Bankruptcy exemptions in Colorado: what you can keep
The Colorado 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 Colorado you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your 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.
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- Up to two motor vehicles or bicycles, $15,000 total; $25,000 total if you, your spouse or your dependent is elderly or disabled.
- Amounts
- Amounts as set by SB 22-086 (effective April 7, 2022), as printed in the Colorado Revised Statutes 2024 (official OLLS printout).
The Colorado exemption list
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Colorado list. The federal list is not available in Colorado.
Law: C.R.S. 13-54-107
| What | Colorado exemption |
|---|---|
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 (60 or older) or disabled. The homestead exists automatically when you occupy the home; no recording is needed. It also covers mobile and manufactured homes, trailers, and other dwellings you actually live in, such as an RV, boat, tiny home or yurt. Law: C.R.S. 38-41-201, 38-41-201.6, 38-41-201.7, 38-41-202 |
Car or other vehicle | Up to two motor vehicles or bicycles, $15,000 total; $25,000 total if you, your spouse or your dependent is elderly or disabled. Does not cover snowmobiles, ATVs, boats, travel trailers or motor homes. Law: C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(j) |
Household goods and clothing | Household goods $6,000; clothing $2,000; jewelry and watches $2,500; library, family pictures and school books $2,000; food and fuel $600; firearms and hunting/fishing gear $1,000; one burial site per person. Amounts are for the debtor and dependents as stated in the law. Law: C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(a)-(f), (x) |
Tools of your trade | $60,000 in stock in trade, tools, equipment and business materials for your main occupation ($20,000 for another occupation). Farmers: $100,000 in livestock, crops and farm equipment (one exemption per couple). Professional library $3,000. Law: C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(g), (i), (k) |
Wages | At least 80% of disposable earnings is protected: a creditor can take no more than the smaller of 20% or the amount above 40 times the federal or Colorado minimum hourly wage (whichever leaves you more). Law: C.R.S. 13-54-104(2) |
Retirement accounts | Pensions, retirement plans, deferred compensation, IRAs, Roth IRAs and health savings accounts are exempt (except for child support arrears). Law: C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(s), (3) |
Public benefits | Workers' compensation, unemployment (employment security) benefits and public assistance are exempt under their own laws. Disability benefits up to $5,000 a month and military pensions/benefits are also exempt. Law: C.R.S. 8-42-124; C.R.S. 8-80-103; C.R.S. 26-2-131; C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(h), (v) |
Other exemptions |
Law: C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(w); C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(o); C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(l); C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(n), (u); 13-54-102.5 |
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: Amounts as set by SB 22-086 (effective April 7, 2022), as printed in the Colorado Revised Statutes 2024 (official OLLS printout). No 2025 or 2026 bill changing these amounts became law. The amounts are not automatically indexed.
The Colorado homestead exemption
$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 (60 or older) or disabled.
The homestead exists automatically when you occupy the home; no recording is needed. It also covers mobile and manufactured homes, trailers, and other dwellings you actually live in, such as an RV, boat, tiny home or yurt.
Law: C.R.S. 38-41-201, 38-41-201.6, 38-41-201.7, 38-41-202
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
Retirement money
Pensions, retirement plans, deferred compensation, IRAs, Roth IRAs and health savings accounts are exempt (except for child support arrears).
Law: C.R.S. 13-54-102(1)(s), (3)
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)
Which state's law applies
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
- Wyoming: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): up to $100,000 in value, per person.
- 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).
- Nebraska: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $120,000 in value.
What to do now in Colorado
List what you own
List each thing you own and what it is worth on Official Form 106A/B.
Match each item to an exemption
For each item, find the Colorado exemption that covers it and its limit.
Claim your exemptions
Exemptions are claimed on Official Form 106C.
Talk to legal aid
Legal aid can help for free: Colorado Bar Association Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic (free help with Chapter 7) and Colorado Legal Services.
Free help in Colorado
Questions about exemptions in Colorado
State or federal exemptions in Colorado?
No. Colorado requires you to use the state exemptions.
How much home equity can I keep in Colorado?
$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 (60 or older) or disabled.
How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in Colorado?
Up to two motor vehicles or bicycles, $15,000 total; $25,000 total if you, your spouse or your dependent is elderly or disabled. Does not cover snowmobiles, ATVs, boats, travel trailers or motor homes.
Are furniture and clothes exempt in Colorado?
Household goods $6,000; clothing $2,000; jewelry and watches $2,500; library, family pictures and school books $2,000; food and fuel $600; firearms and hunting/fishing gear $1,000; one burial site per person. Amounts are for the debtor and dependents as stated in the law.
Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in Colorado?
Pensions, retirement plans, deferred compensation, IRAs, Roth IRAs and health savings accounts are exempt (except for child support arrears).
Are my wages protected in Colorado?
At least 80% of disposable earnings is protected: a creditor can take no more than the smaller of 20% or the amount above 40 times the federal or Colorado minimum hourly wage (whichever leaves you more).