Negative Bank Account Balance? Here’s how to list it on your bankruptcy forms

Step 1: The account(s) must be listed on your Schedule A/B. 

Even if you have a negative balance (or a $0 balance) in your account, the account has to be listed on your Schedule A/B. The court and your trustee need to know about the account, and this is the only way to make sure they do. The balance of an overdrafted account should be listed as $0.00 on your Schedule A/B. Do not list a negative number on your Schedule A/B.

Step 2: Decide what you want to do with the account. 

If you want to keep the account: Be prepared to bring your account balance back to $0/a positive balance before or shortly after filing. To keep the account, you generally have to pay for the overdraft and any fees you have incurred as a result of the overdraft. 

If you don’t want to keep the account: Make sure you list the debt on your Schedule E/F and add the bank to your creditor matrix. The discharge will eliminate the debt and the bank will eventually close the account. 

For more information about how bankruptcy affects your bank accounts, check out this short article in our Help Center or this more comprehensive article titled Keeping a Checking Account During Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in our Learn Center.