Bankruptcy exemptions in Alabama: what you can keep
The Alabama exemption list, the homestead rule, which state's law applies and how to claim exemptions.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Alabama you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $18,800 of home value per owner, on up to 160 acres.
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- No separate vehicle exemption. You can use the $9,400 personal property exemption for a car.
- Wildcard (any property)
- The $9,400 personal property exemption works like a wildcard: you pick which personal property it covers.
- Amounts
- Homestead $18,800 and personal property $9,400 apply to exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2024 (State Treasurer CPI adjustment every 3 years, Ala. Code 6-10-12; tables on the State Treasurer and Southern District of Alabama bankruptcy court sites).
Exemptions in Alabama, item by item
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Alabama list. The federal list is not available in Alabama.
Law: Ala. Code 6-10-11
| What | Alabama exemption |
|---|---|
Home (homestead) | $18,800 of home value per owner, on up to 160 acres. $56,400 if you are 62 or older or have a disability (since June 1, 2026). If a home is owned jointly, each owner can claim the exemption separately, so a married couple who both own and live in the home can each claim it. A mobile home used as your main home counts. For the disability amount you need proof, such as a disability determination letter or receipt of disability benefits. In bankruptcy, the amount is the one in effect on the day you file. Law: Ala. Code 6-10-2 (as amended by Act 2026-203); Ala. Code 6-10-1(b); Ala. Code 6-10-12 |
Car or other vehicle | No separate vehicle exemption. You can use the $9,400 personal property exemption for a car. Law: Ala. Code 6-10-6 |
Household goods and clothing | $9,400 per person of any personal property you choose (not wages), plus all necessary clothing for you and your family, family portraits and pictures, and books used by the family. Law: Ala. Code 6-10-6; Ala. Code 6-10-12 |
Wildcard (any property) | The $9,400 personal property exemption works like a wildcard: you pick which personal property it covers. Law: Ala. Code 6-10-6 |
Wages | 75% of wages is protected from garnishment. For consumer credit debts, only the smaller of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage can be taken. Law: Ala. Code 6-10-7; Ala. Code 5-19-15 |
Retirement accounts | Alabama protects qualified retirement plans and IRAs from creditors, including in bankruptcy. Law: Ala. Code 19-3B-508 |
Public benefits | Unemployment benefits, workers' compensation, and public assistance are exempt. Public assistance does not go to the bankruptcy trustee. Law: Ala. Code 25-4-140; Ala. Code 25-5-86; Ala. Code 38-4-8 |
Other exemptions |
Law: Ala. Code 6-10-8 |
Amounts: Homestead $18,800 and personal property $9,400 apply to exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2024 (State Treasurer CPI adjustment every 3 years, Ala. Code 6-10-12; tables on the State Treasurer and Southern District of Alabama bankruptcy court sites). The $56,400 senior/disability homestead took effect June 1, 2026. The State Treasurer's July 1, 2026 adjustment raises the standard homestead to $20,475 and personal property to $10,225 for exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2027.
Your home in Alabama
$18,800 of home value per owner, on up to 160 acres. $56,400 if you are 62 or older or have a disability (since June 1, 2026).
If a home is owned jointly, each owner can claim the exemption separately, so a married couple who both own and live in the home can each claim it. A mobile home used as your main home counts. For the disability amount you need proof, such as a disability determination letter or receipt of disability benefits. In bankruptcy, the amount is the one in effect on the day you file.
Law: Ala. Code 6-10-2 (as amended by Act 2026-203); Ala. Code 6-10-1(b); Ala. Code 6-10-12
What changed in 2024–2026 in Alabama
April 1, 2024: homestead raised to $18,800 and personal property to $9,400 (CPI adjustment). June 1, 2026: new $56,400 homestead for people 62+ or with a disability, and the bankruptcy exemption amount is now fixed as of the filing date. July 1, 2026: the State Treasurer published the next CPI adjustment ($20,475 homestead, $10,225 personal property), which applies to exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2027.
Law: Act 2026-203
The 730-day rule
You use the exemption law of the state where you lived (your domicile) for the full 730 days (2 years) before you filed. If you moved between states during those 2 years, you use the law of the state where you lived for the 180 days before that 2-year period, or where you lived the longest part of those 180 days.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3)(A)
If this rule leaves you with no exemptions at all (for example, the state's exemptions apply only to its residents and you no longer live there), you can use the federal exemptions instead.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3), flush language
IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions
Alabama protects qualified retirement plans and IRAs from creditors, including in bankruptcy.
Law: Ala. Code 19-3B-508
Retirement money in tax-exempt accounts is protected whichever set of exemptions you use (IRAs subject to the 522(n) cap).
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3)(C), 522(d)(12), 522(n)
In nearby states
- Mississippi: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $75,000 in equity in the land and buildings you own and live in, on up to 160 acres.
- Georgia: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $50,000 of your interest in real or personal property that you or a dependent use as a residence, or in a burial plot.
- Tennessee: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $35,000 in real property you own and that you, your spouse or a dependent use as your principal residence.
- Louisiana: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $35,000 in value of the home you own and live in, with the land and buildings: up to 5 acres inside a municipality or up to 200 acres outside one.
Steps to protect what you can in Alabama
Write down your property
Write down your home, car, bank accounts, household goods and other property, with a value for each. The form for this is Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
The table above shows the Alabama amount for each kind of property.
Claim your exemptions
You claim exemptions on Official Form 106C.
Talk to legal aid
Free help: Legal Services Alabama and Alabama State Bar - Get Legal Help.
Where to get free help in Alabama
Questions about exemptions in Alabama
Does Alabama let me choose the federal exemptions?
No. Alabama requires you to use the state exemptions.
Can I keep my house in bankruptcy in Alabama?
$18,800 of home value per owner, on up to 160 acres. $56,400 if you are 62 or older or have a disability (since June 1, 2026).
How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in Alabama?
No separate vehicle exemption. You can use the $9,400 personal property exemption for a car.
Does Alabama have a wildcard exemption?
The $9,400 personal property exemption works like a wildcard: you pick which personal property it covers.
Are furniture and clothes exempt in Alabama?
$9,400 per person of any personal property you choose (not wages), plus all necessary clothing for you and your family, family portraits and pictures, and books used by the family.
Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a Alabama bankruptcy?
Alabama protects qualified retirement plans and IRAs from creditors, including in bankruptcy.
Are my wages protected in Alabama?
75% of wages is protected from garnishment. For consumer credit debts, only the smaller of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage can be taken.