If you file bankruptcy in Idaho, the Idaho bankruptcy exemptions are the schedule that decides what you keep. The state has opted out of the federal exemption list, so Idaho’s own dollar limits control: up to $175,000 of equity in your home, $10,000 in one vehicle, $7,500 in household goods (no single item over $1,000), $10,000 in tools of your trade, a $1,500 wildcard, most retirement savings without a cap, and several categories of income and benefits to the extent reasonably necessary for support. Getting the values and statute citations right on your schedules is what turns those limits into property you actually keep.
You Must Use Idaho’s List, Not the Federal One
Idaho law is direct on this point: in a federal bankruptcy proceeding, a debtor may exempt only the property specified under Idaho law.1Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 11-609 – Nonauthorization of Federal Bankruptcy Exemptions You cannot mix Idaho exemptions with items from the federal schedule.
One narrow residency rule can change the picture. Federal law requires your domicile to have been in Idaho for the 730 days before you file. If you moved more recently, the court looks to wherever you lived for the 180 days before that two-year window, and if that analysis leaves you ineligible for any state’s exemptions, you may fall back on the federal list.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions For anyone who has lived in Idaho continuously for at least two years, the Idaho schedule controls.
Homestead: Up to $175,000 in Home Equity
The homestead exemption is the largest protection Idaho offers. You can shield up to $175,000 of equity in the land and dwelling you use as your principal residence.3Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 55-1003 – Homestead Exemption Limited Equity is fair market value minus any mortgage or lien balance. A house worth $350,000 with a $200,000 mortgage has $150,000 in equity, entirely within the exemption.
The $175,000 cap is per homestead, not per person. A married couple filing jointly on one home gets a single $175,000 exemption, not double. Proceeds from a homestead sale and insurance proceeds from loss or damage to the home receive similar protection up to the exemption amount.
When the Exemption Is Automatic
If you already occupy the property as your principal residence when you file, the exemption is automatic and you file no separate paperwork.4Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 55-1004 – Automatic Homestead Exemption, Conditions, Declaration of Homestead If you own property you intend to use as your homestead but haven’t moved in yet, you must record a declaration of homestead with the county recorder where the land sits. The declaration states your intent to reside there, gives a legal description, and estimates cash value. Skipping the declaration when it’s required can cost you the entire homestead protection.
Vehicle: $10,000 of Equity in One Car
Idaho protects up to $10,000 of equity in one motor vehicle.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 11-605 – Exemptions of Personal Property and Disposable Earnings Subject to Value Limitations Equity is market value minus what you owe on the loan. A $15,000 car with a $7,000 loan balance leaves $8,000 in equity, fully covered. A paid-off $12,000 car has $2,000 exposed above the cap.
The exemption is one vehicle per filer. In a joint filing, each spouse can claim $10,000 on a separate vehicle, but you cannot stack both exemptions on the same car.
Household Goods, Tools, and Other Personal Property
Idaho caps exempt household goods at $7,500 combined, with no single item exceeding $1,000.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 11-605 – Exemptions of Personal Property and Disposable Earnings Subject to Value Limitations That covers household furnishings, goods, and appliances used by you or your dependents; clothing, animals, books, and musical instruments held for personal use; and family portraits and heirlooms of particular sentimental value. Values are what the items would cost to replace at current used-market prices, not the original purchase price, which is why the $7,500 aggregate is enough for most households.
Separate limits apply to specific categories of personal property:
- Jewelry for personal use, up to $1,000 in aggregate
- One firearm, up to $1,500
- Tools of the trade, up to $10,000 in aggregate for professional books, business equipment, implements, and trade tools
- A wildcard, up to $1,500 in any tangible personal property not covered elsewhere
- Food and water provisions sufficient for 12 months for you and your dependents, along with storage containers and shelving
The tools-of-the-trade exemption is separate from the vehicle exemption, so a self-employed contractor can protect $10,000 in work equipment and $10,000 in a vehicle independently. The wildcard is useful for property that doesn’t fit any other category, such as recreational equipment or a collection worth under $1,500.
Health aids reasonably necessary for you or a dependent to work or maintain health are exempt with no dollar cap, and burial plots for you and your family are exempt without a value limit.
