In reReinstein, 393 B.R. 838,841 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 2008) (Shapiro) (CitingNeary v. Ross-Tousey (In reRoss-Tousey), 368 B.R. 762 (E.D. Wis. 2007), if debtor has housing or transportation expenses, the Local Standards amounts are allowed even if actual expenses are less. “This court finds itself aligned with those cases holding that the housing and transportation expenses contained in the Local Standards are fixed expenses and apply where a debtor has, in fact, incurred some housing and transportation expenses, even if the actual expenses are lower than the Local Standard expenses.”).

In re May, 390 B.R. 338, 347-49, 342 nn.3 & 4, 349 n.13 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio 2008) (Walter) (Adopting Hildebrand v. Kimbro (In re Kimbro), 389 B.R. 518 (B.A.P. 6th Cir. 2008), debtor with unencumbered car is allowed Local Standards transportation ownership expense deduction; changes by IRS to Standards and postings of modified Standards to UST Web page are problematic. “[T]he allowance for vehicle ownership costs pursuant to the IRS Local Standards under § 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) must be something other than a debtor’s actual monthly car payment. Any other reading renders the two provisions redundant or creates the absurdity of allowing debtors to deduct their monthly car payment twice. . . . Section 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) places no limitations on a debtor’s deductions beyond choosing the debtor’s applicable monthly expense amounts specified under National and Local Standards…. Neither the standard nor the language of the statute requires a debtor to do anything more than own a vehicle to take the vehicle ownership costs deduction… . [R]eliance on the IRM to interpret how the IRS standards should be used in bankruptcy is not authorized by the language of the statute…. [T]he IRM was drafted for a completely different purpose …. [T]he IRM is an internal IRS manual intended to provide revenue officers with a flexible and discretionary system of calculating expenses for negotiating with delinquent taxpayers…. Congress adopted the IRS standards in bankruptcy to provide a fixed set of expense allowances to debtors in order to level the playing field and to eliminate judicial discretion.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy