Bankruptcy exemptions in Mississippi: what you can keep

What property Mississippi law protects in bankruptcy, item by item.

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.

Short answer

In Mississippi you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $75,000 in equity in the land and buildings you own and live in, on up to 160 acres.

Exemption system
State exemptions only
Car or other vehicle
No separate car exemption. Motor vehicles are one of the kinds of property you can protect within the $10,000 personal property total.
Wildcard (any property)
Only if you are 70 or older: an extra $50,000 in any kind of property, including money in the bank.
Amounts
Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1 as amended by 2020 House Bill 1071 (effective July 1, 2020); 85-3-21 text as reproduced in 2015 HB 164 and 2018 HB 797 (both died).

The Mississippi exemption list

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

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-2

WhatMississippi exemption
Home (homestead)

$75,000 in equity in the land and buildings you own and live in, on up to 160 acres. Mortgages, taxes and other liens are subtracted first.

You must be a householder and live in the home. A married couple filing together gets one $75,000 exemption, not two. A spouse or widow(er) over 60 who has claimed the exemption keeps it even if no longer living there. If you live in a mobile home, trailer or manufactured home and do not claim the homestead, you can protect up to $30,000 in it instead.

Law: In re Pace, 521 B.R. 124, Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2014; Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(d); Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-21

Car or other vehicle

No separate car exemption. Motor vehicles are one of the kinds of property you can protect within the $10,000 personal property total.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(a)(ii)

Household goods and clothing

Up to $10,000 total, in property you choose from these kinds: household goods, clothing, books, animals or crops; motor vehicles; tools of the trade; cash on hand; prescribed health aids; and any item worth less than $200. 'Household goods' means clothing, furniture, appliances, one radio, one TV, one firearm, one lawn mower, linens, dishes, kitchenware and personal effects (including wedding rings). Art, other electronics, jewelry other than wedding rings, and antiques do not count as household goods.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(a)

Wildcard (any property)

Only if you are 70 or older: an extra $50,000 in any kind of property, including money in the bank.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(h)

Tools of your trade

Included in the $10,000 personal property total.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(a)(iii)

Retirement accounts

Money in, and payments from, 401(a), 403(a) and 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, IRAs (including SEPs) and Roth IRAs are protected, whether vested or not.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(e)

Public benefits

Income from disability insurance is protected. Insurance paid on exempt property, and money from selling exempt property, is also protected.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(b)

Other exemptions
  • Earned income tax credit: up to $5,000; federal tax refund: up to $5,000; state tax refund: up to $5,000.
  • College savings in a Section 529 plan, including MPACT and MACS.
  • Health savings accounts and catastrophe savings accounts.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(i), (j), (k); Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(f); Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(g); Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(l)

Amounts: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1 as amended by 2020 House Bill 1071 (effective July 1, 2020); 85-3-21 text as reproduced in 2015 HB 164 and 2018 HB 797 (both died). The Legislature's code-section index shows no enacted change to 85-3-1, 85-3-2 or 85-3-21 in 2021-2026. Mississippi amounts are not indexed.

Your home in Mississippi

$75,000 in equity in the land and buildings you own and live in, on up to 160 acres. Mortgages, taxes and other liens are subtracted first.

You must be a householder and live in the home. A married couple filing together gets one $75,000 exemption, not two. A spouse or widow(er) over 60 who has claimed the exemption keeps it even if no longer living there. If you live in a mobile home, trailer or manufactured home and do not claim the homestead, you can protect up to $30,000 in it instead.

Law: In re Pace, 521 B.R. 124, Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2014; Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(d)

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-21; Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(d)

IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions

Money in, and payments from, 401(a), 403(a) and 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, IRAs (including SEPs) and Roth IRAs are protected, whether vested or not.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. 85-3-1(e)

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

  • Alabama: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $18,800 of home value per owner, on up to 160 acres.
  • Louisiana: State exemptions only. 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.
  • 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.
  • Tennessee: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $35,000 in real property you own and that you, your spouse or a dependent use as your principal residence.

Steps to protect what you can in Mississippi

  1. List what you own

    List each thing you own and what it is worth on Official Form 106A/B.

  2. Compare with the list

    For each item, find the Mississippi exemption that covers it and its limit.

  3. List the exemptions you claim

    You claim exemptions on Official Form 106C.

Free help in Mississippi

Questions about exemptions in Mississippi

State or federal exemptions in Mississippi?

No. Mississippi requires you to use the state exemptions.

How much home equity can I keep in Mississippi?

$75,000 in equity in the land and buildings you own and live in, on up to 160 acres. Mortgages, taxes and other liens are subtracted first.

What is the vehicle exemption in Mississippi?

No separate car exemption. Motor vehicles are one of the kinds of property you can protect within the $10,000 personal property total.

What is the wildcard exemption in Mississippi?

Only if you are 70 or older: an extra $50,000 in any kind of property, including money in the bank.

What personal property is protected in Mississippi?

Up to $10,000 total, in property you choose from these kinds: household goods, clothing, books, animals or crops; motor vehicles; tools of the trade; cash on hand; prescribed health aids; and any item worth less than $200. 'Household goods' means clothing, furniture, appliances, one radio, one TV, one firearm, one lawn mower, linens, dishes, kitchenware and personal effects (including wedding rings). Art, other electronics, jewelry other than wedding rings, and antiques do not count as household goods.

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

Money in, and payments from, 401(a), 403(a) and 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, IRAs (including SEPs) and Roth IRAs are protected, whether vested or not.

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