Homestead Exemption by State: Property Tax and Creditor Rules

"Homestead exemption" is the name of two different laws, and most people searching for it want only one of them. The first is a property-tax break on the home you own and live in, run by a county assessor, appraisal district or state revenue department. The second is a creditor and bankruptcy protection that shields some or all of your home equity from a forced sale, set by each state's exemption statutes.

Both vary widely from state to state, and a dollar figure from one never applies to the other. Most property-tax homestead breaks are not automatic: you apply with the local office that values your home, by a deadline that differs by state, such as March 1 in Florida, generally April 30 in Texas and December 31 in Kentucky and Ohio. The table below sets out each state's tax break, where to apply and its creditor homestead side by side, with a full guide for every state and the District of Columbia.

Information last verified on October 8, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This hub summarizes the property-tax homestead programs and the creditor homestead rules of the 50 states and the District of Columbia as stated in our audited state guides, plus the federal bankruptcy exemption rules in 11 U.S.C. 522. It does not cover local-option amounts beyond those the state guides verify, business or agricultural property rules, or probate homestead allowances. Each state guide carries the detail and its sources.

Two laws, one name

Property-tax homestead: a reduction in the taxable value of, or the tax on, a home the owner occupies as a primary residence, granted by state or local tax law.

Creditor homestead: a limit on how much of a home's value a judgment creditor, or a bankruptcy case, can reach, set by a state's exemption statutes.

The two share a word and little else. California's Homeowners' Exemption takes $7,000 off a home's taxable value, while its creditor homestead under Code of Civil Procedure 704.730 uses a separate formula with much larger amounts. Massachusetts has no statewide property-tax homestead exemption at all, yet its declared homestead under G.L. c. 188 protects up to $1,000,000 of equity once you record a declaration.

So read each column of the table on its own terms. A state with a generous tax break can have a small creditor homestead, and the reverse.

Homestead exemption by state: comparison table

Amounts carry the tax year or effective date the state guide gives, and county or city figures are labeled as local. "No general exemption" means the state has no property-tax homestead exemption for every owner-occupant; the cell names what it offers instead.

How the property-tax homestead works

Who runs it

In most states a county or local office grants the break: Florida's county property appraiser, a Texas county appraisal district, a Michigan city or township assessor, a Louisiana parish assessor. A few states run it centrally. Maryland's Homestead Property Tax Credit goes through the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, the District of Columbia's Homestead Deduction through the Office of Tax and Revenue, and Kansas's homestead refunds through the Kansas Department of Revenue.

What form the break takes

The word "exemption" covers several different mechanisms, and some states use none of them for every owner:

• A fixed amount off value. Florida exempts the first $25,000 of a homestead's assessed value from all property taxes, including school taxes. Louisiana exempts the first $7,500 of assessed value, and Texas school districts must exempt $140,000 of appraised value from school taxes starting with the 2025 tax year.
• A percentage of value. Utah's primary residential exemption takes 45% off fair market value. Wyoming's Homeowner Exemption covers 25% of fair market value on the first $1,000,000, and Iowa's covers 10% of taxable value, within a $5,500 minimum and $20,000 maximum for assessment year 2026.
• A credit or refund. Arkansas's homestead credit is $675 for assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Kansas and Tennessee pay refunds or reimbursements after the tax is paid, and New Jersey's ANCHOR program pays homeowners $1,500 or $1,000 depending on income.
• A lower rate or tax class. Since tax year 2026, Montana taxes a principal residence at a lower tiered rate. Vermont's yearly Homestead Declaration places a home in the homestead education tax rate rather than the nonhomestead rate.
• A cap on growth. Maryland's credit holds the yearly taxable assessment increase to 10% for the State property tax. Florida's Save Our Homes limits yearly assessment increases to the lower of 3 percent or the CPI change, and Texas limits a homestead's appraised value growth to 10 percent a year.
• A local option. In Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia, whether a homestead-style break exists depends on the city, town or county. Hawaii's constitution gives real property taxation to the counties, so each county sets its own home exemption.

Read the unit of each figure. Alabama's amounts are stated in assessed value, not market value, and Louisiana's $7,500 of assessed value corresponds to about $75,000 of market value because homes there are assessed at 10 percent. Illinois reduces equalized assessed value. None of these is a dollar amount off your tax bill; what a break saves depends on local tax rates.

