The drop in bankruptcy filings during April did not surprise industry experts.

According to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, total U.S. filings last month decreased 21% from the previous year. Epiq reported bankruptcy filings totaled 32,508 in April, down from the April 2021 total of 40,931.

Experts said noncommercial bankruptcy filings totaled 30,747 in April, also registering a 21% drop from the April 2021 noncommercial total of 38,826.

Epiq indicated commercial filings decreased 16% in April 2022, as the 1,761 filings were down from the 2,105 commercial filings registered in April of last year.

“New bankruptcy filing volumes continue to decline as the country emerges from the global pandemic,” says Chris Kruse, senior vice president of Epiq Bankruptcy Technology. “The seasonality we see in March each year also occurred in 2022, and the April decline was expected.”

Epiq pointed out that April’s total bankruptcy filings marked a 10% drop when compared to the 36,059 total filings recorded the previous month. Total noncommercial filings for April also represented a 10 percent decrease from the March 2022 noncommercial filing total of 34,234.

Experts added the commercial filing total represented a 4% decrease from the March commercial filing total of 1,825.

“Legislation that passed recently in the Senate and is currently being considered in the House would expand the debt-eligibility limits for small businesses and individuals looking to reorganize their finances,” American Bankruptcy Institute executive director Amy Quackenboss said. “ABI appreciates the work by Congress to create greater access and a more efficient process for small businesses and families to achieve a financial fresh start.”

The decline of subchapter V elections reflects the return of the debt-eligibility limit to the original $2,725,625 threshold from the expanded amount of $7.5 million first established under the CARES Act of 2020. Legislation was passed in the Senate to restore the eligibility limit back to $7.5 million and cover any subchapter V cases that were pending at the time of the March 27 sunset.

Consistent with the recommendations of ABI’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy, the substitute also continues to push for the debt limit for individual chapter 13 filings to be increased to $2.75 million and remove the distinction between secured and unsecured debt for that calculation.

Both of the expanded eligibility limits for small business subchapter Vs and consumer Chapter 13s would sunset after two years, according to ABI.

ABI has partnered with Epiq Bankruptcy to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers and members of the news media.

Epiq Bankruptcy is a leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Epiq’s new Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily.

To learn more, go to https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.