Bankruptcy exemptions in Minnesota: what you can keep
The Minnesota 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 Minnesota you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $540,000 in equity, or $1,350,000 if the homestead is used mainly for farming (amounts effective July 1, 2026).
- Exemption system
- State or federal, your choice
- Car or other vehicle
- One of: $10,200 in one vehicle; $27,500 in a vehicle regularly used by or for a physically disabled person; $110,000 in a vehicle designed or modified for a disability; or $13,750 in a vehicle reasonably necessary for your trade or business (amounts effective July 1, 2026).
- Wildcard (any property)
- $1,650 in any property, including money in a bank account, in bankruptcy only (effective July 1, 2026).
- Amounts
- July 1, 2026. Minnesota Department of Commerce, 'Historic Adjustments' table (version dated 6/25/2026), 10% adjustment under Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 4a and 510.02 subd. 2.
Exemptions in Minnesota, item by item
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the Minnesota 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 | Minnesota exemption | Federal exemption |
|---|---|---|
Home (homestead) | $540,000 in equity, or $1,350,000 if the homestead is used mainly for farming (amounts effective July 1, 2026). The homestead can include up to 160 acres of land. The cap is per homestead, whether one or more debtors claim it, so married co-owners do not double it. Law: Minn. Stat. 510.01, 510.02 subd. 1-2 | $31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1) |
Car or other vehicle | One of: $10,200 in one vehicle; $27,500 in a vehicle regularly used by or for a physically disabled person; $110,000 in a vehicle designed or modified for a disability; or $13,750 in a vehicle reasonably necessary for your trade or business (amounts effective July 1, 2026). Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 12a | $5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2) |
Household goods and clothing | All clothing, one watch, utensils and food. Household furniture, appliances, TVs, computers, phones and other electronics up to $12,600 total; jewelry up to $3,430; religious items $2,200; musical instruments $2,200; personal library $825; family pets $1,100; household tools and equipment (hand and power tools, snow blower, lawnmower) $3,300 (amounts effective July 1, 2026). Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 4, 27 | 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) | $1,650 in any property, including money in a bank account, in bankruptcy only (effective July 1, 2026). Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 28 | $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 | $14,000 in tools, machines, office furniture, stock and library needed for your trade or profession (effective July 1, 2026). Farm machines and implements: $13,000. If you combine both, the total cannot exceed $13,000. Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 5, 6, 7 | $3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6) |
Wages | Earnings that cannot be garnished under Minn. Stat. 571.922 are exempt, and stay exempt for 20 days after deposit in a bank. Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 13; Minn. Stat. 571.922 | — |
Retirement accounts | Pensions, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs, annuities and similar plans: up to a present value of $84,000, plus more if reasonably necessary to support you and your family (effective July 1, 2026). Not protected against support orders. The dollar cap does not apply to ERISA-qualified employer plans. Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 24 | 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 | All need-based government assistance (MFIP, SSI, SNAP, general assistance, energy assistance, and similar) and low-income tax credits such as the federal EITC, the Minnesota working family credit and the renter's credit are exempt, and stay exempt for 60 days after deposit. Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 14 | 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: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 22; Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 15 | 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: July 1, 2026. Minnesota Department of Commerce, 'Historic Adjustments' table (version dated 6/25/2026), 10% adjustment under Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 4a and 510.02 subd. 2. The 2025 Minnesota Statutes still print the July 1, 2024 amounts. Next possible change: July 1, 2028.
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.
New amounts in Minnesota
A 2024 law raised several amounts as of August 2024 (vehicle to $10,000, new disability and work-vehicle categories, a new $1,500 bankruptcy wildcard, household tools $3,000). On July 1, 2024 the indexed amounts rose (homestead $510,000 / $1,275,000). On July 1, 2026 they rose again: homestead $540,000 / $1,350,000; household goods $12,600; vehicle $10,200; wildcard $1,650; tools of trade $14,000; retirement $84,000.
Law: Laws 2024, c. 114, art. 3
Retirement accounts
Pensions, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs, annuities and similar plans: up to a present value of $84,000, plus more if reasonably necessary to support you and your family (effective July 1, 2026). Not protected against support orders. The dollar cap does not apply to ERISA-qualified employer plans.
Law: Minn. Stat. 550.37 subd. 24
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 Minnesota homestead exemption
$540,000 in equity, or $1,350,000 if the homestead is used mainly for farming (amounts effective July 1, 2026). The homestead can include up to 160 acres of land.
The cap is per homestead, whether one or more debtors claim it, so married co-owners do not double it.
Law: Minn. Stat. 510.01, 510.02 subd. 1-2
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
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
How the choice works in Minnesota
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)
In nearby states
- Wisconsin: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): up to $75,000 per person in your home and the land reasonably needed for it: at least 0.25 acre if available, up to 40 acres.
- Iowa: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): unlimited value — up to 1/2 acre inside a city plat, or up to 40 acres elsewhere.
- North Dakota: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $150,000 in equity in the land you live on and your house, including improvements; the land must be one tract or contiguous tracts.
- South Dakota: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): no dollar limit on the value of the home itself.
Your next steps in Minnesota
Make a property list
List each thing you own and what it is worth on Official Form 106A/B.
Match each item to an exemption
For each item, find the Minnesota exemption that covers it and its limit.
Fill in Schedule C
You claim exemptions on Official Form 106C.
Free help in Minnesota
Questions about exemptions in Minnesota
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Minnesota?
You can. Minnesota lets you choose the state exemptions or the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d). You must pick one whole set.
How much home equity can I keep in Minnesota?
$540,000 in equity, or $1,350,000 if the homestead is used mainly for farming (amounts effective July 1, 2026). The homestead can include up to 160 acres of land.
What is the vehicle exemption in Minnesota?
One of: $10,200 in one vehicle; $27,500 in a vehicle regularly used by or for a physically disabled person; $110,000 in a vehicle designed or modified for a disability; or $13,750 in a vehicle reasonably necessary for your trade or business (amounts effective July 1, 2026).
What is the wildcard exemption in Minnesota?
$1,650 in any property, including money in a bank account, in bankruptcy only (effective July 1, 2026).
Are furniture and clothes exempt in Minnesota?
All clothing, one watch, utensils and food. Household furniture, appliances, TVs, computers, phones and other electronics up to $12,600 total; jewelry up to $3,430; religious items $2,200; musical instruments $2,200; personal library $825; family pets $1,100; household tools and equipment (hand and power tools, snow blower, lawnmower) $3,300 (amounts effective July 1, 2026).
Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a Minnesota bankruptcy?
Pensions, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs, annuities and similar plans: up to a present value of $84,000, plus more if reasonably necessary to support you and your family (effective July 1, 2026). Not protected against support orders. The dollar cap does not apply to ERISA-qualified employer plans.
How much of my pay is exempt in Minnesota?
Earnings that cannot be garnished under Minn. Stat. 571.922 are exempt, and stay exempt for 20 days after deposit in a bank.