IN RE SEACE

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 2009 HHS guidelines, the poverty line for a one-person family living in the District of Columbia is $10,830.00 per year, making 150% of the applicable poverty line $16,245.00. The debtor's stated income exceeds this threshold.
Upon review of the debtor's application and schedules, the court questions whether the debtor's total combined monthly income is as high as stated. Specifically, the debtor's application states that the debtor has monthly income of $1,556.77, and that his dependents have monthly income of $2,400.00. Accordingly, the debtor has listed his "Total Combined Monthly Income" as $3,956.77. The debtor's application, however, states that the debtor is from a one-person household. Similarly, the debtor's Schedule I states that the debtor is single, and fails to identify any dependents. Even if the court were to disregard the $2,400.00 identified by the debtor as income generated by his dependents (it being unclear that the debtor actually has dependents), that would still leave the debtor with $1,556.77 in monthly income, or $18,681.24 per annum. This amount exceeds 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, if the court were to consider only the debtor's stated monthly income of $1,556.77, the court would nevertheless deny the debtor's application because the debtor's income exceeds the statutory limit for waiver.