Protect equity in your home with a bankruptcy exemption
11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(1)–(3)
In plain words
In bankruptcy, you can keep ("exempt") certain property from creditors. For your home, the federal exemption protects equity up to a set dollar amount, but many states make you use the state's own list instead. Some state homestead exemptions are much larger than the federal one; some are smaller.
Who is protected
Individuals who file bankruptcy and own a home they or a dependent live in.
When it applies
- Only if the home is your primary residence.
- Whether you can pick the federal list depends on your state. Recent moves between states can change which state's law applies.
What you can do
Learn about exemptions and your state
Read the bankruptcy guide and check your state's homestead rules, then confirm with a bankruptcy lawyer.
Open the toolPrepare questions for a bankruptcy lawyer
Use the consultation checklist to gather your debts, income, and sale dates before you meet a lawyer.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- The federal dollar amount is modest and changes every three years; check the current figure with a lawyer or the court.
- An exemption protects equity from creditors in the case; it does not remove your mortgage or tax liens.
- Federal law caps some state homestead exemptions for homes bought within about 3.3 years (1,215 days) before filing.
- Bankruptcy information here is education only. Whether and how to file is a legal decision — talk to a bankruptcy attorney or legal aid office. Many offer free consultations.
- This is general legal information, not legal advice, and it does not promise any result. A HUD-approved housing counselor or a lawyer can look at your facts.
The law
- Federal lawBankruptcy Code — choosing exemptions
11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(1)–(3)
Exact part: (b)(1)–(3)
What it says: A debtor may exempt property under the federal list or under state and other federal law, unless the state has opted out of the federal list.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section522&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawBankruptcy Code — federal homestead exemption
11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(1)
Exact part: (d)(1)
What it says: The federal list protects the debtor's interest in a residence up to a dollar limit that is adjusted every three years.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section522&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawBankruptcy Code — dollar adjustments
11 U.S.C. § 104
What it says: Dollar amounts in § 522(d) are adjusted every three years.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section104&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawBankruptcy petition preparers may not give legal advice
11 U.S.C. § 110(e)(2)
Exact part: (e)(2)
What it says: Non-lawyer bankruptcy petition preparers may not advise a debtor whether to file or which chapter to use.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section110&num=0&edition=prelim
Court cases
- Homeowner wonSame topicBartee v. Tara Colony Homeowners Ass'n
Bartee v. Tara Colony Homeowners Ass'n (In re Bartee), 212 F.3d 277 (5th Cir. 2000)
Chapter 13's anti-modification rule does not protect a junior lienholder whose lien is not supported by any value in the debtor's home
- Homeowner lostSame topicNobelman v. American Savings Bank
Nobelman v. Am. Sav. Bank, 508 U.S. 324 (1993)
a Chapter 13 debtor may not reduce a mortgage secured only by the principal residence to the fair market value of the home
- Partial winSame topicTaggart v. Lorenzen
Taggart v. Lorenzen, 587 U.S. 554 (2019)
a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy discharge order when there is no fair ground of doubt that the order barred its conduct
- Homeowner wonSame topicYoung v. Repine (In re Repine)
Young v. Repine (In re Repine), 536 F.3d 512 (5th Cir. 2008)
a creditor who knows of a bankruptcy and keeps pursuing collection willfully violates the automatic stay and may owe the debtor damages and attorney's fees
- Homeowner wonSame topicTill v. SCS Credit Corp.
Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 (2004)
secured claims paid through a Chapter 13 plan may carry a prime-plus formula interest rate rather than the contract rate
- Homeowner lostSame topicCity of Chicago v. Fulton
City of Chicago v. Fulton, 592 U.S. 154 (2021)
merely retaining estate property seized before the bankruptcy filing does not violate the automatic stay under § 362(a)(3)
Related rights
The automatic stay: filing bankruptcy pauses most collection
11 U.S.C. § 362(a)
When a bankruptcy case is filed, an "automatic stay" goes into effect right away. It generally stops lawsuits, foreclosure steps, and other collection against you and your property, without anyone needing to ask a judge. Creditors who knowingly violate it can owe damages.
Read this rightChapter 13: catch up on missed mortgage payments over time
11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5)
In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a plan can let you catch up on missed mortgage payments over a reasonable time (often 3 to 5 years) while you keep paying the regular monthly payment. For your main home, you can use this cure until the home is sold at a foreclosure sale held under state law.
Read this rightConstitutional homestead for married persons and heads of family
Ark. Const. art. 9, § 3
Arkansas’s Constitution protects the homestead of a resident who is married or the head of a family from judgment liens and forced sale, except for purchase money, certain liens for improvements, and taxes. In a city or town the homestead is up to one acre (value limit $2,500), but never less than one-quarter acre regardless of value; rural homesteads are larger.
Read this rightConstitutional homestead: unlimited value, limited by acreage
Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(a)(1)
Florida’s Constitution protects your homestead from forced sale by most creditors, with no dollar limit. The limit is size: up to one-half acre inside a city or town, or up to 160 acres outside one. It does not protect against the mortgage used to buy or improve the home, or against property taxes.
Read this rightYour homestead is protected from forced sale for most debts
Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 50(a)
The Texas Constitution protects a family’s or single adult’s homestead from forced sale for almost all debts. The protection has no dollar cap; it is limited by land size (10 acres in a town or city; up to 200 acres rural for a family, 100 for a single adult). Only listed debts — like the purchase loan, property taxes, valid home-equity loans and home-improvement liens — can force a sale.
Read this rightHomestead exemption for your principal residence (amount adjusted by regulation)
Alaska Stat. § 09.38.010(a)
Alaska protects your interest in the home you or your dependents use as a principal residence, up to a dollar cap. The statute states $54,000, but the amount is adjusted by regulation; our state profile reports $72,900 for 2026. Only one cap applies per residence.
Read this right