Applying once or every year

Most breaks must be applied for. Florida's application is due March 1 on Form DR-501, Georgia's by April 1 with the county tax commissioner, and Texas's generally by April 30 on Form 50-114. California's Homeowners' Exemption is claimed once on Form BOE-266, and Idaho's Homeowner's Exemption once with the county assessor; after approval, neither is refiled each year while the home stays your primary residence.

Other programs must be renewed. Vermont requires a Homestead Declaration on Form HS-122 every year, North Dakota's Primary Residence Credit must be applied for every year, and Kansas refund claims are filed every year by April 15. Florida's property appraiser mails a renewal application by February 1 each year, though some counties waive it.

A few breaks need no application. Outside Cook County, the Illinois statute grants the general homestead exemption automatically, though the assessor may require a new owner to apply for the year after a sale. Arizona's homeowner rate reduction of up to $600 per parcel applies to an owner-occupied primary residence without an application.

Deadlines are often strict. Mississippi cannot accept late applications, and missing Nebraska's June 30 deadline waives the exemption for that year except on narrow grounds such as a documented medical condition. Texas, by contrast, allows late applications up to two years after the delinquency date.

What counts as a primary residence

Each state sets its own occupancy test, and the date matters. California and Florida look at ownership and residence on January 1. Montana requires at least 7 months of ownership and occupancy in the year, and Wyoming's 25% exemption requires the owner to live in the home at least 8 months of the year beginning with tax year 2026.

Utah's exemption covers a home occupied as a primary domicile for at least 183 consecutive days in a calendar year, including a rental home that is a tenant's primary residence. Maine requires 12 months of ownership before April 1, and West Virginia generally requires West Virginia residency for the two consecutive calendar years before the tax year.

A household usually gets one homestead. Minnesota allows a married couple only one homestead in the state, Louisiana bars anyone from holding more than one homestead exemption in the state, and Michigan denies its Principal Residence Exemption in any year the owner claimed a substantially similar exemption on property in another state.

Seniors, disabled owners and veterans

Many states reserve their homestead break for these groups or add larger amounts for them. Kentucky and West Virginia limit the exemption to owners 65 or older or disabled, South Carolina to owners 65 or older, disabled or legally blind, and Ohio's credit goes to lower-income owners who are 65 or older, disabled or a qualifying surviving spouse. Texas adds a $60,000 school district exemption for owners 65 or older or disabled.

Disabled-veteran programs can be much larger. South Dakota exempts $200,000 of the full and true value of an owner-occupied home for a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, and Minnesota excludes $150,000 or $300,000 of market value depending on the rating. Virginia, Oklahoma and Maryland fully exempt the home of a veteran who meets their disability tests. Ratings, income limits and forms differ in every state.

Some programs freeze value instead of reducing it. Arizona's senior valuation protection option freezes the limited property value of a primary residence, not the tax bill, for owners 65 and older who meet an income limit. New Mexico's freeze for low-income owners who are 65 or older or disabled also freezes the value, not the tax.

Moving, renting and wrongful claims

A homestead break follows the owner's primary residence. Michigan requires an owner to rescind the Principal Residence Exemption within 90 days after the home stops being a principal residence, with a penalty of $5 per day up to $200, and an improper exemption can be denied for the current year and the 3 preceding years. Minnesota and the District of Columbia require notice within 30 days of a change, and Colorado and Indiana within 60 days.

Renting the home out usually ends the break. California's exemption does not cover rentals or vacation homes, and Nevada's 3% tax cap covers only a primary residence that is not rented or made available for exclusive occupancy by anyone other than the owner and the owner's family.

Wrongful claims are expensive. Florida can impose a tax lien covering up to 10 years, a 50 percent penalty and 15 percent yearly interest. In the District of Columbia, an owner who fails to report that the home no longer qualifies has the deduction rescinded for each tax year without limitation, with penalty and interest, and Kentucky can fine an applicant up to $500 for willfully falsifying an application or failing to report a change.

A new home usually needs a new application. Maine requires you to reapply if you move, and a Maryland buyer does not inherit the seller's credit. Two programs carry part of a benefit to a new home in the same state: Florida's portability can move up to $500,000 of the Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead, and California's Proposition 19 lets owners 55 or older, or severely and permanently disabled, transfer a principal residence's taxable value to a replacement home in California up to three times.

