Bankruptcy exemptions in Wyoming: what you can keep
Every Wyoming exemption with its amount and law, plus the federal rules that limit them.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In Wyoming you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): up to $100,000 in value, per person.
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Car or other vehicle
- Up to $5,000 in value in a motor vehicle.
- Amounts
- Wyoming Statutes Title 1 as published by the Wyoming Legislature (title01.pdf, file dated May 2026).
Exemptions in Wyoming, item by item
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Wyoming list. The federal list is not available in Wyoming.
Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-109
| What | Wyoming exemption |
|---|---|
Home (homestead) | Up to $100,000 in value, per person. The homestead can be a house on any number of acres, or a house trailer or other movable home. When two or more people jointly own and live in the same home, each one gets the exemption. It applies only while the owner or family actually lives there. It does not protect the home against the debt for its own purchase price. You must be a bona fide Wyoming resident. Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-101, 1-20-102, 1-20-104, 1-20-108 |
Car or other vehicle | Up to $5,000 in value in a motor vehicle. Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-106(a)(iv) |
Household goods and clothing | Furniture, bedding, food and other household articles up to $4,000 total, per person (each person living in the home gets a separate exemption). Necessary clothing up to $2,000 (no jewelry except wedding rings). The family Bible, pictures and school books. A cemetery lot. Up to 3 firearms worth up to $3,000 total, with up to 1,000 rounds of ammunition per firearm. Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-105; Wyo. Stat. 1-20-106(a)(i)-(iii), (v) |
Tools of your trade | Tools, team, implements or stock in trade used in your trade or business up to $4,000, or a professional's library, instruments and implements up to $4,000. Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-106(b) |
Wages | A continuing wage garnishment can take at most the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. If the creditor already garnished a paycheck, the rest of that pay deposited in your bank account is fully exempt. Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-15-511; Wyo. Stat. 1-15-408 |
Retirement accounts | Your interest in a retirement plan, payments from it, and inherited retirement plan interests are exempt. But contributions you made within 90 days before filing bankruptcy are not exempt. A former spouse or other alternate payee under a QDRO can still reach the plan. Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-110 |
Public benefits | Unemployment benefit rights are exempt, and benefits received stay exempt if not mixed with other money (except for debts for necessities during unemployment). Workers' compensation not yet paid out cannot be garnished or taken in execution. Law: Wyo. Stat. 27-3-319(c); Wyo. Stat. 27-14-702 |
Other exemptions |
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Amounts: Wyoming Statutes Title 1 as published by the Wyoming Legislature (title01.pdf, file dated May 2026). Homestead raised to $100,000 effective July 1, 2023 (2023 Enrolled Act No. 39, HB0174). Amounts are not indexed for inflation.
The Wyoming homestead exemption
Up to $100,000 in value, per person. The homestead can be a house on any number of acres, or a house trailer or other movable home.
When two or more people jointly own and live in the same home, each one gets the exemption. It applies only while the owner or family actually lives there. It does not protect the home against the debt for its own purchase price. You must be a bona fide Wyoming resident.
Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-101, 1-20-102, 1-20-104, 1-20-108
IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions
Your interest in a retirement plan, payments from it, and inherited retirement plan interests are exempt. But contributions you made within 90 days before filing bankruptcy are not exempt. A former spouse or other alternate payee under a QDRO can still reach the plan.
Law: Wyo. Stat. 1-20-110
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 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
In nearby states
- Colorado: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $250,000 of equity in your home; $350,000 if the home is occupied by an owner, owner's spouse, or owner's dependent who is elderly or disabled.
- Montana: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $350,000 in 2021, increased by 4% every calendar year after 2021.
- Utah: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): 2026: up to $53,700 per person in your primary personal residence (a house or mobile home plus up to 1 acre of land around it).
- Idaho: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $175,000 of net value (market value minus liens) in your homestead, with no limit on land area.
Your next steps in Wyoming
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.
Check the exemption list
Use the Wyoming table above to see which exemption covers each item and how much.
Fill in Schedule C
You claim exemptions on Official Form 106C.
Talk to legal aid
Free help: Legal Aid of Wyoming, Inc. and Wyoming State Bar (find a lawyer).
Free help in Wyoming
Questions about exemptions in Wyoming
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Wyoming?
No. Wyoming requires you to use the state exemptions.
How much home equity can I keep in Wyoming?
Up to $100,000 in value, per person. The homestead can be a house on any number of acres, or a house trailer or other movable home.
What is the vehicle exemption in Wyoming?
Up to $5,000 in value in a motor vehicle.
What household goods can I keep in Wyoming?
Furniture, bedding, food and other household articles up to $4,000 total, per person (each person living in the home gets a separate exemption). Necessary clothing up to $2,000 (no jewelry except wedding rings). The family Bible, pictures and school books. A cemetery lot. Up to 3 firearms worth up to $3,000 total, with up to 1,000 rounds of ammunition per firearm.
Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a Wyoming bankruptcy?
Your interest in a retirement plan, payments from it, and inherited retirement plan interests are exempt. But contributions you made within 90 days before filing bankruptcy are not exempt. A former spouse or other alternate payee under a QDRO can still reach the plan.
Are my wages protected in Wyoming?
A continuing wage garnishment can take at most the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. If the creditor already garnished a paycheck, the rest of that pay deposited in your bank account is fully exempt.