Maryland Bankruptcy Exemptions
When a Maryland debtor files, the property they keep is decided by state law, not federal choice — Maryland is an opt-out state, so filers must use the Maryland exemptions in Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504. This guide explains the figures that actually matter to a creditor or judgment holder: a homestead Maryland quadrupled in 2026, the cash-and-property wildcard that quietly does the work a vehicle exemption does in other states, and the tenancy-by-the-entireties shield that protects a married debtor’s home from a one-spouse debt. We are a public-records research firm. We help creditors locate a Maryland debtor and identify non-exempt assets worth pursuing — we are not a law firm, and this is general legal information, not legal advice.
The Short Version
Maryland is one of the opt-out states, so a Maryland debtor cannot pick the federal bankruptcy exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d) — they must use the Maryland set in Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504. The headline numbers are distinctive. The homestead changed fundamentally on June 1, 2026: Chapter 400 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland repealed the old link to the federal bankruptcy figure and set a flat $125,000 for an individual, indexed from fiscal 2028 to the federal consumer price index rather than to the bankruptcy code. Where several people in one bankruptcy claim the exemption against the same property, $125,000 is the ceiling for all of them together. Maryland has no dedicated motor-vehicle exemption at all, so a car’s equity is protected by the cash-or-property wildcard of $6,000 under 11-504(b), often combined with smaller personal-property and tools allowances. And property a married couple owns as tenants by the entirety is generally beyond the reach of a creditor of just one spouse. For a creditor, the practical question is not whether exemptions exist, but which assets fall outside them — and where the debtor is. We find both.
Watch: Maryland Exemptions in Brief
Why the homestead, the wildcard, and entireties decide what a creditor can reach.
Watch Overview
Maryland Is an Opt-Out State
The single fact that frames every other figure on this page.
Federal bankruptcy law lets each state decide whether its residents may choose the federal exemption menu in 11 U.S.C. 522(d) or must use the state’s own list. Maryland has opted out. A debtor domiciled in Maryland files under the Maryland exemptions in Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504 and cannot reach for the often more generous federal homestead and wildcard. That choice matters because the Maryland set is comparatively lean: there is no separate vehicle allowance, the homestead is modest by national standards, and several protections come with conditions and dollar caps that a creditor can read and plan around.
For a judgment creditor, opt-out status is good news disguised as a technicality. Because the Maryland figures are fixed and knowable, you can estimate before you spend a dollar on enforcement roughly how much of a debtor’s equity is shielded and how much is fair game. The harder problem is rarely the math — it is finding the debtor and confirming what they actually own. That is a public-records research question, and it is the part we handle.
The Maryland Numbers That Matter
Current figures under 11-504, presented as general legal information.
| Exemption | Maryland Amount | Statute | Creditor Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homestead | $125,000 per individual (filings on/after Jun 1, 2026) | 11-504(f) | A flat Maryland figure since Chapter 400; $125,000 combined where several claim it against one property. CPI-indexed each fiscal year from fiscal 2028. |
| Cash / Property Wildcard | $6,000 | 11-504(b) | Must be elected; the bucket a debtor uses to cover a car. |
| Household Goods | $1,000 | 11-504(b)(4) | Furnishings, apparel, books, pets and the like. |
| Tools of Trade | $5,000 | 11-504(b)(1) | Tools, instruments, and books needed for a trade or profession. |
| Motor Vehicle | None (no dedicated exemption) | — | Equity rides the wildcard; high-value cars often have exposed equity. |
| Tenancy by Entireties | Generally fully exempt vs. one-spouse debt | Common law | A married debtor’s jointly held home is usually unreachable for a solo debt. |
Read down the right-hand column and the creditor strategy writes itself: the homestead and entireties shield the home in most cases, while the lean wildcard and absent vehicle exemption mean that a paid-off luxury car, a second vehicle, a boat, or a cash balance is where exposed equity tends to hide. Figures are stated as words and rounded for readability; always confirm the current statutory amounts, because the homestead is re-indexed every fiscal year from fiscal 2028, and because the figures here apply to cases filed on or after June 1, 2026.
The Homestead Is Modest and Indexed
A smaller shield than many neighboring states, and it cannot be stretched.
