Bankruptcy exemptions in New Jersey: what you can keep

What property New Jersey law protects in bankruptcy, item by item.

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.

Short answer

In New Jersey you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): none — New Jersey state law has no homestead exemption for the equity in your home.

Exemption system: State or federal, your choice
Wildcard (any property): $1,000 in goods and chattels, shares of stock or corporate interests and personal property of any kind (not counting clothing)
Amounts: Amounts as in the current text of N.J.S.A. 2A:17-19 (last amended 1973) and 2A:26-4 (last amended 1974), read on the New Jersey Legislature statutes database (lis.njleg.state.nj.us) on October 25, 2026.

What New Jersey lets you keep

Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the New Jersey 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	New Jersey exemption	Federal exemption
Home (homestead)	None. New Jersey state law has no homestead exemption for the equity in your home. Because the state list protects no home equity, the choice between the state list and the federal list matters most for homeowners. The federal amounts are on the federal page.	$31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1)
Car or other vehicle	—	$5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2)
Household goods and clothing	All wearing apparel, no dollar limit. Household goods and furniture up to $1,000 (except against a debt for buying them). Law: N.J.S.A. 2A:17-19 (wearing apparel); N.J.S.A. 2A:26-4 (household goods and furniture)	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 goods and chattels, shares of stock or corporate interests and personal property of any kind (not counting clothing) Law: N.J.S.A. 2A:17-19	$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	—	$3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6)
Wages	A creditor with a judgment can take only the smallest of: 10% of your gross weekly pay, 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your disposable weekly earnings exceed $217.50. If your disposable earnings are $217.50 a week or less, nothing can be taken. You can ask the court to reduce the amount. Law: N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56; N.J.S.A. 15 U.S.C. 1673	—
Retirement accounts	Money in a 'qualifying trust' is exempt from all creditors and is kept out of the bankruptcy estate. That covers plans and accounts kept under federal tax law, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans, IRAs and Roth IRAs, and 529 and Coverdell education accounts. Exceptions: child support, alimony, a qualified domestic relations order, fraudulent transfers, and punitive damages for murder or manslaughter. New Jersey public pensions are also exempt, including the Public Employees', Teachers', Police and Firemen's, State Police, Judicial, county and municipal retirement systems. Law: N.J.S.A. 25:2-1(b); N.J.S.A. 43:15A-53; N.J.S.A. 18A:66-51; N.J.S.A. 43:16-7, 16A-17; N.J.S.A. 53:5A-45; N.J.S.A. 43:6A-41; N.J.S.A. 43:10-14; N.J.S.A. 43:13-9	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	Unemployment benefits are exempt from collection while not mixed with other money (except debts for necessities bought while you were unemployed). Workers' compensation payments are exempt from creditors. Old age assistance payments are exempt and do not pass to a bankruptcy trustee. Law: N.J.S.A. 43:21-15(c), 43:21-53; N.J.S.A. 34:15-29; N.J.S.A. 44:7-35	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	Life insurance proceeds payable to someone other than the insured are exempt; group life and group health insurance policies and proceeds are exempt. N.J.S.A. 17B:24-6, 17B:24-9 Health insurance and disability benefit proceeds are exempt (a disability income benefit can be reached for necessities bought after the disability began). N.J.S.A. 17B:24-8 Annuity payments are exempt up to $500 per month. N.J.S.A. 17B:24-7(a)(2) Land dedicated to cemetery purposes cannot be sold to collect a judgment. N.J.S.A. 45:27-20(e)	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)

Amounts: Amounts as in the current text of N.J.S.A. 2A:17-19 (last amended 1973) and 2A:26-4 (last amended 1974), read on the New Jersey Legislature statutes database (lis.njleg.state.nj.us) on October 25, 2026. Wage rule from N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56 and the N.J. Courts wage execution form.

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.

Retirement money

Money in a 'qualifying trust' is exempt from all creditors and is kept out of the bankruptcy estate. That covers plans and accounts kept under federal tax law, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans, IRAs and Roth IRAs, and 529 and Coverdell education accounts. Exceptions: child support, alimony, a qualified domestic relations order, fraudulent transfers, and punitive damages for murder or manslaughter. New Jersey public pensions are also exempt, including the Public Employees', Teachers', Police and Firemen's, State Police, Judicial, county and municipal retirement systems.

Law: N.J.S.A. 25:2-1(b); N.J.S.A. 43:15A-53; N.J.S.A. 18A:66-51; N.J.S.A. 43:16-7, 16A-17; N.J.S.A. 53:5A-45; N.J.S.A. 43:6A-41; N.J.S.A. 43:10-14; N.J.S.A. 43:13-9

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 New Jersey homestead exemption

None. New Jersey state law has no homestead exemption for the equity in your home.

Because the state list protects no home equity, the choice between the state list and the federal list matters most for homeowners. The federal amounts are on the federal page.

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

State or federal list in New Jersey

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

Delaware: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $200,000 of equity in your principal residence (a house, other real property, or a manufactured home you live in).
Maryland: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): your equity in the owner-occupied home you live in, up to the same dollar amount as the federal homestead exemption in 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1), as adjusted.
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.
District of Columbia: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): unlimited: your whole interest in real property you use as your residence, or in a cooperative that owns property you or a dependent use as a residence.

Your next steps in New Jersey

Write down your property
Write down your home, car, bank accounts, household goods and other property, with a value for each. The form for this is Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
Use the New Jersey table above to see which exemption covers each item and how much.
List the exemptions you claim
The exemptions you choose go on Official Form 106C.
Talk to legal aid
Legal aid can help for free: Legal Services of New Jersey (statewide network of free legal aid offices; LSNJLAW hotline) and U.S. Bankruptcy Court, D.N.J.: Resources for Legal Assistance (Newark area: legal aid offices and county bar lawyer referral numbers).

Free help in New Jersey

Questions about exemptions in New Jersey

State or federal exemptions in New Jersey?

You can. New Jersey 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 New Jersey?

None. New Jersey state law has no homestead exemption for the equity in your home.

Does New Jersey have a wildcard exemption?

$1,000 in goods and chattels, shares of stock or corporate interests and personal property of any kind (not counting clothing)

What personal property is protected in New Jersey?

All wearing apparel, no dollar limit. Household goods and furniture up to $1,000 (except against a debt for buying them).

Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in New Jersey?

What is the wage exemption in New Jersey?

A creditor with a judgment can take only the smallest of: 10% of your gross weekly pay, 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your disposable weekly earnings exceed $217.50. If your disposable earnings are $217.50 a week or less, nothing can be taken. You can ask the court to reduce the amount.