxes, make sure you get those in there as well on line 44 (payment on prepetition priority claims).

[debee]

Fallon - if you go to the US Trustee website http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/index.htm and then look on the left-hand side you will see a link to a pdf file about the UST position on the means test. That link is goes over the means test line-by-line and lets you know what should be there and what will be objected to. If you use it as a starting point (your lawyer will be able to tell you about district specific issues), you will get a good idea about what should go where. The pdf file also lists who is allowed the ownership deduction by district. I believe you are in the 6th - Michigan, right?

When you calculate your income taxes, you want to make sure you just don't multiply your paystub by 6 (if you're paid every other week). You multiply by 13 and then divide by 6 for the 6 month average.

I've read cases at this forum where the trustee recalculated a ch7 case because they entered taxes withheld instead of what was actually paid, so that is a factor too.