The New York homestead exemption automatically protects between $102,400 and $204,825 of equity in your primary residence from most judgment creditors, with the exact amount depending on which county you live in. These figures took effect on April 1, 2024 and remain in place through March 31, 2027.1Department of Financial Services. Amount Exempt from Judgments The protection is broader than many homeowners realize, but it has hard limits and does not apply to every kind of debt.
How Much Equity Is Protected by County
New York splits the exemption into three geographic tiers tied to local property values:
- $204,825 in Kings, Queens, New York, Bronx, Richmond (Staten Island), Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam counties.
- $170,700 in Dutchess, Albany, Columbia, Orange, Saratoga, and Ulster counties.
- $102,400 in every remaining county.
The amounts are adjusted every three years for inflation, with the next adjustment scheduled for April 1, 2027.1Department of Financial Services. Amount Exempt from Judgments
Equity here means your home’s fair market value minus what you owe on mortgages and other liens. If your equity stays under the cap for your county, a judgment creditor cannot force a sale. If it exceeds the cap, a creditor can start a special court proceeding to force a sale, but the court must return the full exempt amount to you from the proceeds before creditors take anything.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 5206 – Real Property Exempt From Application to the Satisfaction of Money Judgments Being above the cap doesn’t strip your protection; it just narrows it to the exempt dollar amount.
What Properties and Living Situations Qualify
CPLR 5206 covers four kinds of property, as long as you own it and use it as your principal residence:
- A house on a lot of land
- Cooperative apartment shares
- Condominium units
- Mobile homes
Investment properties, vacation homes, and rentals where you do not live are excluded entirely.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 5206 – Real Property Exempt From Application to the Satisfaction of Money Judgments The operative word is “occupied.” Courts have consistently held that you must actually live in the home, not merely own it or plan to move back someday. A temporary absence for military deployment or medical treatment can still qualify, but a home you have abandoned or have not yet moved into will not be protected.
You Do Not Have to File Anything
One of the most common misconceptions is that you need to record paperwork to activate the exemption. You don’t. CPLR 5206 says the property “is exempt” once the ownership and occupancy conditions are met, so the protection exists automatically whether or not you file with the county clerk.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 5206 – Real Property Exempt From Application to the Satisfaction of Money Judgments
Recording a homestead declaration can still be useful because it creates a public record of your claim and may discourage creditors from targeting the property. It is a practical step, not a legal requirement. If a creditor challenges your exemption in court, you will need to prove residency and ownership regardless of whether you filed anything.
This Is Not the STAR Property Tax Break
Many New York homeowners search for “homestead exemption” expecting information about property tax reductions. Those are different programs. The most familiar is STAR (School Tax Relief), which cuts school tax bills for eligible owner-occupied homes and is administered through your local assessor. STAR has nothing to do with protecting equity from creditors. The CPLR 5206 exemption discussed here is purely about shielding your home from judgment creditors and bankruptcy trustees.
Debts That Can Still Reach Your Home
The exemption is powerful but has significant blind spots. Several categories of debt override it:
- Mortgages and home equity loans. Any voluntary lien you placed on the property can be enforced. If you default, the lender can foreclose.
- Purchase-price judgments. If someone wins a judgment against you for the unpaid purchase price of the home itself, the exemption does not apply.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 5206 – Real Property Exempt From Application to the Satisfaction of Money Judgments
- Federal and state tax liens. The IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance can enforce liens against your home despite the exemption.
- Child support and spousal support. Unpaid family support obligations can lead to court-ordered sales even where the exemption would otherwise apply.
The exemption is essentially built for general creditors: credit card companies, medical debt collectors, landlords with money judgments, and similar claimants. If your debt sits in one of the categories above, do not count on the homestead shield.
Ownership Structure Changes the Math
How title is held affects both the amount of protection and who can claim it.
A sole owner who lives in the home gets the full exemption for their county tier. Married couples who own as tenants by the entirety get even more. Under New York law, a creditor with a judgment against only one spouse generally cannot force a sale of property held this way. Courts have recognized an absolute bar against involuntary partition of tenancy-by-the-entirety property by a third-party creditor, which makes pursuing the debtor-spouse’s interest practically worthless.
