Homestead exemption: $300,000 to $600,000 of home equity
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 704.730(a)–(b)
In plain words
California protects part of the equity in the home you live in from most creditors, including in bankruptcy. The amount is the greater of $300,000 or the county median price for a single-family home the year before, up to $600,000, adjusted for inflation each year.
Who is protected
California residents with equity in the home they live in.
When it applies
- Only in California.
- Only if the home is your primary residence.
What you can do
Compare your options
Estimate your equity and compare it with the exemption before deciding on bankruptcy or a sale.
Open the toolRead the California guide
Our California page explains the whole process step by step, with its sources and free local help.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- It does not stop a foreclosure by your mortgage lender or a tax sale; it protects equity from other creditors.
- The yearly inflation adjustment changes the dollar figures; check the current amount.
- This is general education, not legal advice. Laws change and details depend on your papers and your court; check the current law or ask a lawyer or legal aid.
The law
- State lawHomestead exemption amount
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 704.730(a)–(b)
Exact part: (a)–(b)
What it says: Sets the homestead exemption at the greater of $300,000 or the county median, capped at $600,000, inflation-adjusted.
Read the official texthttps://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=704.730
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 topicMidland Funding, LLC v. Johnson
Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, 581 U.S. 224 (2017)
filing an obviously time-barred proof of claim in bankruptcy does not violate the FDCPA
- 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 topicJerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A.
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A., 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
the FDCPA's bona fide error defense does not excuse a debt collector's incorrect interpretation of what the Act requires
- 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
Related rights
Protection from owing more after a trustee sale (anti-deficiency)
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 580d(a)
After a nonjudicial trustee sale in California, the lender cannot collect the difference between the sale price and what you owed. Separate rules also protect many purchase loans on homes of up to four units that the buyer lives in.
Read this rightAfter a discharge, creditors cannot collect the wiped-out debt from you
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)
A bankruptcy discharge wipes out your personal liability for most debts in the case. After that, the law forbids creditors from suing, calling or otherwise trying to collect a discharged debt from you personally. A court can hold a creditor in contempt if there was no fair doubt that its conduct was barred.
Read this rightProtect equity in your home with a bankruptcy exemption
11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(1)–(3)
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.
Read this rightThe 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 rightA collection or charge-off must carry its real delinquency date
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(5)(A)
A company that reports an account placed for collection or charged off must tell the credit bureau the month and year the delinquency began, within 90 days. That date sets when the item must come off your report, and it does not change when the debt is sold.
Read this right