Bankruptcy exemptions in Rhode Island: what you can keep
What property Rhode Island law protects in bankruptcy, item by item.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Rhode Island you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $500,000 in the home that you live in or intend to live in as your principal residence.
- Exemption system
- State or federal, your choice
- Car or other vehicle
- $12,000 total in all motor vehicles you own.
- Wildcard (any property)
- $6,500 in any assets. This one applies only in bankruptcy, on top of the other state exemptions.
- Amounts
- Current text of R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4 as amended by P.L. 2025, ch. 26 and 27 (effective June 10, 2025), which did not change dollar amounts; homestead $500,000 under 9-26-4.1 (last amended 2016).
The Rhode Island exemption list
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the Rhode Island 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 | Rhode Island exemption | Federal exemption |
|---|---|---|
Home (homestead) | $500,000 in the home (land and buildings, or personal property such as a mobile home) that you live in or intend to live in as your principal residence. Automatic: you do not need to record or file a declaration. Only one homestead per family and per home, so a married couple does not get $1,000,000 on the same home. It does not protect against: debts you owed before you acquired the homestead, the mortgage or debt for buying the home, taxes and municipal liens, family court support orders, Medicaid reimbursement liens, mechanics' liens, and debts owed to banks and other regulated lenders. Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4.1 | $31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1) |
Car or other vehicle | $12,000 total in all motor vehicles you own. Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(13) | $5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2) |
Household goods and clothing | Household furniture, clothing, family stores, beds and bedding up to $9,600 total; necessary clothing of you and your family (no cap); Bibles, school books and other family books up to $300; jewelry up to $2,000 total. Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(1), (3), (4), (14) | 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) | $6,500 in any assets. This one applies only in bankruptcy, on top of the other state exemptions. Also, savings or other bank deposits up to $500 are exempt. Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(16), (18) | $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 | Working tools needed in your usual job up to $2,000, plus the professional library of a professional in active practice. Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(2) | $3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6) |
Wages | Only $50 of earned but unpaid wages is exempt for most people. All wages are exempt if you received public relief (and for one year after it ends) or if paid from a relief fund. Wages of a debtor's wife and minor children are exempt. Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(8), (9) | — |
Retirement accounts | IRAs and Roth IRAs, and ERISA-qualified pensions and retirement plans, are exempt, except against divorce/separate-maintenance and child support orders. Excess IRA contributions are not covered. Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(11), (12) | 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 | Public assistance is exempt, including from bankruptcy. Unemployment benefits are exempt while not mixed with other money. Workers' compensation is exempt (except certain state liens). Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 40-6-14; R.I. Gen. Laws 28-44-58; R.I. Gen. Laws 28-33-27 | 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: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(5); R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(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: Current text of R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4 as amended by P.L. 2025, ch. 26 and 27 (effective June 10, 2025), which did not change dollar amounts; homestead $500,000 under 9-26-4.1 (last amended 2016). Rhode Island amounts are fixed by statute, not indexed. Read on the Rhode Island General Assembly site, October 2026.
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.
Keeping your home in Rhode Island
$500,000 in the home (land and buildings, or personal property such as a mobile home) that you live in or intend to live in as your principal residence.
Automatic: you do not need to record or file a declaration. Only one homestead per family and per home, so a married couple does not get $1,000,000 on the same home. It does not protect against: debts you owed before you acquired the homestead, the mortgage or debt for buying the home, taxes and municipal liens, family court support orders, Medicaid reimbursement liens, mechanics' liens, and debts owed to banks and other regulated lenders.
Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4.1
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
IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions
IRAs and Roth IRAs, and ERISA-qualified pensions and retirement plans, are exempt, except against divorce/separate-maintenance and child support orders. Excess IRA contributions are not covered.
Law: R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4(11), (12)
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
How the choice works in Rhode Island
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)
What changed in 2024–2026 in Rhode Island
June 10, 2025: the 529 exemption was widened to college savings plans of any state. No dollar amounts changed in 2024-2026.
Law: P.L. 2025, ch. 26 and 27
In nearby states
- Massachusetts: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): automatic homestead: $125,000 with no paperwork.
- 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.
- Vermont: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): up to $125,000 in value: your home, outbuildings and the land used with it, that you own and use or keep as your homestead.
- New Jersey: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): none — New Jersey state law has no homestead exemption for the equity in your home.
Steps to protect what you can in Rhode Island
List what you own
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
The table above shows the Rhode Island amount for each kind of property.
List the exemptions you claim
Exemptions are claimed on Official Form 106C.
Where to get free help in Rhode Island
- Rhode Island Free Bankruptcy Legal Clinic (30-minute free consultation with a volunteer attorney, run with the Bankruptcy Court) · (401) 626-3100
- Rhode Island Legal Services · (401) 274-2652
- Rhode Island Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer Program · (401) 421-7758
- Rhode Island Bar Association: finding and choosing a lawyer
- Find free legal aid at LawHelp.org
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island – Court's self-help page
Questions about exemptions in Rhode Island
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Rhode Island?
You can. Rhode Island lets you choose the state exemptions or the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d). You must pick one whole set.
Can I keep my house in bankruptcy in Rhode Island?
$500,000 in the home (land and buildings, or personal property such as a mobile home) that you live in or intend to live in as your principal residence.
Can I keep my car in Rhode Island?
$12,000 total in all motor vehicles you own.
Does Rhode Island have a wildcard exemption?
$6,500 in any assets. This one applies only in bankruptcy, on top of the other state exemptions. Also, savings or other bank deposits up to $500 are exempt.
What personal property is protected in Rhode Island?
Household furniture, clothing, family stores, beds and bedding up to $9,600 total; necessary clothing of you and your family (no cap); Bibles, school books and other family books up to $300; jewelry up to $2,000 total.
What happens to retirement money in Rhode Island?
IRAs and Roth IRAs, and ERISA-qualified pensions and retirement plans, are exempt, except against divorce/separate-maintenance and child support orders. Excess IRA contributions are not covered.
How much of my pay is exempt in Rhode Island?
Only $50 of earned but unpaid wages is exempt for most people. All wages are exempt if you received public relief (and for one year after it ends) or if paid from a relief fund. Wages of a debtor's wife and minor children are exempt.