Florida Bankruptcy Exemptions

"Exemptions" are the categories of property the law lets you keep when you file bankruptcy. Florida is one of the most debtor-friendly states in the country, particularly for protecting a primary residence. Florida has opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions, so Florida residents who have lived in Florida for the required period use Florida state-law exemptions in their bankruptcy cases.

Residency Requirement

To use Florida exemptions, you must have lived in Florida for the 730 days (two years) immediately preceding the filing. If you have not, you use the exemptions of the state where you lived for the greater part of the 180-day period before the two-year window. The federal homestead-acreage cap (currently $189,050 for property acquired within 1,215 days of filing) can also apply to recent transplants.

The Florida Homestead Exemption

Florida's homestead exemption, in Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, protects unlimited equity in the debtor's primary residence, subject to acreage limits: one-half acre within a municipality or 160 acres outside a municipality. There is no dollar cap. For Miami homeowners with substantial equity in their homes, this is by far the most valuable exemption. See our dedicated page on the Florida homestead exemption for details.

Personal Property Exemption (Up to $1,000)

Section 222.25(1), Florida Statutes, exempts personal property up to $1,000 in value. For a married couple filing jointly, each spouse is entitled to the exemption, totaling $2,000.

Additional $4,000 Personal Property Exemption (Wildcard)

Section 222.25(4), Florida Statutes, provides an additional $4,000 personal property exemption for debtors who do not claim or receive the benefit of the Florida homestead exemption. For renters and underwater homeowners who surrender their houses, the $4,000 wildcard substantially expands the personal-property protection. Married couples filing jointly receive $8,000.

Motor Vehicle Exemption ($1,000 Per Debtor)

Section 222.25(1), Florida Statutes, includes an exemption of up to $1,000 of equity in a motor vehicle. The federal Fair Market Value of the car minus any loan balance equals the equity. For most subprime auto loans, the equity is zero or negative, meaning no exemption is needed to keep the car. For paid-off cars and cars near the end of a loan, the $1,000 cap matters.

Retirement Account Exemption

Section 222.21, Florida Statutes, exempts in full:

ERISA-qualified pension plans (401(k), 403(b), pension plans, profit-sharing plans)
IRAs and Roth IRAs (the federal Bankruptcy Code also caps the IRA exemption at approximately $1.5 million, indexed)
SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs
Public employee retirement accounts (FRS)
Most non-ERISA tax-favored retirement accounts

This exemption protects the vast majority of retirement assets without dollar limit (subject to the federal IRA cap).

Wages of Head of Family

Section 222.11, Florida Statutes, exempts the disposable wages of a head of family in full, up to $750 per week, and entirely (regardless of amount) if the wages have been deposited in an identifiable bank account within the prior six months. A "head of family" provides more than half the support of a child or other dependent. See our wage garnishment page.

Other Florida Exemptions

Life insurance proceeds and cash surrender values – Section 222.13 and 222.14, Florida Statutes
Annuity contracts – Section 222.14, Florida Statutes (fully exempt for resident debtors)
Disability income benefits – Section 222.18, Florida Statutes
Prepaid medical savings accounts, college tuition prepayment plans, and hurricane savings – Sections 222.22, 222.222
Health aids prescribed by a doctor
Tax-credit qualified Section 529 plans with specific timing restrictions
Unpaid earnings, alimony, child support, and Social Security benefits
Workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, and crime-victim compensation
Federal earned-income tax credit (EITC) portion of a tax refund
Tenancy-by-the-entireties property held jointly between spouses is exempt from the claims of either spouse's individual creditors but not from joint creditors

The Florida Wildcard, Restated

Many Miami filers benefit substantially from the combined personal-property exemption: $1,000 base plus $4,000 wildcard, doubled for joint filers, equals $10,000 per couple in personal property protection – if no homestead is claimed. This is often the deciding factor in whether to surrender or keep a modestly-equity house.

Tenancy by the Entireties

Florida recognizes tenancy by the entireties, a form of joint ownership available only to married couples. Property held as TBE is shielded from the claims of either spouse's individual creditors. In a bankruptcy case filed by one spouse alone, TBE property may receive substantial protection from the filing spouse's individual unsecured creditors (subject to limitations). This is a strategic factor that often shapes whether one or both spouses should file.

Florida Is an Opt-Out State

Section 522(b) of the Bankruptcy Code gives debtors a choice between federal exemptions and state exemptions – unless the state has opted out. Florida exercised the opt-out at Fla. Stat. § 222.20. The result is that Florida residents who otherwise qualify must use Florida state exemptions plus the federal "non-bankruptcy" exemptions specifically referenced in § 522(b)(3) (such as Social Security, veterans' benefits, and certain retirement protections). They cannot use the federal exemption schedule at § 522(d), which in some areas is more generous and in others less so.

