New Hampshire Bankruptcy Exemptions
When a New Hampshire debtor files bankruptcy, exemptions decide what a creditor can actually reach and what is shielded. New Hampshire is unusual: the debtor may choose the federal exemption set or the state set, and the state homestead exemption climbed sharply on January 1, 2026. This guide lays out the current New Hampshire figures, the federal-or-state choice, and how a creditor confirms whether real recovery exists before sinking money into a claim.
The Short Version
New Hampshire lets a bankruptcy filer choose either the federal exemptions in Bankruptcy Code section 522(d) or the New Hampshire state exemptions, but not a mix of both. On the state side, the homestead exemption under N.H. Rev. Stat. 480:1 jumped to $400,000 per person effective January 1, 2026, with co-owners able to claim up to $550,000 combined. State personal property under N.H. Rev. Stat. 511:2 protects one motor vehicle up to $10,000, household furniture up to $3,500, and a wildcard of $1,000 plus up to $7,000 of any unused exemptions. For a creditor, those numbers decide whether a claim is worth pursuing. We are a public-records research firm; we help creditors locate a New Hampshire debtor and identify non-exempt assets so the math can be done before the money is spent. This is general legal information, not legal advice.
Watch: New Hampshire Exemptions for Creditors
What is shielded, what is reachable, and how to check.
Watch Overview
What New Hampshire Exemptions Decide
Exemptions draw the line between reachable and shielded.
A bankruptcy exemption is the slice of a debtor’s property that creditors cannot touch in the case. When someone files Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 in New Hampshire, the value sitting inside the exemption limits is protected; equity above those limits is non-exempt and can be liquidated for creditors or has to be paid for in a repayment plan. For a creditor weighing whether to file a claim, object, or simply walk away, the exemption schedule is the whole game: it is the difference between a recoverable judgment and an empty one.
New Hampshire stands out from most states in one structural way. Under the federal Bankruptcy Code, states are allowed to “opt out” and force their residents to use only the state exemption set. New Hampshire has not opted out. That means a New Hampshire debtor gets to pick: either the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d) or the New Hampshire state exemptions in N.H. Rev. Stat. 511:2 and 480:1. The catch is that the choice is all-or-nothing. A filer cannot cherry-pick the high state homestead and the high federal wildcard; they take one full set or the other. Which set is better depends almost entirely on how much home equity the debtor needs to shield.
Current New Hampshire State Exemption Amounts
Figures from N.H. Rev. Stat. 480:1 and 511:2, current for 2026.
Homestead
$400,000 of homestead value per person as of January 1, 2026 (raised from $120,000), with co-owners able to claim up to $550,000 combined on the same property.
Motor Vehicle
One automobile is exempt up to $10,000 in value. Equity above that figure in a single vehicle, or any second vehicle, falls outside this category and may be reachable.
Wildcard
$1,000 in any property, plus up to $7,000 of any unused amount from certain other listed exemptions, can be applied to property the debtor wants to keep. Stacked to the statutory ceiling, that is $8,000 of wildcard in all.
Household Furniture
Household furniture is exempt up to $3,500, alongside clothing, beds and bedding, one refrigerator and stove, and a sewing machine.
Tools of the Trade
Tools of a debtor’s occupation are exempt up to $5,000, protecting the equipment a self-employed New Hampshire debtor needs to keep earning.
Other Listed Items
Smaller fixed limits apply: books up to $800, jewelry up to $500, provisions and fuel up to $400, and domestic fowls up to $300 in value.
Retirement accounts deserve a separate mention. Tax-qualified plans such as employer pensions and most IRAs are broadly protected under federal bankruptcy law independent of the New Hampshire schedule, so a debtor’s retirement savings are usually off the table for creditors regardless of which exemption set is chosen. Wages and certain support payments also receive protection. None of these figures is a number a creditor can change; they are statutory, and verifying them against the current text of N.H. Rev. Stat. 480:1 and 511:2 is the starting point for any realistic recovery analysis.
