Bankruptcy exemptions in Arizona: what you can keep
What property Arizona law protects in bankruptcy, item by item.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Arizona you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your 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).
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- $15,000 of equity in one motor vehicle; $25,000 if you or your dependent has a physical disability.
- Amounts
- Base amounts as printed in the Arizona Revised Statutes on azleg.gov.
Exemptions in Arizona, item by item
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Arizona list. The federal list is not available in Arizona.
Law: A.R.S. 33-1133(B)
| What | Arizona exemption |
|---|---|
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). No official table of the adjusted amount is published. One homestead per married couple or single person; the limit is for the couple's combined equity. It covers a house, condo or co-op, or a mobile home, RV, travel trailer, houseboat, manufactured home or other shelter you live in, plus the land under it. You must be at least 18 and live in Arizona. Cash from selling the home stays protected for 18 months or until you buy a new home, but cash taken out by refinancing is not protected. In bankruptcy the amount is fixed on the filing date, and if your equity is under the limit then, later increases in value during the case are also protected. Law: A.R.S. 33-1101 (as amended by Laws 2025, ch. 111) The law gives a rule here, not one dollar figure, and the figure can change each year. We show the rule exactly as the law states it and do not calculate a figure for you. Check the current figure in the official source or with the court. Official source: |
Car or other vehicle | $15,000 of equity in one motor vehicle; $25,000 if you or your dependent has a physical disability. Adjusted every January 1 since 2024 for inflation (CPI-U, rounded up to the nearest $100). Law: A.R.S. 33-1125(8) The law gives a rule here, not one dollar figure, and the figure can change each year. We show the rule exactly as the law states it and do not calculate a figure for you. Check the current figure in the official source or with the court. Official source: |
Household goods and clothing | Household furniture, furnishings, goods (including electronics) and appliances up to $15,000 total value, adjusted every January 1 since 2024 for inflation (CPI-U, rounded up to the nearest $100). Separate limits for clothing ($500), musical instruments ($400), wedding and engagement rings ($2,000), books ($250), one watch ($250), firearms ($2,000), and computer/bicycle/sewing machine/bible/burial plot ($2,000 total). All pets. Food and fuel for 6 months. Law: A.R.S. 33-1123; A.R.S. 33-1124; A.R.S. 33-1125 The law gives a rule here, not one dollar figure, and the figure can change each year. We show the rule exactly as the law states it and do not calculate a figure for you. Check the current figure in the official source or with the court. Official source: |
Tools of your trade | $5,000 in tools, equipment, instruments and books of your trade (and your spouse's); $2,500 in farm machinery, animals, feed and seed if farming is your main income. Law: A.R.S. 33-1130 |
Wages | At least 90% of your disposable earnings is protected: a creditor can take no more than the smaller of 10% or the amount above 60 times the highest applicable minimum hourly wage. For support orders, half is exempt. Law: A.R.S. 33-1131 |
Retirement accounts | 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 and 408A (IRA/Roth IRA), 409 and 457 plans are exempt, except money contributed within 120 days before filing bankruptcy. Law: A.R.S. 33-1126(B) |
Public benefits | Unemployment benefits, workers' compensation and public assistance are exempt. Health, accident and disability insurance benefits are exempt. Child support and spousal maintenance you receive are exempt. Law: A.R.S. 23-783; A.R.S. 23-1068; A.R.S. 46-208; A.R.S. 33-1126(A)(3)-(4) |
Other exemptions |
Law: A.R.S. 33-1126(A)(9); A.R.S. 33-1126(A)(11); A.R.S. 33-1126(A)(1), (6); A.R.S. 33-1126(C) |
If you use your state's exemptions, you can protect no more than $214,000 of home equity that you acquired in the 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before you filed. Equity moved from an earlier home in the same state, bought before that period, does not count. The cap does not apply to a family farmer's main home.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941
Amounts: Base amounts as printed in the Arizona Revised Statutes on azleg.gov. The homestead, vehicle, household goods and bank-account amounts rise every January 1 since 2024 by CPI (August-to-August change); the adjusted dollar figures are not printed in the statute and no state agency publishes them.
Your home in Arizona
$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). No official table of the adjusted amount is published.
One homestead per married couple or single person; the limit is for the couple's combined equity. It covers a house, condo or co-op, or a mobile home, RV, travel trailer, houseboat, manufactured home or other shelter you live in, plus the land under it. You must be at least 18 and live in Arizona. Cash from selling the home stays protected for 18 months or until you buy a new home, but cash taken out by refinancing is not protected. In bankruptcy the amount is fixed on the filing date, and if your equity is under the limit then, later increases in value during the case are also protected.
Law: A.R.S. 33-1101 (as amended by Laws 2025, ch. 111)
If you use your state's exemptions, you can protect no more than $214,000 of home equity that you acquired in the 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before you filed. Equity moved from an earlier home in the same state, bought before that period, does not count. The cap does not apply to a family farmer's main home.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941
What changed in 2024–2026 in Arizona
Annual CPI increases began January 1, 2024. In 2025, SB 1540 rewrote the homestead law: it now covers RVs, travel trailers, houseboats and other shelters plus land; excludes refinance cash-out; and fixes the bankruptcy homestead amount on the filing date (for petitions filed after the act took effect). It also added an exemption for earned income and child tax credits.
Law: Laws 2025, ch. 111; A.R.S. 33-1126(A)(11)
Source: Proposition 209, 2022
IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions
401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 and 408A (IRA/Roth IRA), 409 and 457 plans are exempt, except money contributed within 120 days before filing bankruptcy.
Law: A.R.S. 33-1126(B)
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
- New Mexico: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): $150,000 in your primary residence.
- Utah: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): 2026: up to $53,700 per person in your primary personal residence (a house or mobile home plus up to 1 acre of land around it).
- Nevada: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $605,000 of equity in your home.
- Colorado: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $250,000 of equity in your home; $350,000 if the home is occupied by an owner, owner's spouse, or owner's dependent who is elderly or disabled.
What to do now in Arizona
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.
Check the exemption list
For each item, find the Arizona exemption that covers it and its limit.
Claim your exemptions
You claim exemptions on Official Form 106C.
Get help
Legal aid can help for free: Community Legal Services (central and western Arizona) and Southern Arizona Legal Aid.
Free legal help in Arizona
Questions about exemptions in Arizona
Does Arizona let me choose the federal exemptions?
No. Arizona requires you to use the state exemptions.
Can I keep my house in bankruptcy in Arizona?
$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). No official table of the adjusted amount is published.
Can I keep my car in Arizona?
$15,000 of equity in one motor vehicle; $25,000 if you or your dependent has a physical disability. Adjusted every January 1 since 2024 for inflation (CPI-U, rounded up to the nearest $100).
Are furniture and clothes exempt in Arizona?
Household furniture, furnishings, goods (including electronics) and appliances up to $15,000 total value, adjusted every January 1 since 2024 for inflation (CPI-U, rounded up to the nearest $100). Separate limits for clothing ($500), musical instruments ($400), wedding and engagement rings ($2,000), books ($250), one watch ($250), firearms ($2,000), and computer/bicycle/sewing machine/bible/burial plot ($2,000 total). All pets. Food and fuel for 6 months.
Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a Arizona bankruptcy?
401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 and 408A (IRA/Roth IRA), 409 and 457 plans are exempt, except money contributed within 120 days before filing bankruptcy.
How much of my pay is exempt in Arizona?
At least 90% of your disposable earnings is protected: a creditor can take no more than the smaller of 10% or the amount above 60 times the highest applicable minimum hourly wage. For support orders, half is exempt.