Bankruptcy in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): automatic homestead: $125,000 with no paperwork.

You file in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts.

What can I keep?Do I pass the means test?Where do I file?Free help

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026. · Free letter and checklist ↓

What you can keep in Massachusetts

Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the Massachusetts 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	Massachusetts exemption	Federal exemption
Home (homestead)	Automatic homestead: $125,000 with no paperwork. Declared homestead: $1,000,000 if you sign and record a homestead declaration at the registry of deeds before you file. If the home is owned as joint tenants or tenants by the entirety (for example, a married couple), the $125,000 or $1,000,000 is one amount for the home, not per person. Owners who are 62 or older, or disabled, can each record their own elderly/disabled declaration; each such owner gets up to $1,000,000. For joint tenants or tenants by the entirety, the total is then $1,000,000 for each elderly/disabled declaration plus $250,000. Spouses living in separate homes share one exemption. The home can be a 1-4 family house, condo, manufactured home or co-op unit. The homestead does not protect against taxes, liens or mortgages recorded before the homestead, or court-ordered support. Law: G.L. c. 188, s. 2; Mass. Gen. Laws c. 188, ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5	$31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1)
Car or other vehicle	Up to $7,500 in wholesale resale value in a car needed for personal transportation or work. Up to $15,000 if you are handicapped or 60 or older. Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34 (Sixteenth)	$5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2)
Household goods and clothing	Necessary clothing, beds and bedding, one heating unit, stove, refrigerator, freezer and hot water heater; other necessary household furniture up to $15,000; one computer and one television in use; jewelry up to $1,225; bibles, schoolbooks and library up to $500. Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34 (First, Second, Third, Twelfth, Eighteenth)	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 personal property, plus up to $5,000 of any unused amount of the household furniture, tools of trade and car exemptions. Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34 (Seventeenth)	$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	Up to $5,000 in tools, implements and fixtures for your trade or business, plus up to $5,000 in materials and stock for it. Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34 (Fifth, Sixth)	$3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6)
Wages	The greater of 85% of your gross wages, or 50 times the higher of the federal or Massachusetts hourly minimum wage, for each week. Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34 (Fifteenth)	—
Retirement accounts	ERISA plans, Keogh plans, 401(a) plans, SEPs, 403(b) plans, IRAs, and annuities bought with money from these plans are protected, except for divorce, separate maintenance or child support orders, and criminal restitution or penalties. For IRAs and other plans kept by an individual, money put in during the 5 years before bankruptcy that is more than 7% of your total income for that period is not protected by this state rule (rollovers do not count). Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34A	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	The full amount owed or paid to you as public assistance is protected. Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34 (Fifteenth)	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	$2,500 in cash, savings or other bank or investment deposits. If you rent: up to $2,500 per month needed to pay rent, in place of a homestead. Up to $500 per month needed for heat, fuel, water, hot water and light. Food and provisions for your family, or money for them, up to $600. Law: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34, Fifteenth; Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34, Fourteenth; Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34, First; Mass. Gen. Laws c. 235, s. 34, Seventh	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)

Federal limit on a newly bought home

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: Statute text on malegislature.gov, read October 2026. The declared homestead amount became $1,000,000 on August 6, 2024 (Acts 2024, c. 150, s. 51). Massachusetts 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.

The means test in Massachusetts: first step

Official Form 122A-1 compares your household's yearly income with the median income in Massachusetts. Here are the official medians:

1 person$88,202
2 people$112,708
3 people$139,411
4 people$178,524
Each extra person+$11,100

Applies to cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. 1 = one earner; 2, 3, 4 = people in the household; add = amount added for each person over 4

Where to file in Massachusetts

You file in the federal bankruptcy district where you lived (your domicile) for most of the 180 days before you file. Massachusetts has one district, with offices in Boston, Worcester and Springfield. See the court's locations page: https://www.mab.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-locations

Law: 28 U.S.C. 1408

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts

Divisions: Boston, Worcester, Springfield

Clerk's phone: (617) 748-5300

Court's self-help page

Free help in Massachusetts

Free letter and checklist

Letter: tell a creditor you filed bankruptcy

Notice to a creditor or debt collector with your case number, court, filing date and chapter.

Checklist: what to gather before you file

Income, tax returns, debts, property and budget papers the federal forms ask about, with Massachusetts's courts.

Bankruptcy in Massachusetts by topic

Exemptions in Massachusetts

Home, car, household goods, wildcard and more, with the law for each.

The means test in Massachusetts

The official median income and the first-step check.

Where to file in Massachusetts

The bankruptcy courts, divisions, fees and the 341 meeting.

Good to know in Massachusetts

The big Massachusetts homestead ($1,000,000) is available only if a declaration of homestead is recorded at the registry of deeds. Without it, the automatic amount is $125,000. The bankruptcy court's debtor page reminds filers to check this.
Law: G.L. c. 188, ss. 1, 3-5
You can choose either the Massachusetts exemptions or the federal list in 11 U.S.C. 522(d), but not mix them.
The Massachusetts Bar Association runs a Student Loan Bankruptcy Assistance Project (studentloan@massbar.org), listed on the court's legal services page.

Changes in 2024–2026

The declared homestead exemption rose from $500,000 to $1,000,000, effective August 6, 2024 (Acts 2024, c. 150, s. 51, the Affordable Homes Act). Declarations recorded before that date get the higher amount without refiling.

Questions about bankruptcy in Massachusetts

Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Massachusetts?

You can. Massachusetts lets you choose the state exemptions or the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d). You must pick one whole set.

What is the homestead exemption in Massachusetts?

Automatic homestead: $125,000 with no paperwork. Declared homestead: $1,000,000 if you sign and record a homestead declaration at the registry of deeds before you file.

How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in Massachusetts?

Up to $7,500 in wholesale resale value in a car needed for personal transportation or work. Up to $15,000 if you are handicapped or 60 or older.

Does Massachusetts have a wildcard exemption?

$1,000 in any personal property, plus up to $5,000 of any unused amount of the household furniture, tools of trade and car exemptions.

What household goods can I keep in Massachusetts?

Necessary clothing, beds and bedding, one heating unit, stove, refrigerator, freezer and hot water heater; other necessary household furniture up to $15,000; one computer and one television in use; jewelry up to $1,225; bibles, schoolbooks and library up to $500.

Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in Massachusetts?

ERISA plans, Keogh plans, 401(a) plans, SEPs, 403(b) plans, IRAs, and annuities bought with money from these plans are protected, except for divorce, separate maintenance or child support orders, and criminal restitution or penalties. For IRAs and other plans kept by an individual, money put in during the 5 years before bankruptcy that is more than 7% of your total income for that period is not protected by this state rule (rollovers do not count).

Are my wages protected in Massachusetts?

The greater of 85% of your gross wages, or 50 times the higher of the federal or Massachusetts hourly minimum wage, for each week.

Where do I file bankruptcy in Massachusetts?

What is the median income for the means test in Massachusetts?

For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026: 1 person: $88,202; 2 people: $112,708; 3 people: $139,411; 4 people: $178,524; Each extra person: +$11,100.

Where can I get free help with bankruptcy in Massachusetts?

Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association, Community Legal Aid (Central and Western Massachusetts) and South Coastal Counties Legal Services.