Bankruptcy Homestead Exemption by State: Texas vs. All 50 (2026 Data)

What Does “Unprotected” Equity Actually Mean in Bankruptcy?

A homestead exemption is the slice of home equity creditors can’t touch. Equity is what’s left after the mortgage and any other liens. Anything above the exemption is fair game. But how “fair game” plays out depends on the chapter.

In Chapter 7, a trustee can sell the house, hand the owner the exempt amount in cash, and pay creditors from the rest. That’s the scenario people fear.

Chapter 13 works differently. The owner keeps the house. But the repayment plan has to pay unsecured creditors at least what they’d have received in a Chapter 7 liquidation. That’s the “best interest of creditors” test in 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(4). So in Chapter 13, every dollar of unprotected equity raises the floor on what the plan must pay. It’s the reason a $200,000 equity cushion can mean a modest plan in Texas and a crushing one in Missouri.

And when a Chapter 13 filer sells, the same math decides how much of the sale check goes into the plan. Bodebuilders covers the sale process step by step in selling a house during Chapter 13.

How Much of $200,000 in Equity Each State Leaves Exposed

Same filer. Same house. Same $200,000 in equity. The only thing that changes is the state line. Eighteen jurisdictions protect all of it and don’t appear below. Everyone else leaves something on the table.

Check Your Own State’s Numbers

Pick a state, enter the equity, and see the split. The calculator uses the single-filer homestead amount and picks the federal list when a state allows it and it pays more.

Bankruptcy Homestead Exemption by State: The Full 2026 Table

Amounts are for a single filer. “Best option” is the higher of the state amount or the federal $31,575, where the state lets filers choose the federal list. Exposure columns show how much equity sits outside that protection at three equity levels.

^c Calculated from the statute’s inflation formula; no agency publishes the adjusted figure. Arizona indexes a $400,000 base to CPI each January. California’s floor and cap ($300,000 and $600,000 in statute) adjust each year for California CPI; the range shown reflects 2026 adjustments. Montana’s $350,000 base (2021) rises 4% a year. ^v South Carolina’s figure is the most recent official adjustment (July 1, 2024); the state adjusts in even years. ^a Arkansas’s unlimited constitutional homestead applies to married filers and heads of family. Missouri rises to $40,000 for cases filed on or after January 1, 2027. Massachusetts protects $125,000 automatically and $1,000,000 with a recorded declaration. For county-based states (California, New York, Washington), the analysis uses the statewide floor.

Why Texas Protects More Than Almost Anywhere Else

Texas doesn’t cap homestead protection by dollars. It caps it by land. That one design choice, written into the state constitution, is why a $900,000 house in Houston gets the same protection as a $150,000 one in Waco.

One catch people miss. The exemption protects equity. It doesn’t protect against the mortgage lender, the tax office or a home equity lender. Those debts still get paid at closing. And Texas filers can choose the federal exemption list instead ($31,575 for the home), but not both. For a homeowner with real equity, the Texas list almost always wins.

Two Federal Rules That Can Cap a Texas Homestead

Unlimited isn’t always unlimited. Federal bankruptcy law puts two time-based fences around state exemptions, and both catch people who recently moved or recently bought.

The 730-day rule: new Texans may not get Texas exemptions

Under 11 U.S.C. §522(b)(3)(A), a filer uses the exemption laws of the state where they were domiciled for the 730 days (two years) before filing. Someone who moved to Texas 18 months ago generally uses the old state’s rules, based on where they lived for most of the 180 days before that two-year window.

The 1,215-day rule: a $214,000 cap on recently acquired equity

Under §522(p), homestead equity acquired within 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before filing is capped at $214,000 when the filer uses state exemptions. That figure took effect April 1, 2025, per the Judicial Conference’s Federal Register notice, and the next adjustment is scheduled for April 1, 2028. Equity rolled over from a previous home in the same state generally doesn’t count toward the cap. The calculator above applies this cap when the box is checked.

Texas Chapter 13 by District: Filings and Sale Rules

Texas has four federal bankruptcy districts, and each one handles a home sale in Chapter 13 a little differently. Here’s the filing volume from the U.S. Courts’ Table F-2 for the 12 months ending June 30, 2026.

A note on the trustee fee, since it’s often misquoted. Under 28 U.S.C. §586(e), the Chapter 13 trustee’s percentage fee is capped at 10% and comes out of payments made through the plan. It isn’t a fee on the home’s sale price. Proceeds only carry the fee when they’re paid into the plan.

For a Texas seller in Chapter 13, protection is rarely the problem. Timing is. The motion, the trustee review and the six-month clock on proceeds set the pace. Bodebuilders explains how that timeline runs for sellers facing foreclosure in Houston and for complicated sales in Dallas.

Methodology

Question. How much home equity does each state’s homestead exemption protect in bankruptcy, and how much would a filer with a set amount of equity leave unprotected?

Sources. State homestead statutes and constitutions for all 50 states and D.C., plus official adjustment notices where states index for inflation (for example, the Michigan Department of Treasury, Minnesota Department of Commerce, Oregon Judicial Department, Utah State Auditor, New York Department of Financial Services and the Maine Judicial Branch). Federal figures come from 11 U.S.C. §522 and the Judicial Conference adjustment published at 90 FR 8941 (February 4, 2025). Filing counts come from U.S. Courts Table F-2 for the 12 months ending June 30, 2026. District procedures come from each court’s local rules, general orders and forms.

Method. For each jurisdiction, the analysis takes the single-filer homestead amount in effect on October 3, 2026. Where a state allows filers to elect the federal exemptions, the “best option” is the higher of the state amount or the federal homestead amount of $31,575. Exposed equity equals the equity level minus the best option, with a floor of $0. Unlimited states show $0 exposed.

Limitations. This compares homestead exemptions only. It leaves out wildcard exemptions, tenancy by the entirety, age and disability enhancements, married-couple doubling, and the §522(p) cap (except where the calculator applies it). County-based states use the statewide floor. Arizona, California and Montana figures are calculated from statutory formulas. South Carolina reflects its most recent published adjustment. Exemption law changes often; Georgia and Illinois both raised their amounts in 2026.

Updates. Bodebuilders will refresh this page after the next federal adjustment on April 1, 2028, and sooner when a state changes its amount.

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Homestead Exemption Questions

This page is general information, not legal advice. Exemption amounts and court procedures change, and the right exemption choice depends on the full case. Talk to a licensed Texas bankruptcy attorney before filing or selling.