Bankruptcy exemptions in Oregon: what you can keep

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

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.

Short answer

In Oregon you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $158,300 in equity for one debtor; $316,700 combined when two or more members of the same household are debtors.

Exemption system: State or federal, your choice
Car or other vehicle: $10,000 in one vehicle (car, truck, trailer or other motor vehicle) per debtor; $3,000 against child support, spousal support or restitution debts.
Wildcard (any property): $400 in any personal property, per debtor; it cannot be used to add to another exemption.
Amounts: Homestead amounts effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, per the Oregon Judicial Department's homestead adjustment table (May 2026).

Exemptions in Oregon, item by item

Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the Oregon list or the federal list. You can't mix them.

Law: ORS 18.300; 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(1)-(2); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)

What	Oregon exemption	Federal exemption
Home (homestead)	$158,300 in equity for one debtor; $316,700 combined when two or more members of the same household are debtors (for example, a married couple filing together). This covers a home that is the actual residence of you or your spouse, parent or child. Land limit: one city block in a town or city laid out in blocks and lots, or 160 acres elsewhere. Amounts in effect July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027; they are adjusted every July 1 for inflation. The exemption applies automatically, without filing a claim. Temporary absence with intent to return does not end it, and an absence, removal or sale is protected for one year. Proceeds from selling the home stay exempt for up to one year if you intend to buy another home with them. Lower amounts ($40,000 single / $50,000 combined) apply against child support, spousal support and restitution debts. Law: ORS 18.395; ORS 18.402	$31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1)
Car or other vehicle	$10,000 in one vehicle (car, truck, trailer or other motor vehicle) per debtor; $3,000 against child support, spousal support or restitution debts. Joint debtors in a household can each claim it, and can combine it for a jointly owned vehicle. Law: ORS 18.345(1)(d), (3)	$5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2)
Household goods and clothing	Household goods, furniture, radios, a TV and utensils up to $3,000 total, plus 60 days of food and fuel. Clothing, jewelry and other personal items up to $1,800. Books, pictures and musical instruments up to $600. Domestic animals and poultry for family use up to $1,000. Firearms (one rifle or shotgun and one pistol) up to $1,000. Prescribed health aids are fully exempt. Joint debtors can each claim the clothing/jewelry, books and wildcard amounts. Law: ORS 18.345(1)(a), (b), (e), (f), (h), (3); ORS 18.362	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)	$400 in any personal property, per debtor; it cannot be used to add to another exemption Law: ORS 18.345(1)(p)	$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	$5,000 in tools, implements, apparatus or library you need to earn your usual living Law: ORS 18.345(1)(c)	$3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6)
Wages	75% of disposable earnings is exempt, and at least $400 a week (for wages payable July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) is always protected. Law: ORS 18.385(1)-(2)	—
Retirement accounts	Pension and profit-sharing plans (401(a), 401(k), 403, 457), IRAs and Roth IRAs, and government and other employment pensions are treated as spendthrift trusts and are exempt without a claim. Contributions above legal limits can be challenged as voidable transfers. Law: ORS 18.358	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, workers' compensation, public assistance and veterans' benefits are exempt, and they stay exempt in a bank account as long as they can be identified. Law: ORS 18.345(1)(m); ORS 18.348(1) (listing ORS 411.760, 656.234, 657.855)	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	Federal earned income tax credit money, and money from the Oregon tax credit under ORS 315.273, are exempt. Health savings accounts and medical savings accounts are exempt. Personal injury payments up to $10,000, crime victim awards, and loss of future earnings payments needed for support are exempt. Spousal support, child support and separate maintenance, to the extent reasonably necessary for your and your dependents' support. Law: ORS 18.345(1)(n), (q); ORS 18.345(1)(o); ORS 18.345(1)(j)-(L); ORS 18.345(1)(i)	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: Homestead amounts effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, per the Oregon Judicial Department's homestead adjustment table (May 2026). Other amounts are fixed in ORS 18.345 as amended by Oregon Laws 2024, chapter 100, operative January 1, 2025; text read on oregonlegislature.gov.