Maryland’s homestead exemption lives in 11-504(f) and protects a debtor’s interest in owner-occupied residential property, including a condominium, a cooperative interest, or a manufactured home converted to real property, where the debtor actually lives. What makes it distinctive is how the dollar figure is set. Rather than naming a fixed Maryland number, the statute caps the homestead at the federal amount in 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1), adjusted for inflation under 11 U.S.C. 104. That was the rule until June 1, 2026, and it is no longer the law. Chapter 400 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland (Senate Bill 939), approved by the Governor and effective June 1, 2026, struck the reference to 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1) and the federal adjustment mechanism out of the statute and put a flat Maryland figure of $125,000 for an individual in their place. Maryland also gained its own indexing mechanism for the first time: from fiscal 2028 the amount adjusts each fiscal year by the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, rounded to the nearest $25. The change is prospective only. By its own Section 2 the act may not be applied to any bankruptcy proceeding filed before its effective date, so a Maryland case filed between April 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026 is still governed by the old rule and its $31,575.
Two features decide how much this shield is worth to a creditor. First, the figure is no longer modest: at $125,000 it is roughly four times what Maryland allowed for cases filed before June 2026, and in much of the state it now covers the whole of a typical owner’s equity rather than a slice of it. Second, the ceiling attaches to the property as well as to the person. Where several individuals in the same bankruptcy proceeding claim the exemption against the same property, Chapter 400 caps their combined total at $125,000. It is worth being precise about what that replaced, because the old rule was stricter in one respect and looser in another: the previous subsection flatly barred a husband and wife from each claiming the homestead at all, and separately barred a debtor from claiming it on the same property twice within eight years. Chapter 400 repealed both. The homestead exemption is also a creature of bankruptcy in Maryland; outside a filing, the property a debtor can shield against a plain judgment falls back on the smaller cash-or-property allowance described below, which Chapter 400 did not touch and which carries no indexing at all.
The Wildcard Does the Vehicle’s Job
Maryland has no car exemption, so the cash-or-property bucket carries the load.
This is the Maryland feature most often missed. Many states publish a dedicated motor-vehicle exemption — a fixed amount of car equity that is automatically protected. Maryland publishes none. There is no line in 11-504 that shields a vehicle as a vehicle. Instead, a Maryland debtor who wants to keep a car with equity must spend the general cash-or-property wildcard on it. That wildcard, found in 11-504(b), lets a debtor exempt cash or property of any kind worth up to $6,000, but it must be elected, and it competes with every other un-categorized asset the debtor wants to keep.
Stack the smaller allowances and the working picture for a typical filer is a wildcard of $6,000, plus up to $1,000 in household goods under 11-504(b)(4), plus up to $5,000 in tools of a trade under 11-504(b)(1) for those who qualify. None of that is a car-specific cushion. The consequence for a creditor: a debtor with one ordinary, financed vehicle is usually fully covered, but a paid-off higher-value car, a second car, a motorcycle, a boat, or a recreational vehicle frequently carries equity beyond what the wildcard can absorb. Those are precisely the assets worth verifying through public records before deciding whether a debtor is worth pursuing.
Where Exemptions Stop Protecting
The asset classes that tend to fall outside the Maryland shields.
Home Equity Over the Cap
A long-owned Maryland home can hold equity well beyond even the $125,000 homestead, leaving a reachable surplus.
The Second or Luxury Car
With no vehicle exemption, equity above the six-thousand-dollar wildcard on a paid-off car is exposed.
Boats and RVs
Recreational vehicles are not residences and not trade tools, so they rarely fit any Maryland exemption category.
Non-Exempt Cash
The wildcard is finite; cash and account balances beyond it, once the deposit allowance is used, can be levied.
Investment and Rental Property
The homestead covers only the home the debtor occupies; second homes and rentals are outside it entirely.
Solely Owned Assets
Entireties protects jointly held marital property; an asset titled to one spouse alone gets no entireties shield.
Tenancy by the Entireties Protects the Married Home
A separate Maryland route that can outrank the homestead cap entirely.
Maryland recognizes tenancy by the entireties, a form of joint ownership available only to married couples. Property a husband and wife hold this way is generally treated as owned by the marital unit, not by either spouse individually, so a creditor holding a judgment against only one spouse usually cannot reach entireties property to satisfy that solo debt. For a married Maryland debtor whose home is titled this way, the practical protection can far exceed the modest dollar homestead, because the shield is not a capped figure at all — it is a function of how the asset is held.
The protection has real limits a creditor should weigh. It evaporates if both spouses are liable on the same debt, since then the creditor is a creditor of the marital unit. It can be affected by the death of a spouse or a divorce that severs the tenancy. And it only protects assets actually titled as entireties property; anything held by one spouse alone, or as ordinary joint tenants, falls outside it. Sorting out exactly how a Maryland debtor’s home and accounts are titled is a records exercise — deeds, vesting language, and account ownership — and it often determines whether enforcement is worth pursuing at all.
How We Help a Maryland Creditor
From a name to a clear picture of reachable assets.
