Bankruptcy exemptions in Alaska: what you can keep
Every Alaska exemption with its amount and law, plus the federal rules that limit them.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Alaska you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $72,900 in your principal residence.
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- $4,050 in one motor vehicle, but only if the vehicle's full value is $27,000 or less.
- Amounts
- Amounts in 8 AAC 95.030 as currently published on the Alaska Legislature's Administrative Code site (regulation history: last amended 4/4/2013, Register 206).
What Alaska lets you keep
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Alaska list. The federal list is not available in Alaska.
Law: AS 09.38.055
| What | Alaska exemption |
|---|---|
Home (homestead) | $72,900 in your principal residence. This is a cap per home, not per person: if several owners live there, together they cannot exempt more than $72,900, each up to their share. In 2026 the Department of Labor and Workforce Development proposed raising it to $83,700; until a new regulation is in effect, $72,900 applies. Law: AS 09.38.010; AS 8 AAC 95.030(a) |
Car or other vehicle | $4,050 in one motor vehicle, but only if the vehicle's full value is $27,000 or less. Law: AS 09.38.020(e); AS 8 AAC 95.030(b)(5)-(6) |
Household goods and clothing | $4,050 total for household goods and clothing for one household, books, musical instruments, family portraits and heirlooms. Separately: jewelry up to $1,350 and pets up to $1,350. Law: AS 09.38.020(a), (b), (d); AS 8 AAC 95.030(b)(1), (2), (4) |
Tools of your trade | $3,780 in tools, implements and professional books of your trade. Law: AS 09.38.020(c); AS 8 AAC 95.030(b)(3) |
Wages | $473 of weekly net earnings is exempt. If you are not paid weekly, semi-monthly or monthly, $1,890 a month of cash and other liquid assets is exempt instead. Law: AS 09.38.030(a)-(b); AS 09.38.055; AS 8 AAC 95.030(d) |
Retirement accounts | Your interest in retirement plans and IRAs, and payments from them, are exempt, but money you put into a retirement plan in the 120 days before filing bankruptcy is not. Law: AS 09.38.017 |
Public benefits | Benefits exempt under federal law (such as Social Security), medical benefits used for care, longevity bonus, and crime victim awards are exempt. Disability, illness and unemployment benefits you have received are treated as earnings and protected up to the wage limits above. Law: AS 09.38.015(a)(3)-(6); AS 09.38.030(e) |
Other exemptions |
Law: AS 09.38.015(a)(1); AS 09.38.025; 8 AAC 95.030(c); AS 09.38.015(a)(8); AS 09.38.015(a)(9) |
Amounts: Amounts in 8 AAC 95.030 as currently published on the Alaska Legislature's Administrative Code site (regulation history: last amended 4/4/2013, Register 206). AS 09.38.115 changes amounts on October 1 of even-numbered years. A 2026 proposed amendment (comment deadline Aug 24, 2026) would raise them: homestead $83,700, vehicle $4,650 with $31,000 value limit, personal property $4,650, jewelry/pets $1,550, tools $4,340, life insurance $502,500, wages $543/week, liquid assets $2,370/month.
Your home in Alaska
$72,900 in your principal residence.
This is a cap per home, not per person: if several owners live there, together they cannot exempt more than $72,900, each up to their share. In 2026 the Department of Labor and Workforce Development proposed raising it to $83,700; until a new regulation is in effect, $72,900 applies.
Law: AS 09.38.010; AS 8 AAC 95.030(a)
What changed in 2024–2026 in Alaska
In 2026 the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development proposed raising all 8 AAC 95.030 amounts (homestead from $72,900 to $83,700). As of late October 2026 the officially published regulation still shows the older amounts.
Retirement money
Your interest in retirement plans and IRAs, and payments from them, are exempt, but money you put into a retirement plan in the 120 days before filing bankruptcy is not.
Law: AS 09.38.017
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)
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
In nearby states
- Arizona: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $400,000 of equity as written in the law, adjusted every January 1 since 2024 for inflation (CPI-U, rounded up to the nearest $100).
- Hawaii: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): $30,000 of equity if you are a head of a family (this includes a married couple) or age 65 or older; $20,000 for anyone else.
- California: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): 704 system: the greater of $300,000 or the countywide median sale price for a single-family home in the calendar year before you claim the exemption, up to $600,000.
- New Mexico: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): $150,000 in your primary residence.
Steps to protect what you can in Alaska
Write down your property
Every item of property goes on Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
The table above shows the Alaska amount for each kind of property.
Fill in Schedule C
You claim exemptions on Official Form 106C.
Ask for free help
Legal aid can help for free: Alaska Legal Services Corporation and Alaska Court System Self-Help Center.
Where to get free help in Alaska
Questions about exemptions in Alaska
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Alaska?
No. Alaska requires you to use the state exemptions.
Can I keep my house in bankruptcy in Alaska?
$72,900 in your principal residence.
Can I keep my car in Alaska?
$4,050 in one motor vehicle, but only if the vehicle's full value is $27,000 or less.
Are furniture and clothes exempt in Alaska?
$4,050 total for household goods and clothing for one household, books, musical instruments, family portraits and heirlooms. Separately: jewelry up to $1,350 and pets up to $1,350.
Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a Alaska bankruptcy?
Your interest in retirement plans and IRAs, and payments from them, are exempt, but money you put into a retirement plan in the 120 days before filing bankruptcy is not.
How much of my pay is exempt in Alaska?
$473 of weekly net earnings is exempt. If you are not paid weekly, semi-monthly or monthly, $1,890 a month of cash and other liquid assets is exempt instead.