Bankruptcy exemptions in Kansas: what you can keep
Every Kansas exemption with its amount and law, plus the federal rules that limit them.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Kansas you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): unlimited value.
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- $20,000 of your interest in one vehicle you regularly use to get around or to get to work.
- Amounts
- Amounts set by statute and not indexed; vehicle and tools amounts unchanged since 1988.
The Kansas exemption list
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Kansas list. The federal list is not available in Kansas.
Law: K.S.A. 60-2312(a)
| What | Kansas exemption |
|---|---|
Home (homestead) | Unlimited value. Up to 160 acres of farmland, or up to 1 acre inside a city or town, or a manufactured or mobile home, that you or your family live in. The homestead is not protected from property taxes, from the loan used to buy it, or from debts for building improvements on it, or from a lien both spouses agreed to (such as a mortgage). A married owner cannot sell or mortgage it without the other spouse's consent. Law: K.S.A. 60-2301 |
Car or other vehicle | $20,000 of your interest in one vehicle you regularly use to get around or to get to work. No dollar limit for a vehicle designed or equipped for a person with a disability. Law: K.S.A. 60-2304(c) |
Household goods and clothing | Furnishings, equipment and supplies (including food, fuel and clothing) reasonably needed at your home for one year, with no dollar cap. Jewelry and ornaments up to $1,000. Law: K.S.A. 60-2304(a)-(b) |
Tools of your trade | $7,500 total for books, tools, equipment, breeding stock, seed and other means of production you regularly need for your work Law: K.S.A. 60-2304(e) |
Wages | A creditor can garnish no more than the lesser of 25% of your weekly take-home pay or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. If you or a family member was too sick to work for more than 2 weeks, garnishment is paused until 2 months after recovery. Law: K.S.A. 60-2310(b)-(c) |
Retirement accounts | Money in retirement plans qualified under Internal Revenue Code 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 is exempt, except from a qualified domestic relations order or child support order. Many Kansas public pensions are also exempt. Law: K.S.A. 60-2308(b)-(c); K.S.A. 60-2313(a)(1) |
Public benefits | Public assistance, workers' compensation, unemployment benefits and crime victims compensation awards are exempt. Support money held by the state's payment center, the Department for Children and Families or a court trustee is exempt. Law: K.S.A. 60-2313(a)(2)-(5); K.S.A. 60-2308(e) |
Other exemptions |
Law: K.S.A. 60-2315; K.S.A. 60-2313(a)(7); K.S.A. 60-2304(d); K.S.A. 60-2312(b) |
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 set by statute and not indexed; vehicle and tools amounts unchanged since 1988. Kansas Statutes as published by the Revisor of Statutes, 2026.
Your home in Kansas
Unlimited value. Up to 160 acres of farmland, or up to 1 acre inside a city or town, or a manufactured or mobile home, that you or your family live in.
The homestead is not protected from property taxes, from the loan used to buy it, or from debts for building improvements on it, or from a lien both spouses agreed to (such as a mortgage). A married owner cannot sell or mortgage it without the other spouse's consent.
Law: K.S.A. 60-2301
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
Money in retirement plans qualified under Internal Revenue Code 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 is exempt, except from a qualified domestic relations order or child support order. Many Kansas public pensions are also exempt.
Law: K.S.A. 60-2308(b)-(c); K.S.A. 60-2313(a)(1)
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
- Oklahoma: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): unlimited in value — in a city or town: up to 1 acre that you own and live in as your principal residence.
- Nebraska: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $120,000 in value.
- Missouri: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $15,000 in your home and the land used with it.
- Iowa: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): unlimited value — up to 1/2 acre inside a city plat, or up to 40 acres elsewhere.
Your next steps in Kansas
Write down your property
Every item of property goes on Official Form 106A/B.
Check the exemption list
Use the Kansas table above to see which exemption covers each item and how much.
List the exemptions you claim
Exemptions are claimed on Official Form 106C.
Get help
Legal aid can help for free: Kansas Legal Services and Kansas Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service.
Free legal help in Kansas
Questions about exemptions in Kansas
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Kansas?
No. Kansas requires you to use the state exemptions.
What is the homestead exemption in Kansas?
Unlimited value. Up to 160 acres of farmland, or up to 1 acre inside a city or town, or a manufactured or mobile home, that you or your family live in.
Can I keep my car in Kansas?
$20,000 of your interest in one vehicle you regularly use to get around or to get to work. No dollar limit for a vehicle designed or equipped for a person with a disability.
What personal property is protected in Kansas?
Furnishings, equipment and supplies (including food, fuel and clothing) reasonably needed at your home for one year, with no dollar cap. Jewelry and ornaments up to $1,000.
Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in Kansas?
Money in retirement plans qualified under Internal Revenue Code 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 is exempt, except from a qualified domestic relations order or child support order. Many Kansas public pensions are also exempt.
How much of my pay is exempt in Kansas?
A creditor can garnish no more than the lesser of 25% of your weekly take-home pay or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. If you or a family member was too sick to work for more than 2 weeks, garnishment is paused until 2 months after recovery.