Seven Debts That Walk Through the Homestead
The $400,000 figure is not a wall against everything. N.H. Rev. Stat. 480:4 opens by saying the homestead right “does not cancel or erase any debt,” and then lists seven categories it does not stop: the collection of taxes; liens enforcing forfeited bail bonds or domestic support obligations; mechanics’ liens for construction, repair or improvement of the homestead itself; mortgages made a charge on the property according to law; homeowner and condominium association liens under N.H. Rev. Stat. 356-B for unpaid assessments, including collection costs; debts already existing when the homestead was bought; and levies of execution under the same chapter. The same 2025 act that raised the amount also rewrote this list, effective January 1, 2026.
Paragraph II is the one a bankruptcy filer should read twice. Domestic support obligations pierce the homestead and are also non-dischargeable, so a debtor whose arrears are child support or alimony gets neither the discharge nor the shield: the obligation survives the case and can still be enforced against the residence. Most tax debt behaves the same way on both counts. For a creditor sizing a New Hampshire file, the character of the debt therefore matters as much as the equity behind it, because a support or tax claim is measured against the home’s whole value rather than against the slice above $400,000.
New Hampshire State vs. Federal
The debtor picks one full set. Here is how they stack up.
| Category | New Hampshire State Set | Federal Set (522(d)) | Practical Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homestead | $400,000 per person (2026); up to $550,000 joint | About $31,575 (adjusted figure) | State set vastly better for a homeowner with real equity |
| Motor Vehicle | $10,000, one vehicle | About $5,025, one vehicle | State set protects roughly twice the car equity |
| Wildcard | $1,000 plus up to $7,000 of unused exemptions, so $8,000 at most | About $1,675 plus up to $15,800 of an unused homestead allowance, so $17,475 at most | Federal set favors a renter with no home equity |
| Choice rule | All-or-nothing: the debtor takes one complete set, never a mix of both | Drives the entire strategy | |
The pattern is clear. A New Hampshire debtor with substantial home equity almost always elects the state set, because the $400,000 homestead dwarfs the federal homestead. A debtor who rents or has little equity often elects the federal set, and the wildcard is why: the state wildcard tops out at $8,000 once the $1,000 base and the $7,000 of stackable unused allowance are added together, while the federal wildcard reaches $17,475 for a filer with no home equity to protect, and it can be sprinkled across cash, accounts, and personal property. That is better than twice the room, and it is the whole reason a New Hampshire renter usually files federal. For a creditor, knowing which set a debtor is likely to choose, and what equity actually exists behind it, is what separates a worthwhile claim from a wasted filing fee.
The federal figures shown here are inflation-adjusted periodically, so the current published amounts should be confirmed before relying on them. The mechanism is worth knowing, because it also decides where to look them up. Every federal figure is re-set by the Judicial Conference every three years, most recently on April 1, 2025 and next on April 1, 2028, and the amounts are fixed at the date the petition is filed rather than at the date the case ends. One consequence catches people out: the operative text of 11 U.S.C. 522 still prints the unadjusted statutory bases, so the published section reads $15,000 for the homestead and $2,400 for the vehicle. Those are not current law. The adjusted amounts appear only in the adjustment note published with the section, and that note is what governs. New Hampshire’s own figures carry no such mechanism at all: neither N.H. Rev. Stat. 480:1 nor 511:2 contains an indexing clause, so the state amounts sit exactly where the legislature last put them until an act moves them, as one did on January 1, 2026.
Where Creditors Misjudge a Case
The common mistakes that turn a claim into a sunk cost.
Old Homestead Figure
Relying on the pre-2026 $120,000 homestead badly understates what is now shielded after the increase to $400,000. The $550,000 joint figure is a statutory cap, not a doubling of the single-person amount.
Assuming the Wrong Set
Treating a New Hampshire case as state-only or federal-only ignores the debtor’s right to choose, and the choice changes the whole equity picture.
No Address, No Service
A claim or objection means nothing if the debtor cannot be located and properly served. A stale address stalls everything.
Missing Non-Exempt Assets
A second vehicle, a rental property, business equity, or transferred assets may sit outside the exemptions and go unnoticed without research.
Overlooking Transfers
Property moved to relatives or insiders before filing may be recoverable, but only if someone documents the transfer in time.
Equity Guesswork
Estimating home or vehicle equity instead of pulling the actual records overstates recovery and wastes legal spend.
How We Support a Creditor
Public-records research that grounds the exemption math in fact.
Locate the Debtor
We rebuild a current New Hampshire address and place of work from public records and licensed databases so the debtor can be reached and served.
