Bankruptcy exemptions in Connecticut: what you can keep
The Connecticut 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 Connecticut you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $250,000 of equity in your homestead (owner-occupied home, co-op or mobile manufactured home used as your primary residence), per person claiming it.
- Exemption system
- State or federal, your choice
- Car or other vehicle
- Up to two motor vehicles, $7,000 total equity (value minus loans).
- Wildcard (any property)
- $1,000 in any property.
- Amounts
- Connecticut General Statutes, chapter 906, as published by the Connecticut General Assembly (2025 revision; the 2026 Supplement changes no exemption section).
Exemptions in Connecticut, item by item
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the Connecticut list or the federal list. You can't mix them.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(1)-(2); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)
| What | Connecticut exemption | Federal exemption |
|---|---|---|
Home (homestead) | $250,000 of equity in your homestead (owner-occupied home, co-op or mobile manufactured home used as your primary residence), per person claiming it. Value is fair market value minus liens. Only $75,000 is protected against a judgment from a claim of sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor, sexual assault, or other willful, wanton or reckless misconduct. The $250,000 amount applies to bankruptcy cases filed on or after October 1, 2021. Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352a(5), 52-352b(21) | $31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1) |
Car or other vehicle | Up to two motor vehicles, $7,000 total equity (value minus loans). Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(10) | $5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2) |
Household goods and clothing | Necessary clothing, bedding, food, household furniture and appliances (no dollar cap; 'necessary' means reasonably required for you and your dependents). Wedding and engagement rings. Residential utility deposits and one security deposit. Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352a(2), 52-352b(1), (11), (12) | Household goods: $800 per item, $16,850 total Jewelry for personal or family use: $2,125 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(3); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(4) |
Wildcard (any property) | $1,000 in any property. Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(18) | $1,675 plus up to $15,800 of any unused part of the (d)(1) homestead amount Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(5) |
Tools of your trade | Tools, books, instruments, farm animals and livestock feed necessary for your occupation, profession or farming (no dollar cap). Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(2) | $3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6) |
Wages | Wages are protected like in a wage execution: a creditor can take no more than the smaller of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the higher of the federal or Connecticut minimum wage. Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-361a(f) | — |
Retirement accounts | Assets in and payments from retirement plans and arrangements described in 52-321a are exempt. Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(13); Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-321a | No dollar limit (IRAs are capped under 522(n)) Money in traditional and Roth IRAs is protected up to $1,711,975 in total. Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(12); 11 U.S.C. 522(n); 90 FR 8941 |
Public benefits | Public assistance payments, workers' compensation, Social Security, veterans' and unemployment benefits, and health and disability insurance payments are exempt. Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(4), (5), (7) | Your right to receive Social Security, unemployment, public assistance, veterans' and disability benefits; alimony and support you reasonably need; and certain pension or annuity payments you reasonably need: No dollar limit (some only as much as you reasonably need) Your right to certain payments: crime victim awards, wrongful-death and life-insurance payments for someone you depended on, personal bodily injury payments (not pain and suffering or actual money losses), and payments for lost future earnings: Crime-victim awards: no limit. Personal injury payment: up to $31,575. Others: as much as you reasonably need Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(10); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(11) |
Other exemptions |
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(8), (14); Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(19), (20); Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(3); Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(22) | An unmatured life insurance policy you own (not credit life insurance): No dollar limit Cash value of life insurance: $16,850 Health aids prescribed by a professional for you or a dependent: No dollar limit Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(7); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(8); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(9) |
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: Connecticut General Statutes, chapter 906, as published by the Connecticut General Assembly (2025 revision; the 2026 Supplement changes no exemption section). Homestead last raised by P.A. 21-161 (effective October 1, 2021). Amounts are not indexed.
Federal amounts: Amounts in effect for cases filed on or after April 1, 2025 (next automatic adjustment due April 1, 2028)
Law: 11 U.S.C. 104; 90 FR 8941-8942
These amounts are per person. If a married couple files one joint case, each spouse can claim the federal exemptions separately.
Keeping your home in Connecticut
$250,000 of equity in your homestead (owner-occupied home, co-op or mobile manufactured home used as your primary residence), per person claiming it.
Value is fair market value minus liens. Only $75,000 is protected against a judgment from a claim of sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor, sexual assault, or other willful, wanton or reckless misconduct. The $250,000 amount applies to bankruptcy cases filed on or after October 1, 2021.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352a(5), 52-352b(21)
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
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
State or federal list in Connecticut
In some states you can choose either the state exemptions or the federal exemptions. You must pick one whole set; you cannot mix them. Other states allow only the state exemptions. A married couple filing together must both pick the same set.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(1)-(2); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)
Retirement money
Assets in and payments from retirement plans and arrangements described in 52-321a are exempt.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-352b(13); Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-321a
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
- Rhode Island: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): $500,000 in the home that you live in or intend to live in as your principal residence.
- Massachusetts: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): automatic homestead: $125,000 with no paperwork.
- New Jersey: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): none — New Jersey state law has no homestead exemption for the equity in your home.
- New York: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): depends on the county where the home is: from $102,400 to $204,825.
Your next steps in Connecticut
Make a property list
List each thing you own and what it is worth on Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
Use the Connecticut table above to see which exemption covers each item and how much.
Claim your exemptions
The exemptions you choose go on Official Form 106C.
Get help
Ask for free help: Connecticut Bar Association Bankruptcy Pro Bono Program and Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut.
Free legal help in Connecticut
Questions about exemptions in Connecticut
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Connecticut?
You can. Connecticut lets you choose the state exemptions or the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d). You must pick one whole set.
Can I keep my house in bankruptcy in Connecticut?
$250,000 of equity in your homestead (owner-occupied home, co-op or mobile manufactured home used as your primary residence), per person claiming it.
How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in Connecticut?
Up to two motor vehicles, $7,000 total equity (value minus loans).
Is there a wildcard in Connecticut?
$1,000 in any property.
What household goods can I keep in Connecticut?
Necessary clothing, bedding, food, household furniture and appliances (no dollar cap; 'necessary' means reasonably required for you and your dependents). Wedding and engagement rings. Residential utility deposits and one security deposit.
Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in Connecticut?
Assets in and payments from retirement plans and arrangements described in 52-321a are exempt.
What is the wage exemption in Connecticut?
Wages are protected like in a wage execution: a creditor can take no more than the smaller of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the higher of the federal or Connecticut minimum wage.