Send What You Know
A name, last known Maryland address, business, or judgment details — whatever you have becomes the starting point.
We Locate the Debtor
A current address, employer, and known associates are rebuilt from public records and licensed databases.
We Map the Assets
Real property, vehicles, business interests, and how each is titled — flagging what likely falls outside 11-504.
You Decide and Act
You hand a documented asset picture to your Maryland attorney to weigh enforcement, settlement, or standing down.
Who We Help
We do the locate and the asset research; your counsel does the law.
Judgment Creditors
Debtors located, assets mapped
Attorneys & Paralegals
Asset research for enforcement
Collections
Maryland debtors found
Lenders
Secured-asset verification
Landlords
Former-tenant judgments
Small Businesses
Unpaid invoices pursued
Whoever you are, the wall is the same: Maryland’s exemptions tell you what is protected, but you still have to find the debtor and confirm what they hold and how it is titled. We locate Maryland debtors and research their public-records footprint through professional skip tracing, then surface the assets most likely to fall outside 11-504. It pairs naturally with our work on finding hidden assets and understanding what assets can be seized on a judgment, and with our companion guides to Delaware bankruptcy exemptions and Virginia bankruptcy exemptions for debtors who cross state lines. We are not a law firm and not a credit-reporting agency; for a legitimate, permissible-purpose matter, a verified Maryland locate typically comes back within 24 hours.
Our Commitment
We give a Maryland creditor a clear, lawful picture: where the debtor is, what they own, and how it is held — so you and your attorney can judge what falls outside the 11-504 exemptions. Public-records research conducted lawfully, for permissible purposes only, since 2004.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Maryland debtor use the federal bankruptcy exemptions?
No. Maryland is an opt-out state, so a debtor domiciled in Maryland must use the state exemptions in Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504 and cannot elect the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d). This is general legal information, not legal advice.
What is the Maryland homestead exemption amount?
For cases filed on or after June 1, 2026 it is $125,000 for an individual, under Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504(f) as amended by Chapter 400 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland. That act repealed the old link to 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1) and to the federal three-year adjustment cycle, so the homestead is now a Maryland number rather than a federal one. Where multiple individuals in the same bankruptcy proceeding claim the exemption on the same property, $125,000 is the combined ceiling. Beginning in fiscal 2028 the amount is adjusted each fiscal year by the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, rounded to the nearest $25. A case filed before June 1, 2026 keeps the old rule, under which the figure was $31,575.
Can a married couple double the Maryland homestead?
The rule changed on June 1, 2026, and the old flat prohibition is gone. Chapter 400 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland repealed the subsection barring a husband and wife from each claiming the homestead in the same proceeding, along with the separate rule that stopped a debtor claiming the exemption on the same property twice within eight years. What replaced the bar is a ceiling rather than a prohibition: where multiple individuals in the same bankruptcy proceeding claim the exemption on the same property, the total may not exceed $125,000. Two spouses therefore cannot stack two full exemptions against one house, but the outright bar on both of them claiming no longer exists.
Does Maryland have a motor-vehicle exemption?
No. Maryland has no dedicated vehicle exemption. A debtor who wants to keep a car with equity must apply the cash-or-property wildcard of $6,000 under 11-504(b), which means equity above that amount on a paid-off or second vehicle is often exposed.
What is the Maryland wildcard exemption?
It is the cash-or-property allowance in 11-504(b): up to $6,000 in cash or property of any kind, claimed by election. Because there is no vehicle exemption, this bucket is what most debtors use to protect a car, alongside smaller household-goods and tools-of-trade allowances.
How does tenancy by the entireties protect a Maryland home?
Property a married couple holds as tenants by the entirety is generally beyond the reach of a creditor of only one spouse, because it is treated as owned by the marital unit. The protection fails when both spouses are liable on the same debt or the tenancy is severed.
As a creditor, which assets fall outside the Maryland exemptions?
Commonly home equity above the modest homestead, a paid-off or second vehicle beyond the wildcard, boats and recreational vehicles, second homes and rentals, non-exempt cash, and assets titled to one spouse alone. We research a debtor’s footprint to flag the likely non-exempt assets.
Does your firm provide legal advice or file bankruptcies?
No. We are a public-records research firm, not a law firm and not a credit-reporting agency. We locate Maryland debtors and research their assets for permissible purposes; legal questions and filings belong with a licensed Maryland bankruptcy attorney.
Need to Locate a Maryland Debtor?
We find the debtor and research what they own and how it is titled — so you and your attorney can see what falls outside the 11-504 exemptions, typically within 24 hours. Contact us to get started.
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