How the creditor homestead works

The creditor homestead decides how much of your home a judgment creditor can reach and, in bankruptcy, how much equity you can keep. It does nothing to your tax bill. States set the limit in three main ways:

• Dollar caps. Many states protect a set amount of equity. Kentucky protects up to $5,000, Idaho up to $175,000 and Nevada up to $605,000, and Minnesota protects $540,000 from July 1, 2026, or $1,350,000 for a homestead used primarily for agriculture.
• Acreage limits with no dollar cap. Florida protects a homestead of up to 160 acres outside a municipality or one-half acre inside one, with no dollar cap. Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma also limit the homestead by land area rather than dollars.
• Mixed or indexed limits. Alabama combines acreage and dollars: up to 160 acres worth no more than $15,000, or $56,400 for a resident 62 or older or an individual with a disability, effective June 1, 2026. Washington protects the greater of $125,000 or the county median sale price of a single-family home in the preceding calendar year, and Arizona and South Carolina adjust their caps for inflation on a set schedule.

Some states have little general creditor homestead protection. New Jersey has no general homestead exemption that protects a home from creditors, Maryland's and Pennsylvania's exemption statutes have no homestead exemption for the home outside bankruptcy, and Michigan's protects only $3,500 of value outside bankruptcy. Delaware's $200,000 applies only in a federal bankruptcy or state insolvency proceeding.

Declarations and automatic protection

Some creditor homesteads apply automatically and some must be claimed. Idaho's applies once you occupy the home as your principal residence, Washington's attaches automatically on occupancy, and Rhode Island's protects up to $500,000 with no declaration.

Nevada requires a written declaration of homestead that is signed, acknowledged and recorded, and Montana requires a recorded declaration. Virginia real estate must be claimed by a recorded homestead deed or, in bankruptcy, on the exemption schedule. In Massachusetts a recorded declaration protects up to $1,000,000, and without one an automatic homestead of $125,000 applies. Utah's homestead applies at an execution sale only if you file or serve a declaration of homestead in time.

What it does not protect against

A creditor homestead generally does not stop the debts secured by the home or owed to the government. In the District of Columbia, the residence exemption does not impair a deed of trust, mortgage, mechanic's lien or tax lien. New Hampshire's homestead does not protect against taxes, mortgages, mechanics' liens, condominium or homeowner association liens, or domestic support obligations.

Kansas's homestead does not protect against sales for taxes, purchase-money debts or improvements, and Tennessee's does not apply against public taxes or purchase-money debts. Timing can matter too: New Hampshire's $400,000 applies after 12 months of continuous use as a primary residence.

The federal bankruptcy layer

In bankruptcy, the homestead question becomes which list of exemptions applies and how much home equity it protects. In chapter 7, which the Bankruptcy Code calls liquidation, nonexempt property is sold and the proceeds go to creditors, so the exemption decides whether equity in a home can be kept. The federal rules in 11 U.S.C. 522 sit on top of every state's law.

State list or federal list

Under 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(1), an individual debtor exempts property under either the federal list in section 522(d) or the state list, not a mix of the two, and spouses in a joint case must elect the same system. The federal list is available unless the debtor's applicable state law specifically does not authorize it (522(b)(2)); a state that withholds it is called an opt-out state.

The state guides report, for example, that Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota and Virginia have opted out and that Idaho debtors must use state exemptions, while Kentucky and Wisconsin debtors may choose the federal exemptions instead.

The federal homestead amount

The federal homestead exemption in 522(d)(1) covers the debtor's aggregate interest in real or personal property that the debtor or a dependent uses as a residence, in a cooperative that owns such a residence, or in a burial plot. For cases filed on or after April 1, 2025, the amount is $31,575, up from $27,900, according to the Judicial Conference adjustment notice; the adjustment does not apply to cases commenced before April 1, 2025. The federal wildcard in 522(d)(5) adds $1,675, plus part of any unused homestead amount, that can protect any property.

Which state's law applies: the 730-day rule

Moving shortly before filing does not simply switch you to a new state's exemptions. Under 522(b)(3)(A), the state exemptions available are those of the place where your domicile was located for the 730 days immediately before filing. If your domicile was not in a single state for that whole period, the place is where it was located for the 180 days immediately before the 730-day period, or for the longer part of those 180 days than anywhere else.

