Community Property States: Full List, Opt-In States and What It Means

Community Property States: Full List, Opt-In States and What It Means

Nine states are community property states. In those states, most property a married couple acquires during the marriage belongs to both spouses equally, no matter whose name is on it or who earned it. Six more states let couples choose community property for some of their assets, usually through a special trust. Everywhere else, each spouse owns what is in their own name, and a divorce court divides property under an equitable-distribution rule.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers the marital property regime of the 50 states and the District of Columbia as of October 20, 2026. It does not cover Puerto Rico or other territories, and it does not decide how any particular couple's property will be divided.

Which states are community property states?

The map below shows every state's marital property regime, with the statute or court decision behind each answer. Select a state for its rule and source, or open the table for all 51 jurisdictions.

The nine community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Each has a statute that makes property acquired during the marriage community property by default. In California, for example, Family Code section 760 provides that property a married person acquires during the marriage while living in California is community property, unless another statute says otherwise.

Wisconsin is sometimes left off lists because its law uses a different name. Wisconsin adopted the Uniform Marital Property Act, and its statute says that marital property is a form of community property. The IRS treats Wisconsin as a community property state for federal tax purposes.

Louisiana is the other special case. It follows a civil-law system, and its Civil Code calls the default regime a "community of acquets and gains." Spouses there can choose a different regime by a matrimonial agreement.

Which states let couples opt in to community property?

Six states keep separate property as the default but let married couples choose community property for some or all of their assets. Some lists name only Alaska, which leaves out five states with the same kind of law.

• Alaska: The Alaska Community Property Act lets couples opt in by a written community property agreement, while both spouses live in Alaska, or by a community property trust, which couples who live elsewhere can also use.
• Tennessee: The Tennessee Community Property Trust Act, in effect since July 1, 2010, lets couples classify property as community property by transferring it into a qualifying trust.
• South Dakota: Since 2016, couples can place property in a "special spousal trust," which the statute treats like community property.
• Kentucky: The Kentucky Community Property Trust Act took effect on July 15, 2020.
• Florida: The Florida Community Property Trust Act was enacted in 2021.
• Kansas: The Kansas Community Property Trust Act took effect on July 1, 2026, making Kansas the newest opt-in state.

In the trust states, only property transferred into the trust becomes community property. Everything else the couple owns stays under the state's ordinary separate-property rules. The Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee trust laws expressly let couples who live in another state use them, and South Dakota's does not limit its trust to residents, although how the couple's home state will treat that property is not settled everywhere.

What counts as community property?

In a community property state, property either spouse acquires during the marriage is generally community property. That includes wages, the house or car bought with those wages, retirement savings built up during the marriage, and the income from community property.

Separate property usually includes property a spouse owned before the marriage and a gift or inheritance received by one spouse, even during the marriage. California's Family Code section 770 and Texas Family Code section 3.001 both list these two categories. California adds the rents and profits of separate property, and Texas adds personal-injury recoveries other than lost earning capacity. Spouses can also make property separate by a valid written agreement, under other sections of each state's law.

Two things blur the line. Separate property mixed with community property, for example an inheritance deposited into a joint account and spent on the family home, can be hard to trace back out. And spouses can usually change the character of property by agreement, often called transmutation. Each state sets its own rules for both, so the label on a bank account is not the final answer.

How community property is divided in a divorce

A common misunderstanding is that every community property state splits property 50/50 in a divorce. The rule differs from state to state.

California divides the community estate equally unless the spouses agree otherwise (Family Code section 2550). Nevada directs an equal division of community property "to the extent practicable" (NRS 125.150). Arizona's courts divide community property "equitably, though not necessarily in kind" (A.R.S. section 25-318), and the Arizona Supreme Court has said that means a substantially equal division unless there is a sound reason to divide it otherwise (Toth v. Toth, 1997). Texas courts divide the estate in a manner the court deems "just and right" (Texas Family Code section 7.001).

