Property & exemptions
Pennsylvania bankruptcy exemptions
Selected key Pennsylvania exemptions — the homestead, vehicle, wildcard categories below are quoted from the statute that states them. This is not a complete list of everything Pennsylvania protects.
Which exemption list applies in Pennsylvania
Not published yet. Whether Pennsylvania lets you choose the federal exemptions under 11 U.S.C. § 522(d), or limits you to Pennsylvania law, is the fact that decides which list applies to everything you own — so we are not going to guess at it here.
This page is still being completed
Pennsylvania is held pending a recorded completeness blocker. We show what has been verified rather than filling the gap with something we have not checked — but treat what follows as partial.
Homestead — your home
- Federal residence, cooperative, or burial-plot exemption$31,575
Applies to a qualifying residence, cooperative, or burial plot. Section 522(p) is a distinct state-law homestead limitation and is not applied to this federal-election row.
11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(1); 90 Fed. Reg. 8941, corrected at 90 Fed. Reg. 10643
Motor vehicle
- Federal one-motor-vehicle exemption$5,025
Applies to the debtor's interest in one motor vehicle.
11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(2); 90 Fed. Reg. 8941, corrected at 90 Fed. Reg. 10643
Wildcard and general personal property
- Federal wildcard exemptionNo single dollar figure — see the rule
The available amount is $1,675 plus the unused portion of § 522(d)(1), capped at an additional $15,800. It is not an unconditional $17,475 exemption.
11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(5); 90 Fed. Reg. 8941, corrected at 90 Fed. Reg. 10643
What these amounts do and do not mean
- An exemption protects your EQUITY — what the property is worth beyond what you still owe on it — not the item’s sticker price.
- More than one amount can apply in the same category. Where that is true the entries below are listed separately with the condition that selects each one; we do not pick for you.
- Federal limits can still apply on top of state law. 11 U.S.C. § 522(p) and (q) can cap a homestead claim for someone who moved recently or in specific circumstances.
- Which set of exemptions you may use depends on where you were domiciled during the period 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) measures, which is not always the state you live in today.
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