Unmarried co-owners each get protection proportional to their ownership share, but only if they actually live in the home. If you own 50% of a Queens property and reside there, the exemption covers up to $204,825 of your 50% equity interest. A co-owner who lives somewhere else cannot claim the exemption on their share, and creditors can reach that portion.
The Exemption in Bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy in New York puts the homestead exemption at the center of what the trustee can and cannot sell.
State Exemptions or Federal Exemptions
New York lets bankruptcy filers pick between state exemptions and federal bankruptcy exemptions. You have to choose one set for all your property; mixing and matching is not allowed.3U.S. Courts. A Guide To Schedule C and Exemptions The federal homestead exemption is $31,575, far lower than any of New York’s three tiers, so filers with meaningful home equity almost always go with the state package. Filers with little home equity and more value in vehicles, tools, or personal property sometimes find the federal package’s non-homestead exemptions more generous overall.
Whichever system you pick, you must list your homestead exemption on Schedule C of your bankruptcy petition, specifying the amount claimed and the legal basis.4U.S. Courts. Schedule C – The Property You Claim as Exempt (Individuals) Failing to list it can result in forfeiture. Trustees will not remind you to claim what is yours.
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13
In Chapter 7, the exemption is a hard line. If your equity is under the cap, the trustee cannot sell your home. If your equity exceeds the cap, the trustee can sell the property, pay you the exempt amount, and distribute the remainder to creditors.
In Chapter 13 you keep your home either way, but the exemption affects how much you must pay unsecured creditors through your repayment plan. If the exemption fully covers your equity, unsecured creditors may receive less. If equity exceeds the exemption, your plan payments generally have to account for the non-exempt portion.
Removing Judicial Liens That Impair Your Exemption
If a judgment creditor recorded a lien against your home before you filed for bankruptcy, that lien may be eating into equity that should be exempt. Federal law lets you ask the bankruptcy court to remove a judicial lien to the extent it impairs your homestead exemption.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions The tool does not reach mortgages or tax liens, but it can wipe out judgment liens from credit card lawsuits and similar debts.
The 730-Day Residency Rule
If you recently moved to New York, there is a federal timing trap. To use New York’s state exemptions in bankruptcy, you generally must have lived in the state for at least 730 days (two years) before filing. If you haven’t, you may need to apply your previous state’s exemptions instead. If that mismatch leaves you ineligible for any state exemption at all, you can fall back on the federal package.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions
What Happens to Sale Proceeds
The exemption does not vanish the moment your home is sold. Under CPLR 5206(e), if a court-ordered sale occurs, the exempt portion of the proceeds stays protected for one year after you receive payment. During that year, if you buy another qualifying home, the protection transfers to the new property. Any exempt proceeds you have not spent on a new home lose their protection once the year expires.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 5206 – Real Property Exempt From Application to the Satisfaction of Money Judgments
The one-year clock is firm. Sit on the proceeds for 13 months without reinvesting and that money becomes available to creditors. For homeowners facing a forced sale, lining up a replacement home quickly is one of the most important practical steps.
Transferring the Home to Someone Else Can Backfire
Signing your home over to a relative or trust while you are in financial trouble is one of the fastest ways to lose protection entirely. New York’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (formerly the Fraudulent Conveyance statute) treats any transfer made without fair consideration by someone who is insolvent, or who becomes insolvent because of the transfer, as voidable by creditors regardless of your actual intent.
Transferring your home to a family member for $1 while you owe more than you can pay is almost certain to be reversed in court. Creditors do not have to prove you were trying to cheat them. Insolvency plus the absence of fair payment is enough.
Transfers made within two years before a bankruptcy filing face tougher scrutiny under federal law. The bankruptcy trustee can undo any transfer during that window if you received less than reasonably equivalent value and were insolvent at the time.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 548 – Fraudulent Transfers and Obligations Even a revocable trust can create complications if the transfer changes your ownership interest in a way that undermines the exemption claim. The safest approach is to avoid transferring the property while debts are outstanding unless you are receiving genuine market-value compensation.
A Bill That Would Raise the Caps
Senate Bill 8109, introduced in the 2025–2026 legislative session, proposes a sharp increase in the exemption: $600,000 for the New York City metro tier, $500,000 for the mid-tier counties, and $300,000 for the rest of the state. The bill has not been enacted, and the current amounts remain in effect through March 2027. Homeowners with equity above the current caps should watch the legislation.