Map the Assets
Real property, vehicles, business interests, and other holdings of record are identified and tied to the debtor.
Flag Non-Exempt Equity
We compare what is on record against the New Hampshire and federal exemption limits so your counsel can see what falls outside the shield.
Deliver a Documented Report
You receive a sourced, dated record your bankruptcy attorney can act on, typically within 24 hours of a complete request.
Who Uses These Figures
We do the records research; your attorney handles the case.
Creditors
Recovery sized before filing
Collections Firms
Debtors located for enforcement
Bankruptcy Attorneys
Asset records for objections
Judgment Holders
Non-exempt equity surfaced
Trustees’ Counsel
Transfers and holdings traced
Landlords with Judgments
Former tenants located
Whoever you are, the question is the same: after the New Hampshire exemptions are applied, is there anything left to collect? We answer it with research, not guesswork. Our work pairs naturally with our guides on how to find hidden assets and what assets can be seized to satisfy a judgment, and with our exemption breakdowns for other jurisdictions such as New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. We are a public-records research firm, not a law firm and not a credit reporting agency, and for a legitimate creditor matter a verified locate and asset report typically comes back within 24 hours.
Two limits on how that work is done, stated plainly. Nobody on this team is a licensed private investigator and no investigative licensure is claimed for any of it; the method is records, filings and lawful data, read and cited. And we never pose as a bankruptcy trustee, a lender, or the debtor when asking a New Hampshire registry of deeds or a county office for a document, because a record obtained that way is worthless to the attorney who has to rely on it. Where a request looks less like a creditor sizing a claim and more like an attempt to reach someone protected by a domestic violence or restraining order, we decline it and say so; a bankruptcy file is not a route to a shielded address.
Our Commitment
We give New Hampshire creditors and their counsel the facts the exemption math depends on: where the debtor is, what is on record, and what falls outside the shield. Lawful, sourced public-records research since 2004 so you can decide whether a claim is worth pursuing before you spend on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a New Hampshire debtor use the federal bankruptcy exemptions?
Yes. New Hampshire has not opted out of the federal scheme, so a debtor may choose either the federal exemptions in Bankruptcy Code section 522(d) or the New Hampshire state exemptions. The choice is all-or-nothing; a filer takes one complete set and cannot mix the two.
How much is the New Hampshire homestead exemption in 2026?
Under N.H. Rev. Stat. 480:1, the homestead exemption is $400,000 per person as of January 1, 2026, raised from $120,000. Co-owners of the same property may claim up to $550,000 combined.
What is the New Hampshire motor vehicle exemption?
N.H. Rev. Stat. 511:2 exempts one automobile up to $10,000 in value. Equity above that amount, or a second vehicle, is not covered by this category and may be reachable by creditors.
Is there a wildcard exemption in New Hampshire?
Yes. The state wildcard is $1,000 in any property, plus up to $7,000 of any unused amount from certain other listed exemptions, so $8,000 is the most it can reach. It lets a debtor apply leftover allowance to property they want to keep. The federal wildcard runs to about $17,475 for a filer with no home equity to protect, which is why a New Hampshire renter usually files federal.
Are retirement accounts protected in a New Hampshire bankruptcy?
Tax-qualified retirement plans such as employer pensions and most IRAs are broadly protected under federal bankruptcy law regardless of which exemption set a New Hampshire debtor chooses, so they are usually beyond a creditor’s reach.
Why does the federal-or-state choice matter to a creditor?
The two sets protect very different amounts. A homeowner usually picks the state set for its large homestead; a renter often picks the federal set for its larger wildcard. Knowing the likely choice tells a creditor how much equity is realistically exposed.
Does People Locator Skip Tracing give legal advice?
No. We are a public-records research firm, not a law firm and not a credit reporting agency. We provide general information and factual research, such as locating a debtor and identifying assets of record. For advice on a specific case, consult a New Hampshire bankruptcy attorney.
How fast can you locate a New Hampshire debtor and report assets?
For a legitimate creditor matter, a verified locate and asset report typically comes back within 24 hours of a complete request. Send whatever you have, such as a name, last known address, date of birth, or employer, and we build from there.
Is the New Hampshire Claim Worth Pursuing?
We locate the debtor and identify non-exempt assets so you can size recovery against the current New Hampshire exemptions before you spend, typically within 24 hours. Contact us to get started.
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