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.

Your home in Oregon

$158,300 in equity for one debtor; $316,700 combined when two or more members of the same household are debtors (for example, a married couple filing together). This covers a home that is the actual residence of you or your spouse, parent or child. Land limit: one city block in a town or city laid out in blocks and lots, or 160 acres elsewhere.

Amounts in effect July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027; they are adjusted every July 1 for inflation. The exemption applies automatically, without filing a claim. Temporary absence with intent to return does not end it, and an absence, removal or sale is protected for one year. Proceeds from selling the home stay exempt for up to one year if you intend to buy another home with them. Lower amounts ($40,000 single / $50,000 combined) apply against child support, spousal support and restitution debts.

Law: ORS 18.395; ORS 18.402

Federal limit on a newly bought home

Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941

What changed in 2024–2026 in Oregon

Senate Bill 1595 (Oregon Laws 2024, chapter 100), operative January 1, 2025, raised the homestead exemption from $40,000 (single) / $50,000 (household) to $150,000 / $300,000 with yearly inflation adjustments ($154,200 / $308,400 from July 1, 2025; $158,300 / $316,700 from July 1, 2026), raised the vehicle exemption from $3,000 to $10,000, and raised the minimum protected weekly wage in steps ($305, $338, then $400 from July 1, 2026). The old amounts still apply to child support, spousal support and restitution debts.

IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions

Pension and profit-sharing plans (401(a), 401(k), 403, 457), IRAs and Roth IRAs, and government and other employment pensions are treated as spendthrift trusts and are exempt without a claim. Contributions above legal limits can be challenged as voidable transfers.

Law: ORS 18.358

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)

Which state's law applies

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 Oregon

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); ORS 18.300; 11 U.S.C. 522(d)

In nearby states

Washington: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): the greater of $125,000 or the county median sale price of a single-family home in the previous calendar year.
Idaho: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $175,000 of net value (market value minus liens) in your homestead, with no limit on land area.
Nevada: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $605,000 of equity in your home.
California: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): 704 system: the greater of $300,000 or the countywide median sale price for a single-family home in the calendar year before you claim the exemption, up to $600,000.

What to do now in Oregon

Make a property list
List each thing you own and what it is worth on Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
The table above shows the Oregon amount for each kind of property.
Fill in Schedule C
Exemptions are claimed on Official Form 106C.
Get help
Free help: U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Oregon — Pro Bono Program (free volunteer attorney for approved applicants in an active case) and Legal Aid Services of Oregon — Portland Regional Office (bankruptcy volunteer lawyer referrals for Clackamas, Columbia, Hood River, Multnomah, Wasco, Washington and Yamhill counties).

Free help in Oregon

Questions about exemptions in Oregon

Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Oregon?

You can. Oregon 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 Oregon?

Can I keep my car in Oregon?

$10,000 in one vehicle (car, truck, trailer or other motor vehicle) per debtor; $3,000 against child support, spousal support or restitution debts. Joint debtors in a household can each claim it, and can combine it for a jointly owned vehicle.

Does Oregon have a wildcard exemption?

$400 in any personal property, per debtor; it cannot be used to add to another exemption

Are furniture and clothes exempt in Oregon?

Household goods, furniture, radios, a TV and utensils up to $3,000 total, plus 60 days of food and fuel. Clothing, jewelry and other personal items up to $1,800. Books, pictures and musical instruments up to $600. Domestic animals and poultry for family use up to $1,000. Firearms (one rifle or shotgun and one pistol) up to $1,000. Prescribed health aids are fully exempt. Joint debtors can each claim the clothing/jewelry, books and wildcard amounts.

What happens to retirement money in Oregon?

Are my wages protected in Oregon?

75% of disposable earnings is exempt, and at least $400 a week (for wages payable July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) is always protected.