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Arizona Bankruptcy Exemptions · Mesa, AZ
What you can keep in an
Arizona bankruptcy.
The current numbers, in plain English, on the one page I keep updated.
Why this page exists
Most of what you own is protected in an Arizona bankruptcy, and the numbers below are current.
That second part matters more than it should: Arizona’s exemptions jumped in 2022 and now adjust every January, and much of what’s published online is years stale — you’ll still find home figures a third of the real number presented as today’s law. When the numbers change, this page changes.
The current numbers
UPDATED · SEPT 2026
What Arizona Protects
Current amounts · adjusted each January
I keep this table current.
Two things the numbers mean
Equity, not price
The home number is about equity: what the house is worth minus what you owe on it. A $500,000 house with a $300,000 mortgage has $200,000 of equity — well inside the line. Same logic for the car.
Married couples
For personal property the two of you own together — the cars, the furnishings — each spouse can claim a full exemption, so joint filers can double those amounts. The home exemption is the exception: one per household, married or single, and it’s the same number either way.
The rest of ordinary life
Clothing, wedding rings, books, pets, prosthetics, the tools of your trade — Arizona protects the things a normal life runs on, each within its own limit.
None of it is the reason people lose sleep, and almost none of it is ever at risk.
The honest part
Arizona doesn’t have a wildcard exemption: property has to fit a category on this list to be protected, and Arizona filers use Arizona’s list — there’s no choosing the federal one. That’s the fine print behind every number above, and it’s why the sorting matters. The list is generous, it’s specific, and we know exactly which list you’re on before we ever file.
(Wondering about one thing you own? Just ask: (480) 551-0051.)
The next step is just a phone call
What's yours stays yours.
First conversation’s free, and you’ll leave knowing exactly where you stand.