For most Miami filers the opt-out is favorable because the Florida homestead exemption is far more generous than the federal homestead exemption. For renters and underwater homeowners with little real estate to protect, the federal schedule's larger wildcard exemption would sometimes be preferable – but it is not an option in Florida.

The 730-Day Domicile Rule in Detail

Section 522(b)(3)(A) sets a domicile test for which state's exemptions a debtor may use. The debtor must have been domiciled in the state in question for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing. If the debtor moved within the 730-day window, the test looks back to the 180-day period before that window and uses the state where the debtor was domiciled for the longer portion. The rules produce some surprising results:

A New York resident who moved to Miami eighteen months ago and files today must use New York exemptions, which include a more limited homestead and a different personal-property schedule.
A debtor who lived in three states during the 180-day pre-window period uses the exemptions of the state where they spent the most days during that window.
When the applicable state's exemptions are unavailable to non-residents (a quirk of some state statutes), § 522(b)(3) allows the debtor to fall back on the federal exemptions even in an opt-out state.

Combined with the 1,215-day homestead-equity cap under § 522(p) (currently approximately $214,000 as of recent adjustments), the timing rules mean that the right filing date for a recent transplant is often not the earliest available date. We model the trade-offs at the consultation.

Vehicle Equity in More Depth

The $1,000 motor vehicle exemption under Fla. Stat. § 222.25(1) is modest. For a typical financed car, the equity (fair market value minus loan balance) is well under $1,000 and the exemption is more than enough. For a paid-off car or a car late in a loan term where the loan is fully amortized below trade-in value, the exemption can be exceeded.

When a debtor has equity in a vehicle above the $1,000 exemption and also does not claim a homestead, the $4,000 wildcard under § 222.25(4) can absorb the excess. Joint filers double these amounts. For a debtor who would otherwise lose a vehicle, this stacking often saves the car – either in Chapter 7 by paying the trustee the non-exempt value or in Chapter 13 by accounting for the non-exempt portion in the plan.

Wages of a Head of Family

Florida's wage protection at Fla. Stat. § 222.11 is among the strongest in the country. A "head of family" is a person who provides more than one-half of the support for a child or other dependent. The protection has two layers. First, all disposable earnings of a head of family up to $750 per week are absolutely exempt. Second, earnings above $750 per week are exempt unless the debtor agreed in writing to the garnishment.

The statute also protects wages deposited in an identifiable bank account for up to six months after deposit, provided the wages can be traced and have not been commingled with other funds in a way that defeats tracing. For clients facing or recovering from a wage garnishment, the head-of-family exemption is often the basis for a motion to dissolve the writ even outside bankruptcy.

Retirement Account Exemption in More Depth

Fla. Stat. § 222.21 exempts retirement accounts in full for Florida residents. The exemption covers ERISA-qualified plans (401(k), 403(b), defined-benefit pensions, profit-sharing plans), traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, Florida Retirement System accounts, and most other tax-favored retirement vehicles. The federal Bankruptcy Code overlays a cap on IRAs (currently approximately $1.5 million indexed) but the cap does not apply to ERISA-qualified employer plans, which are protected without dollar limit.

An inherited IRA is different. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Clark v. Rameker, 573 U.S. 122 (2014), that inherited IRAs are not "retirement funds" for purposes of the federal exemption at § 522(b)(3)(C). Florida law, however, was amended in 2011 to provide that inherited IRAs are exempt under state law for Florida residents. The Florida amendment continues to protect Florida debtors holding inherited retirement accounts where the federal protection would have failed.

Annuities, Life Insurance, and Disability Income

Annuity contracts – Fla. Stat. § 222.14 protects the proceeds of annuity contracts issued to Florida residents from creditor claims, without dollar limit. Florida is one of the most annuity-friendly states.
Cash surrender value of life insurance – Fla. Stat. § 222.14 protects the cash value of life insurance on a Florida resident from creditors of the insured.
Life insurance proceeds – Fla. Stat. § 222.13 protects death benefits payable to a beneficiary other than the insured's estate.
Disability benefits – Fla. Stat. § 222.18 exempts disability income from any source.
Florida Prepaid College Plan and 529 accounts – Fla. Stat. § 222.22 protects prepaid tuition plans and qualified tuition programs subject to timing rules on recent contributions.

Tenancy by the Entireties in Practice

Property held as tenants by the entireties between spouses is shielded from the individual creditors of either spouse but remains reachable by joint creditors of both spouses. In a single-spouse bankruptcy, TBE bank accounts and TBE personal property are typically exempt under § 522(b)(3)(B), subject to the requirement that there be no joint creditors. A single joint credit card can defeat the TBE protection for the corresponding amount of TBE property. When evaluating whether one spouse should file alone, a complete review of joint debts is essential. See our attorney page for how we handle this analysis.

Schedule a Consultation

To discuss which exemptions apply in your case and confirm that all of your property is protected, call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected].