The following chart shows the changes in amounts.
Property |
Prior Amount |
New Amount |
Residence (individual) |
$47,500* |
$80,000* |
Residence (over 60 or disabled) |
$95,000* |
$160,000 |
Motor vehicle |
$7,500 |
$10,000 |
Clothing; furniture; appliances; and similar items |
$200 |
$500 |
Jewelry |
$750** |
$1,000** |
Tools of the trade |
$5,000 |
$9,500 |
Life insurance dividends, interest and loan value |
$4,000 |
$5,000 |
Retirement funds |
$1,000,000 |
$1,054,550 |
Legal awards (personal bodily injury) |
$12,500 |
$20,000 |
Other property (sometimes referred to as wildcard) |
$400 |
$500 |
Unused residence exemption for other exemptions |
$6,000 |
$10,500 |
Cash; bank account (new) |
$0 |
$3,000 |
*The residence exemption has certain features that enhance the amount and other conditions, as discussed below.
** The jewelry exemption had a provision that courts have interpreted to allow a wedding and engagement ring in an unlimited amount. The new law attempts to close that loophole by limited the aggregate amount of a wedding and engagement ring to $4,000.
In addition, these amounts are to be indexed to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers every three years. In a nod to simplicity, the new law rounds those indexed amounts to the next $50.
https://www.preti.com/publications/maines-exemption-laws-are-changing/
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Other States
Click here to see Maine Bankruptcy Exemptions.
April 2022 - Federal Bankruptcy Amounts Updated for Exemptions, debt limits, etc.
State Updates - 2022
California - April 1 2022
California updates its exemption amounts every three years. (§703.150) (The last revision was in 2022; the next will be April 1, 2025.) As a result, the amounts listed in this chart (from the 2019 revisions) may not match the amounts that appear in the cited statutes. The 2022 exemption amounts can be found on form EJ-156 the California Judicial Council Website.
Indiana - March 2022
Indiana adjusts its exemption amounts every six years, starting in 2010, most recently in 2022, and next in 2028.
Maryland - April 1, 2022
Maryland homestead amount is keyed to the inflation adjusted amount of the federal exemptions which change every three years and was last changed in 2022.
Ohio - April 2022
Ohio adjusts the exemption amounts found in section RC 2329.66 every three years. The latest inflation adjusted amounts for 2022 can be found here.
Updates for Other States - 2021
Alabama – April 2021
- Homestead Exemption Ala. Code § 6-10-2, § 6-10-3, § 6-10-4; Const. Art. X, § 205 increasing from $15,500 to $16,450
- Personal Property Exemption Ala. Code § 6-10-6 increasing from $7,750 to $8,225
Washington - May 2021
- 735 ILCS 5/12-901 Homestead exemption has been increased to the greater of: $125,000.00; or the county median sale price of a single-family home for the year preceding the petition date – May 2021
West Virginia - July 2021
- Homestead/Motor Vehicle Exemption Amount Increase – July 2021
- District of West Virginia allows the use of Federal Exemptions effective July 7, 2021
California - July 2021
- Deposit Accounts C.C.P. § 704.220 is based on the state Minimum Basic Standard of Adequate Care and is adjusted annually. The current MBSAC floor for a family of four in Region 1 is $1,826.00 – July 2021
- California also increased its Homestead Exemption - December 2020
Maine - October 2021
Connecticut — October 2021
H.B. 6466: Raises the homestead exemption from $75,000 to $250,000, the motor vehicle exemption to $7,000, and creates an exemption for the cash surrender value of life insurance policies. • Signed into law on July 12, 2021. Effective October 1, 2021.
General Changes
In general, amounts of the exemptions are increased, as many of the exemption amounts have not changed in decades.
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Significant Pre-2021 Updates
Georgia - 2012, 2013, 2015
The 2012 Amendment: This amendment increased the amount of exemption for a debtor’s residence from $10,000.00 to $21,500.00 and increased the amount of such exemption from $20,000.00 to $43,000.00 where title to the residence “is in one of two spouses who is a debtor.” O.C.G.A. §44-13-100(a)(1).
The 2013 Amendment: This amendment increased the amount of the exemption available on motor vehicles from $3,500.00 to $5,000.00. O.C.G.A. §44-13-100(a)(3).
The 2015 Amendment: This amendment increased the amount of the basic “wild card” exemption in “any property” from $600.00 to $1,200.00. It also increased the amount by which a debtor may convert (or carry-over) an unused residence exemption to a wild card exemption from $5,000.00 to $10,000.00. O.C.G.A. §44-13-100(a)(6).