Caps on recently acquired or tainted equity

Three more limits apply to debtors who use state exemptions:

• The 1,215-day cap (522(p)). Equity acquired during the 1,215 days before filing is capped at $214,000 for cases filed on or after April 1, 2025, up from $189,050. Equity moved from a previous principal residence in the same state, acquired before that period, does not count, and the cap does not apply to a family farmer's principal residence.
• The misconduct cap (522(q)). The same $214,000 cap applies to a debtor convicted of a qualifying felony or owing certain securities-fraud, RICO, fiduciary-fraud or serious-injury debts, subject to an exception for what is reasonably necessary for support.
• Fraudulent conversion (522(o)). The homestead value is reduced by any part that came from property the debtor disposed of in the 10 years before filing with intent to hinder, delay or defraud a creditor.

These dollar amounts are adjusted every three years on April 1 under 11 U.S.C. 104, and the next adjustment is scheduled under 11 U.S.C. 104 for April 1, 2028.

Which list applies, whether the 1,215-day cap reaches your equity and how a state's homestead treats your property are questions that turn on your facts. The state guide and a bankruptcy lawyer licensed in your state decide a real case; our bankruptcy laws by state guides cover each state's exemptions.

Changes on the calendar

Several proposals on the November 3, 2026 ballot would change homestead relief, and none is law unless voters approve it:

• Florida Amendment 3 would raise the non-school exemption starting January 1, 2027, but only if at least 60 percent of voters approve it.
• Louisiana Amendment 9 would raise the special assessment level income limit to $150,000 for tax years beginning January 1, 2027.
• Oklahoma State Question 847 would lower the homestead cap to 1.75 percent and replace the senior freeze with an income-scaled limit starting tax year 2027.
• Wyoming Initiative Proposition Number One would create an exemption of 50% of assessed value for a primary residence.
• Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 2 would bar a state property tax; it does not address county or city property taxes.

Some changes are already scheduled in law. Missouri's creditor homestead rises from $15,000 to $40,000 on January 1, 2027. Honolulu's home exemption rises to $140,000, or $180,000 at 65 or older, for tax years beginning July 1, 2027. Indiana's standard deduction drops to $30,000 for the 2027 assessment date, and Virginia's creditor homestead limits are first adjusted for inflation on April 1, 2027.

Related

• Bankruptcy laws by state
• Probate laws by state
• Property records by state
• Small estate affidavits by state

This page is general legal information, not tax or legal advice. It summarizes state property-tax homestead programs, state creditor homestead laws and 11 U.S.C. 522 as described in our state guides, verified on October 8, 2026. Amounts and deadlines change by tax year. For your situation, contact your county assessor or state revenue department, or a lawyer licensed in your state.

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a homestead exemption?

It is the name of two different laws. One is a property-tax break that lowers the taxable value of, or the tax on, a home you own and occupy as your primary residence; the other protects some or all of your home equity from creditors and in bankruptcy.

How do I apply for a homestead exemption?

In most states you apply to the local office that values your home, such as the county assessor, property appraiser or appraisal district, by a set deadline, for example March 1 in Florida and generally April 30 in Texas. A few states run their programs centrally, such as the Kansas Department of Revenue for its homestead refunds, so check your state guide for the form and office.

Do I have to reapply every year?

It depends on the state. California's Homeowners' Exemption and Idaho's Homeowner's Exemption are filed once and continue while the home stays your primary residence, while Vermont's Homestead Declaration, North Dakota's Primary Residence Credit and Kansas's homestead refunds must be filed every year.

Does a homestead exemption protect my house from creditors?

The property-tax exemption does not. A separate creditor homestead law protects a set amount of equity, or a set land area, from many creditors, but the state guides show it generally does not stop a mortgage or a tax lien, and its limits differ by state.

Which states have no homestead exemption?

Many states have no general property-tax homestead exemption for every owner, including Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin; they offer credits, refunds, rate classes or local options instead. On the creditor side, New Jersey has no general homestead exemption that protects a home, and Maryland and Pennsylvania have none outside bankruptcy.

What happens to my homestead exemption if I move or rent out my home?

A property-tax homestead break generally ends when the home stops being your primary residence, and many states require you to report the change, such as within 30 days in Minnesota or 90 days in Michigan. A new home usually needs a new application, though Florida's portability and California's Proposition 19 can carry part of the benefit to a new home in the same state.