Bankruptcy exemptions in Louisiana: what you can keep

Every Louisiana exemption with its amount and law, plus the federal rules that limit them.

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.

Short answer

In Louisiana you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $35,000 in value of the home you own and live in, with the land and buildings: up to 5 acres inside a municipality or up to 200 acres outside one.

Exemption system: State exemptions only
Car or other vehicle: $15,000 of equity in one motor vehicle for any purpose. If you are married or have a licensed-driver child in your household, a second vehicle with up to $15,000 equity.
Amounts: Vehicle amounts effective August 1, 2026; homestead $35,000 set by La. R.S. 20:1 (last amended 2009).

What Louisiana lets you keep

Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Louisiana list. The federal list is not available in Louisiana.

Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(B)(1)

What	Louisiana exemption
Home (homestead)	$35,000 in value of the home you own and live in, with the land and buildings: up to 5 acres inside a municipality or up to 200 acres outside one Against debts that come directly from a catastrophic or terminal illness or injury (uninsured medical bills over $10,000 and more than half your average yearly income over the last 3 tax returns), the whole value of the home is protected. A married couple gets one homestead exemption, not one each. The exemption does not apply to the purchase price, mortgages, building or repair debts, taxes, and some other debts. The exemption continues for a surviving spouse or minor children. Law: La. R.S. 20:1
Car or other vehicle	$15,000 of equity in one motor vehicle for any purpose. If you are married or have a licensed-driver child in your household, a second vehicle with up to $15,000 equity. A vehicle adapted for a disability of you or your family: $20,000 of equity (one per household). If the disability-vehicle exemption applies to you, you cannot claim the second $15,000 vehicle, and no one can exempt more than two vehicles in total. Value is based on the JD Power Official Used Car Guide retail value. Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(7)-(8)
Household goods and clothing	No dollar cap on listed household items: clothing, bedding, linens, dishes, non-sterling silverware, glassware, living room, bedroom and dining room furniture, stove, heating and cooling equipment, one sewing machine, therapy equipment, kitchen utensils, irons, washer, dryer, refrigerators and freezers, family portraits, musical instruments, pets, poultry and one cow. Firearms and ammunition up to $2,500 total. Wedding or engagement rings up to $5,000. Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(4)-(5)
Tools of your trade	Tools, instruments and books you need for your trade or profession, and one utility trailer (no dollar cap in the statute) Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(2)
Wages	75% of your weekly take-home pay is exempt, and never less than 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage per week. For child support only 50% is exempt, and for spousal support 60%. Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)
Retirement accounts	Pensions, IRAs and Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and other tax-deferred plans, annuities, and health savings accounts (up to the IRS family-coverage contribution limit for the year) are exempt from all debts except alimony and child support. Contributions made less than one calendar year before filing are not exempt. Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(D)
Public benefits	Unemployment benefits (while not mixed with other money), workers' compensation and public assistance are exempt from creditors. Law: La. R.S. 23:1693(A); La. R.S. 23:1205(A); La. R.S. 46:111
Other exemptions	The federal earned income tax credit and the refundable part of the child tax credit are exempt, except from the Department of Revenue or for child support arrears. Life insurance proceeds and cash value are exempt, but if the policy was issued within 9 months before filing, cash value over $35,000 is not. Insurance money for damage to an exempt item or your homestead from a governor-declared disaster is exempt if kept in a separate escrow account. Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(6); La. R.S. 22:912; La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(9); La. R.S. 20:1(A)(2)

Amounts: Vehicle amounts effective August 1, 2026; homestead $35,000 set by La. R.S. 20:1 (last amended 2009). Amounts are not indexed.

The Louisiana homestead exemption

$35,000 in value of the home you own and live in, with the land and buildings: up to 5 acres inside a municipality or up to 200 acres outside one

Against debts that come directly from a catastrophic or terminal illness or injury (uninsured medical bills over $10,000 and more than half your average yearly income over the last 3 tax returns), the whole value of the home is protected. A married couple gets one homestead exemption, not one each. The exemption does not apply to the purchase price, mortgages, building or repair debts, taxes, and some other debts. The exemption continues for a surviving spouse or minor children.

Law: La. R.S. 20:1

New amounts in Louisiana

Act 55 of the 2026 Regular Session, effective August 1, 2026: vehicle exemption raised from $7,500 to $15,000 (JD Power value replaces NADA); second vehicle up to $15,000 allowed if married or a licensed-driver child is in the household; disability-adapted vehicle raised from $7,500 to $20,000; health savings accounts added to the retirement exemption in R.S. 13:3881(D).

Law: HB 135

Retirement money

Pensions, IRAs and Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and other tax-deferred plans, annuities, and health savings accounts (up to the IRS family-coverage contribution limit for the year) are exempt from all debts except alimony and child support. Contributions made less than one calendar year before filing are not exempt.

Law: La. R.S. 13:3881(D)

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

Mississippi: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $75,000 in equity in the land and buildings you own and live in, on up to 160 acres.
Arkansas: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): only if you are married or the head of a family — Rural home: up to 160 acres worth up to $2,500, but never less than 80 acres regardless of value.
Alabama: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $18,800 of home value per owner, on up to 160 acres.
Texas: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): no dollar limit.

Your next steps in Louisiana

Make a property list
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
Use the Louisiana 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
Free help: Bankruptcy Self-Help Resource Center (The Pro Bono Project, New Orleans) - phone hotline first Friday of each month, 9 AM to noon and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (Chapters 7 and 13).

Free help in Louisiana

Questions about exemptions in Louisiana

State or federal exemptions in Louisiana?

No. Louisiana requires you to use the state exemptions.

What is the homestead exemption in Louisiana?

$35,000 in value of the home you own and live in, with the land and buildings: up to 5 acres inside a municipality or up to 200 acres outside one

Can I keep my car in Louisiana?

$15,000 of equity in one motor vehicle for any purpose. If you are married or have a licensed-driver child in your household, a second vehicle with up to $15,000 equity. A vehicle adapted for a disability of you or your family: $20,000 of equity (one per household). If the disability-vehicle exemption applies to you, you cannot claim the second $15,000 vehicle, and no one can exempt more than two vehicles in total. Value is based on the JD Power Official Used Car Guide retail value.

Are furniture and clothes exempt in Louisiana?

No dollar cap on listed household items: clothing, bedding, linens, dishes, non-sterling silverware, glassware, living room, bedroom and dining room furniture, stove, heating and cooling equipment, one sewing machine, therapy equipment, kitchen utensils, irons, washer, dryer, refrigerators and freezers, family portraits, musical instruments, pets, poultry and one cow. Firearms and ammunition up to $2,500 total. Wedding or engagement rings up to $5,000.

Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a Louisiana bankruptcy?

What is the wage exemption in Louisiana?

75% of your weekly take-home pay is exempt, and never less than 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage per week. For child support only 50% is exempt, and for spousal support 60%.