The Purchase-Money Limit
These personal property exemptions do not protect an item from the creditor who financed it or holds a lien on it.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 11-605 – Exemptions of Personal Property and Disposable Earnings Subject to Value Limitations If you bought furniture on a store credit plan and still owe the balance, that creditor can pursue the furniture regardless of the household goods exemption. The exemption shields you from other creditors, not the one who sold you the item.
Retirement Accounts
Retirement savings get the broadest protection. Funds in accounts qualified under the Internal Revenue Code, including 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and defined benefit pensions, are exempt without a dollar cap under federal bankruptcy law.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions Idaho’s opt-out of the federal exemption schedule does not touch this protection, because it comes from a separate provision of the Bankruptcy Code.
Traditional and Roth IRAs carry a cap of $1,711,975 per person, effective April 1, 2025. Amounts rolled over from an employer plan into an IRA do not count toward that cap. SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs are treated like employer plans and are protected without a dollar limit.
Wages
The exempt portion of your disposable weekly earnings is the greater of 75% of those earnings or 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, which at $7.25 puts the floor at $217.50 per week.6Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 11-207 – Restriction on Garnishment, Maximum In practical terms, a general creditor can reach no more than 25% of your disposable earnings, and often less. Child support, spousal support, and tax debts fall outside these limits and can take a larger share.
Idaho also lets you exempt up to $2,500 in wages you have earned but not yet been paid on the day you file.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 11-605 – Exemptions of Personal Property and Disposable Earnings Subject to Value Limitations Earned-but-unpaid wages become part of the bankruptcy estate the moment you file, so without this exemption the trustee could claim your next paycheck.
Benefits, Support Payments, and Insurance Proceeds
Idaho exempts several categories of income to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of you and your dependents:7Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 11-604 – Property Exempt to Individual
- Disability and illness benefits
- Alimony, child support, and separate maintenance you receive
- Personal injury and wrongful death proceeds from a judgment, settlement, or insurance
- Life insurance death benefits, if you were the spouse or dependent of the insured
“Reasonably necessary for support” is not a fixed number. A court weighs your current and anticipated needs, your responsibilities, and all your other income and property, including exempt property. A $500,000 personal injury settlement might be fully exempt for a permanently disabled filer with dependents, while a court could protect less of it for a single filer with steady income.
Social Security, unemployment compensation, and Veterans’ benefits are protected by federal law regardless of Idaho’s schedule. Life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary other than the insured are also exempt under Idaho’s insurance code; proceeds payable to the insured’s estate do not receive the same protection.
What Happens to Property That Isn’t Exempt
Anything outside an exemption is available to the trustee, and the consequences depend on the chapter.
In Chapter 7, the trustee collects non-exempt assets, sells them, and distributes the proceeds to creditors.8United States Courts. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Basics A vehicle with $14,000 in equity has $10,000 protected and $4,000 exposed. Trustees often weigh whether a sale would generate enough after costs to be worthwhile; if the non-exempt equity is small, the trustee may abandon the asset and leave it with you.
In Chapter 13, the trustee does not sell your property. You keep everything, but your repayment plan must pay unsecured creditors at least the value of your non-exempt assets over its three-to-five-year term. On the same vehicle, the plan would need to distribute at least $4,000 to unsecured creditors. Filers with non-exempt property they want to keep often prefer this path.
Claiming Exemptions on Schedule C
You claim exemptions by completing Official Form 106C (Schedule C: The Property You Claim as Exempt), filed with your petition.9United States Courts. Schedule C – The Property You Claim as Exempt For each asset you list its current value, your ownership interest, and the specific Idaho Code section that provides the exemption.10United States Courts. Official Form 106C Schedule C – The Property You Claim as Exempt
Precision matters. If you leave an asset off Schedule C, it isn’t claimed as exempt, and the trustee can treat it as available for liquidation even if an exemption would have applied. Citing the wrong statute or overstating value can prompt an objection and slow your case.
After you file, the trustee and creditors have 30 days after the conclusion of the meeting of creditors to object to a claimed exemption.11Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 4003 – Exemptions If no objection is filed in that window, the exemption stands and the property is yours to keep.