Bankruptcy exemptions in Missouri: what you can keep
What property Missouri law protects in bankruptcy, item by item.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Missouri you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $15,000 in your home and the land used with it.
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- $3,000 total in motor vehicles.
- Wildcard (any property)
- $600 in any property. If you are the head of a family: another $1,250 plus $350 for each unmarried dependent child under 21 (or disabled dependent).
- Amounts
- Current amounts: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430 version effective August 28, 2022, and 513.475 version effective August 28, 2003 (Missouri Revisor of Statutes).
What Missouri lets you keep
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Missouri list. The federal list is not available in Missouri.
Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.427
| What | Missouri exemption |
|---|---|
Home (homestead) | $15,000 in your home and the land used with it. If several owners claim it, they share one $15,000 total. A mobile home you live in that is not on land you own: up to $5,000 instead. For cases filed on or after January 1, 2027, the homestead rises to $40,000. Law: 513.430.1(6); 2026 H.B. 1870; Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.475 |
Car or other vehicle | $3,000 total in motor vehicles. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(5) |
Household goods and clothing | $3,000 total in household furnishings, goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops and musical instruments; a wedding ring up to $1,500 and other jewelry up to $500 total; firearms and ammunition up to $1,500 total. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(1), (2), (12) |
Wildcard (any property) | $600 in any property. If you are the head of a family: another $1,250 plus $350 for each unmarried dependent child under 21 (or disabled dependent). Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(3); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.440 |
Tools of your trade | $3,000 total in tools, implements and professional books of your trade (or a dependent's). Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(4) |
Wages | Missouri limits how much of your pay a creditor can garnish: no more than the smallest of 25% of weekly earnings after required deductions, the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 10% if you are a head of family living in Missouri. Support orders, tax debts and Chapter 13 orders are not limited this way. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 525.030.2 |
Retirement accounts | Money in, and payments from, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, health savings plans or similar plans qualified under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 are exempt, including inherited accounts, except against an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, and IRAs/Roth IRAs are not exempt from child support or maintenance orders. In bankruptcy, money put into a plan as a fraudulent transfer within 3 years before filing is not exempt. Other pensions and annuities are exempt as far as reasonably necessary for your support. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(10)(e)-(f), 513.430.2 |
Public benefits | Your right to Social Security, unemployment, public assistance, veterans' benefits, and disability or illness benefits is exempt. Alimony or support: up to $750 a month. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(10)(a)-(d) |
Other exemptions |
Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(7)-(8); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(11); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(13); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(9) |
Amounts: Current amounts: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430 version effective August 28, 2022, and 513.475 version effective August 28, 2003 (Missouri Revisor of Statutes). Both are replaced on January 1, 2027 by 2026 SS HCS H.B. 1870 (approved by the Governor May 6, 2026; Section B sets the January 1, 2027 date). From April 1, 2029 the amounts will be adjusted for inflation every 3 years.
What changed in 2024–2026 in Missouri
Enacted in 2026: SS HCS H.B. 1870, approved by the Governor May 6, 2026, effective January 1, 2027 for 513.430 and 513.475: homestead $15,000 to $40,000; household goods $3,000 to $15,000; other jewelry $500 to $1,700 (wedding ring stays $1,500); wildcard $600 to $1,700; motor vehicles $3,000 to $5,000 plus up to $10,000 of unused household-goods exemption; mobile home $5,000 to $12,000; health savings accounts (IRC 223) named expressly. Tools of trade ($3,000), firearms ($1,500), life insurance cash value ($150,000) and the head-of-family amounts are unchanged. New 513.423: amounts adjusted for inflation on April 1, 2029 and every 3 years after; an adjustment does not apply to cases filed before it.
Law: 513.440
Retirement money
Money in, and payments from, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, health savings plans or similar plans qualified under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 are exempt, including inherited accounts, except against an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, and IRAs/Roth IRAs are not exempt from child support or maintenance orders. In bankruptcy, money put into a plan as a fraudulent transfer within 3 years before filing is not exempt. Other pensions and annuities are exempt as far as reasonably necessary for your support.
Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(10)(e)-(f), 513.430.2
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)
Your home in Missouri
$15,000 in your home and the land used with it.
If several owners claim it, they share one $15,000 total. A mobile home you live in that is not on land you own: up to $5,000 instead. For cases filed on or after January 1, 2027, the homestead rises to $40,000.
Law: 513.430.1(6); 2026 H.B. 1870
Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.475
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
- Illinois: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $50,000 per person in a home you own or lease and live in (house and land, condominium, mobile home or co-op).
- 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.
- Iowa: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): unlimited value — up to 1/2 acre inside a city plat, or up to 40 acres elsewhere.
- Kansas: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): unlimited value.
What to do now in Missouri
Write down your property
Every item of property goes on Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
Use the Missouri table above to see which exemption covers each item and how much.
Claim your exemptions
Exemptions are claimed on Official Form 106C.
Ask for free help
Free help: Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and Legal Aid of Western Missouri.
Free help in Missouri
Questions about exemptions in Missouri
Does Missouri let me choose the federal exemptions?
No. Missouri requires you to use the state exemptions.
What is the homestead exemption in Missouri?
$15,000 in your home and the land used with it.
Can I keep my car in Missouri?
$3,000 total in motor vehicles.
What is the wildcard exemption in Missouri?
$600 in any property. If you are the head of a family: another $1,250 plus $350 for each unmarried dependent child under 21 (or disabled dependent).
What household goods can I keep in Missouri?
$3,000 total in household furnishings, goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops and musical instruments; a wedding ring up to $1,500 and other jewelry up to $500 total; firearms and ammunition up to $1,500 total.
Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a Missouri bankruptcy?
Money in, and payments from, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, health savings plans or similar plans qualified under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 are exempt, including inherited accounts, except against an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, and IRAs/Roth IRAs are not exempt from child support or maintenance orders. In bankruptcy, money put into a plan as a fraudulent transfer within 3 years before filing is not exempt. Other pensions and annuities are exempt as far as reasonably necessary for your support.
How much of my pay is exempt in Missouri?
Missouri limits how much of your pay a creditor can garnish: no more than the smallest of 25% of weekly earnings after required deductions, the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 10% if you are a head of family living in Missouri. Support orders, tax debts and Chapter 13 orders are not limited this way.