Bankruptcy in Washington

In Washington you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): the greater of $125,000 or the county median sale price of a single-family home in the previous calendar year.

You file in one of 2 federal bankruptcy courts:

What can I keep?Do I pass the means test?Where do I file?Free help

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026. · Free letter and checklist ↓

What you can keep in Washington

Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the Washington 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	Washington exemption	Federal exemption
Home (homestead)	The greater of $125,000 or the county median sale price of a single-family home in the previous calendar year, in the net value (market value minus senior liens) of the home you live in or intend to live in, including a mobile home, with no acreage limit. To find the figure for your county, use the 'Annual Median Price' table that the Western District bankruptcy court links to from its home page (Washington Center for Real Estate Research): https://wcrer.be.uw.edu/housing-market-data-toolkit/annual-median-price/. Courts must use that data. For a case filed in 2026, the figure is the county median for calendar year 2025. Protection is automatic once you occupy the home as your principal residence; a recorded declaration is needed only for land not yet lived on. A sale in bankruptcy counts as a 'forced sale' under the homestead law. Law: RCW 6.13.030(2); RCW 6.13.010, 6.13.030, 6.13.040 The law gives a rule here, not one dollar figure, and the figure can change each year. We show the rule exactly as the law states it and do not calculate a figure for you. Check the current figure in the official source or with the court. Official source: RCW 6.13.030 Homestead exemption amount Washington Center for Real Estate Research - Annual Median Price (homestead)	$31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1)
Car or other vehicle	One motor vehicle up to $15,000 in value, per person (each spouse gets their own). Law: RCW 6.15.010(1)(d)(iv), (3)	$5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2)
Household goods and clothing	All clothing, but furs, jewelry and personal ornaments only up to $3,500 per person; private libraries and electronic media up to $3,500, plus all family pictures and keepsakes; a cell phone, personal computer and printer; household goods, appliances, furniture and home and yard equipment up to $6,500 per person (includes food and fuel); professionally prescribed health aids. Law: RCW 6.15.010(1)(a)-(d)(i), (d)(vi)	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)	In a bankruptcy case: any other personal property up to $10,000 per person (not wages), valued on the date you file. Law: RCW 6.15.010(1)(d)(ii)	$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	Tools, instruments, materials and supplies used in your trade, up to $15,000 per person. Law: RCW 6.15.010(1)(e)	$3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6)
Wages	In bankruptcy, wages are exempt to the same extent as under Washington garnishment law: the greater of 75% of weekly disposable earnings or 35 times the federal minimum wage; for consumer debt, the greater of 80% or 35 times the state minimum wage; for private student loans, the greater of 85% or 50 times the highest minimum wage in the state. Law: RCW 6.15.050(1); RCW 6.27.150	—
Retirement accounts	Pensions and employee benefit plans, 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), traditional and Roth IRAs, Keogh plans and also health savings accounts and medical savings accounts are exempt. Federal government pensions received by Washington residents are exempt too. Exceptions: child support collection, certain state tax collection, and qualified domestic relations orders. Law: RCW 6.15.020	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 (industrial insurance) payments and public assistance grants are exempt; public assistance is also kept out of bankruptcy. Law: RCW 50.40.020; RCW 51.32.040; RCW 74.08.210	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	Child support, alimony and spousal support paid or owed to you (past, current or future) are exempt if they can be traced. In a bankruptcy case, personal-injury and lost-future-earnings payments are exempt, except for liens or subrogation claims tied to that injury. Washington GET tuition units and 529 plan or Coverdell education account contributions made more than 2 years before filing are exempt. Law: RCW 6.15.010(1)(d)(v); RCW 6.15.010(1)(d)(viii); RCW 6.15.010(1)(f)	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: Revised Code of Washington as currently published on app.leg.wa.gov (viewed October 25, 2026; RCW 6.15.010 last amended 2025 c 391; RCW 6.13.030 last amended 2021 c 290). Homestead: $125,000 or the prior calendar year's county median sale price, whichever is greater (changes each year with the median).

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.

