Bankruptcy exemptions in Maine: what you can keep
What property Maine law protects in bankruptcy, item by item.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Maine you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $94,300 in your home (or co-op, or a burial plot).
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- $11,800 in one motor vehicle.
- Wildcard (any property)
- $600 in any property, plus up to $12,400 of your unused homestead exemption for household goods, tools of the trade and personal injury payments.
- Amounts
- October 24, 2024 (Maine Supreme Judicial Court Administrative Order JB-24-02, 3-year CPI adjustment).
The Maine exemption list
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Maine list. The federal list is not available in Maine.
Law: 14 M.R.S. 4426
| What | Maine exemption |
|---|---|
Home (homestead) | $94,300 in your home (or co-op, or a burial plot). $188,550 if minor dependents live with you, or if you or a dependent are 60 or older or disabled and unable to work. If you own the home jointly with someone else, your exemption is the lower of the basic amount ($94,300, or $188,550 if 60+/disabled) or your ownership share times $188,550 ($282,800 if 60+/disabled). Money from selling an exempt home stays exempt for 12 months if you plan to buy another home. The exemption does not apply to judgments for torts beyond ordinary negligence, or against mortgages on the home. Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(1); 14 M.R.S. 4425(1); Me. Sup. Jud. Ct. Admin. Order JB-24-02 |
Car or other vehicle | $11,800 in one motor vehicle Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(2); Admin. Order JB-24-02 |
Household goods and clothing | $600 per item for household furnishings and goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops and musical instruments (no total cap). Jewelry up to $1,200 total, plus wedding and engagement rings up to $4,750. One cooking stove, all heating stoves and furnaces, and limited heating and cooking fuel. Food for 6 months. Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(3)-(4), (6)-(7); Admin. Order JB-24-02 |
Wildcard (any property) | $600 in any property, plus up to $12,400 of your unused homestead exemption for household goods, tools of the trade and personal injury payments. Separately, up to $3,550 in cash and bank accounts. Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(15)-(17); Admin. Order JB-24-02 |
Tools of your trade | $11,200 total for tools, implements, professional books and work materials. Also one of each farm implement or professional logging implement you need, and one commercial fishing boat up to 46 feet. Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(5), (8)-(9-A); Admin. Order JB-24-02 |
Wages | Outside bankruptcy, a court installment order can take no more than the least of 25% of your weekly take-home pay, the amount above 40 times the federal or Maine minimum hourly wage (whichever is higher), or your total disposable earnings. Law: 14 M.R.S. 3126-A(3) |
Retirement accounts | Tax-exempt retirement accounts (401, 403, 408 IRAs, 408A Roth IRAs, 414, 457 plans) are exempt up to $1,242,600 total, except contributions made within 120 days before filing and amounts needed for child or spousal support. Pension and similar payments you need for support are also exempt. Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(13)(E), (13-A); Admin. Order JB-24-02 |
Public benefits | Social Security, unemployment, public assistance (including federal earned income tax credit and child tax credit refunds), veterans' benefits, and disability or illness benefits are exempt. Workers' compensation cannot be attached (except for child support or general assistance reimbursement). Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(13)(A)-(C); 39-A M.R.S. 106 |
Other exemptions |
Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(13)(D) |
Amounts: October 24, 2024 (Maine Supreme Judicial Court Administrative Order JB-24-02, 3-year CPI adjustment). Under 14 M.R.S. 4422 the next 3-year adjustment is due for April 1, 2027.
The Maine homestead exemption
$94,300 in your home (or co-op, or a burial plot). $188,550 if minor dependents live with you, or if you or a dependent are 60 or older or disabled and unable to work.
If you own the home jointly with someone else, your exemption is the lower of the basic amount ($94,300, or $188,550 if 60+/disabled) or your ownership share times $188,550 ($282,800 if 60+/disabled). Money from selling an exempt home stays exempt for 12 months if you plan to buy another home. The exemption does not apply to judgments for torts beyond ordinary negligence, or against mortgages on the home.
Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(1); 14 M.R.S. 4425(1); Me. Sup. Jud. Ct. Admin. Order JB-24-02
Recent changes in Maine
Administrative Order JB-24-02, effective October 24, 2024, raised all 14 M.R.S. 4422 amounts (e.g. home $80,000 -> $94,300; $160,000 -> $188,550; vehicle $10,000 -> $11,800; cash $3,000 -> $3,550; retirement cap $1,054,550 -> $1,242,600). P.L. 2025, c. 649 added the medical-debt protection for a principal residence (4422(1)(F)) and amended 4422(1)(E); P.L. 2025, c.
Law: 655 amended 14 M.R.S. 4426
Retirement money
Tax-exempt retirement accounts (401, 403, 408 IRAs, 408A Roth IRAs, 414, 457 plans) are exempt up to $1,242,600 total, except contributions made within 120 days before filing and amounts needed for child or spousal support. Pension and similar payments you need for support are also exempt.
Law: 14 M.R.S. 4422(13)(E), (13-A); Admin. Order JB-24-02
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)
If you moved in the last 2 years
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
- Vermont: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): up to $125,000 in value: your home, outbuildings and the land used with it, that you own and use or keep as your homestead.
- Massachusetts: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): automatic homestead: $125,000 with no paperwork.
- 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.
- Connecticut: State or federal, your choice. 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.
Your next steps in Maine
Make a property list
Every item of property goes on Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
For each item, find the Maine exemption that covers it and its limit.
Fill in Schedule C
Exemptions are claimed on Official Form 106C.
Get help
Free help: Pine Tree Legal Assistance (HelpMeLaw.org) and Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project.
Free help in Maine
Questions about exemptions in Maine
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Maine?
No. Maine requires you to use the state exemptions.
What is the homestead exemption in Maine?
$94,300 in your home (or co-op, or a burial plot). $188,550 if minor dependents live with you, or if you or a dependent are 60 or older or disabled and unable to work.
How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in Maine?
$11,800 in one motor vehicle
Does Maine have a wildcard exemption?
$600 in any property, plus up to $12,400 of your unused homestead exemption for household goods, tools of the trade and personal injury payments. Separately, up to $3,550 in cash and bank accounts.
Are furniture and clothes exempt in Maine?
$600 per item for household furnishings and goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops and musical instruments (no total cap). Jewelry up to $1,200 total, plus wedding and engagement rings up to $4,750. One cooking stove, all heating stoves and furnaces, and limited heating and cooking fuel. Food for 6 months.
What happens to retirement money in Maine?
Tax-exempt retirement accounts (401, 403, 408 IRAs, 408A Roth IRAs, 414, 457 plans) are exempt up to $1,242,600 total, except contributions made within 120 days before filing and amounts needed for child or spousal support. Pension and similar payments you need for support are also exempt.
How much of my pay is exempt in Maine?
Outside bankruptcy, a court installment order can take no more than the least of 25% of your weekly take-home pay, the amount above 40 times the federal or Maine minimum hourly wage (whichever is higher), or your total disposable earnings.