Separate-property states start from a different place. Each spouse owns what is titled to them, and at divorce the court divides marital property under an equitable-distribution rule. Equitable means fair, which is not always equal, and several of these states presume an equal split or let the court reach property that would be separate elsewhere. The divorce laws by state guides explain each state's rule.

What happens at a death

At a death, the surviving spouse in a community property state already owns their half of the community property. The spouse who died can leave only their own half and their separate property by will, and each state's intestacy law decides who receives it if there is no will.

Federal tax law gives community property one more effect. Under 26 U.S.C. section 1014(b)(6), the surviving spouse's half of community property can receive a new cost basis at the first spouse's death, along with the half that passes from the spouse who died. In a separate-property state, the new basis generally reaches only the share that passes from the person who died. Whether property in an opt-in trust qualifies is a question for a tax professional: IRS Publication 555 says it does not address property under the Alaska, Tennessee or South Dakota elections.

Community property and federal taxes

Married couples in community property states who file separate federal returns must each report half of all community income, plus all of their own separate income. That rule comes from IRS Publication 555, which lists the same nine states. The publication also covers registered domestic partners who live in California, Nevada or Washington, since those states apply community property rules to them, although the IRS does not treat registered domestic partners as married for federal tax purposes.

Most couples who file a joint return never feel this rule. It matters when spouses file separately, separate during the year, or one spouse lives in a community property state and the other does not.

Moving to or from a community property state

Moving does not automatically change who owns property you already have. A couple who move from a separate-property state to a community property state usually bring their existing property with them under its old character, and community property rules apply to what they acquire after the move.

Several community property states fill the gap at divorce. California treats property acquired while living elsewhere, which would have been community property had the couple lived in California, as "quasi-community property" (Family Code section 125), and Arizona and Texas courts divide property acquired while living elsewhere as if it were community property (A.R.S. section 25-318; Texas Family Code section 7.002).

Going the other way, many separate-property states have adopted the Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act (or its 2021 successor), under which half of the community property a couple brought from a community property state belongs to the surviving spouse when the other spouse dies. That act does not make the state a community property state.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Divorce laws by state, including how each state divides property
• Common law marriage by state, for couples who never had a ceremony
• Prenuptial agreement laws by state, the usual way to change the default rules
• Alimony laws by state

Last updated: October 20, 2026. Each state's classification was checked against the statute or court decision linked in the table above. Laws change: check the official source for your state, and talk to a licensed family-law or estate-planning attorney about your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many community property states are there?

Nine: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Six more states (Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota and Tennessee) let couples opt in, mostly through a community property trust.

Is Florida a community property state?

No. Florida uses separate property as the default. Since its Community Property Trust Act of 2021, couples can choose community property only for property they transfer into a Florida community property trust.

Is Texas a community property state?

Yes. Under Texas Family Code section 3.002, property either spouse acquires during the marriage, other than separate property, is community property, and under section 3.003 property either spouse has during or at the end of the marriage is presumed to be community property. In a divorce, Texas courts divide the estate in a manner they find just and right, which is not always 50/50.

Does community property mean everything is split 50/50 in a divorce?

Not always. California divides community property equally, and Nevada does so to the extent practicable. Arizona courts start from a substantially equal split but can depart from it for a sound reason, and Texas courts divide the estate in a way they find just and right. Separate property, such as property owned before the marriage or an inheritance, is generally kept by the spouse who owns it.

Is an inheritance community property?

Generally no. In community property states, a gift or inheritance received by one spouse is usually that spouse's separate property, even if it arrives during the marriage. It can lose that character if it is mixed with community property so that it can no longer be traced.

Is Alaska a community property state?

Not by default. Alaska is an opt-in state: couples can choose community property by a written community property agreement while both live in Alaska, or by a community property trust.

Do community property rules apply to unmarried couples?

Community property rules apply to married couples, and California, Nevada and Washington also apply them to registered domestic partners. Unmarried partners who live together generally do not share property this way, though some states have their own rules for dividing property when a long relationship ends.