The means test in Washington: first step

Official Form 122A-1 compares your household's yearly income with the median income in Washington. Here are the official medians:

1 person$88,585
2 people$107,100
3 people$131,737
4 people$156,567
Each extra person+$11,100

Applies to cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. 1 = one earner; 2, 3, 4 = people in the household; add = amount added for each person over 4

Where to file in Washington

You file in the district where you lived (your domicile) for most of the last 180 days. The Eastern District covers Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman and Yakima counties; the Western District covers Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum and Whatcom counties (28 U.S.C. 128; Eastern District meeting locations by county: https://www.waeb.uscourts.gov/creditor-meeting-locations).

Law: 28 U.S.C. 1408

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington

Divisions: Seattle and Tacoma courthouses (Vancouver courthouse also listed for hearings)

Clerk's phone: Seattle 206-370-5200; Tacoma 253-882-3900

Court's self-help page

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Divisions: Spokane and Yakima clerk's offices (since October 1, 2026 the Spokane clerk's office is in the Thomas S. Foley U.S. Courthouse, 920 West Riverside Avenue, Room 840; the Yakima office is by appointment only)

Clerk's phone: 509-458-5300

Court's self-help page

Free help in Washington

Free letter and checklist

Letter: tell a creditor you filed bankruptcy

Notice to a creditor or debt collector with your case number, court, filing date and chapter.

Checklist: what to gather before you file

Income, tax returns, debts, property and budget papers the federal forms ask about, with Washington's courts.

Bankruptcy in Washington by topic

Exemptions in Washington

Home, car, household goods, wildcard and more, with the law for each.

The means test in Washington

The official median income and the first-step check.

Where to file in Washington

The bankruptcy courts, divisions, fees and the 341 meeting.

Good to know in Washington

Washington's homestead exemption is at least $125,000, and higher in counties where last year's median home price was higher.
Law: RCW 6.13.030
Washington is a community property state. If spouses file separate bankruptcy cases within 6 months of each other and one uses the federal exemptions, the other cannot use the Washington personal property exemptions.
Law: RCW 6.15.050(8)
Each spouse gets their own personal property exemptions and can combine them in the same property.
Law: RCW 6.15.010(3)

Changes in 2024–2026

No change to the bankruptcy exemption amounts in 2024-2026. The current amounts ($15,000 vehicle, $10,000 bankruptcy wildcard, $6,500 household goods, $15,000 tools) were set by 2023 c 393 (signed May 9, 2023). 2025 c 391 (effective July 1, 2025) re-enacted RCW 6.15.010 with identical text and amended RCW 6.15.050 (support-agency limit). The non-bankruptcy bank-account amounts in RCW 6.15.010(1)(d)(iii) will be indexed every 3 years starting July 1, 2027.

Questions about bankruptcy in Washington

Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Washington?

You can. Washington 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 Washington?

The greater of $125,000 or the county median sale price of a single-family home in the previous calendar year, in the net value (market value minus senior liens) of the home you live in or intend to live in, including a mobile home, with no acreage limit.

How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in Washington?

One motor vehicle up to $15,000 in value, per person (each spouse gets their own).

Does Washington have a wildcard exemption?

In a bankruptcy case: any other personal property up to $10,000 per person (not wages), valued on the date you file.

What household goods can I keep in Washington?

All clothing, but furs, jewelry and personal ornaments only up to $3,500 per person; private libraries and electronic media up to $3,500, plus all family pictures and keepsakes; a cell phone, personal computer and printer; household goods, appliances, furniture and home and yard equipment up to $6,500 per person (includes food and fuel); professionally prescribed health aids.

Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in Washington?

Pensions and employee benefit plans, 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), traditional and Roth IRAs, Keogh plans and also health savings accounts and medical savings accounts are exempt. Federal government pensions received by Washington residents are exempt too. Exceptions: child support collection, certain state tax collection, and qualified domestic relations orders.

Are my wages protected in Washington?

In bankruptcy, wages are exempt to the same extent as under Washington garnishment law: the greater of 75% of weekly disposable earnings or 35 times the federal minimum wage; for consumer debt, the greater of 80% or 35 times the state minimum wage; for private student loans, the greater of 85% or 50 times the highest minimum wage in the state.

Where do I file bankruptcy in Washington?

What is the median income for the means test in Washington?

For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026: 1 person: $88,585; 2 people: $107,100; 3 people: $131,737; 4 people: $156,567; Each extra person: +$11,100.

Where can I get free help with bankruptcy in Washington?

Northwest Justice Project - CLEAR intake line (free civil legal aid), Spokane County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Program and King County Bar Association Neighborhood Legal Clinics.