Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: The statute prints a base of $80,000, and $160,000 if minor dependents reside with the debtor or if the debtor or a dependent is 60 or older or disabled, but those printed figures are CPI-adjusted every 3 years, rounded up to the next $50. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s Administrative Order JB-24-02 (effective October 24, 2024) sets the adjusted amounts at $94,300 and $188,550. If jointly held, the exemption per debtor is the lesser of $94,300 or the debtor’s fractional share of $188,550 (base tier), or, for the 60-or-older or disabled tier, the lesser of $188,550 or the debtor’s fractional share of $282,800.
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This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under Maine Revised Statutes, Title 14, § 4422(1), a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
How it works in Maine
- Filing rule not addressed in the cited source. Confirm with a local attorney or your county recorder before relying on this being automatic.
- Married couples and joint owners: Framed around joint owners rather than spouses specifically: a joint owner’s exemption is capped at the lesser of the base figure ($94,300 as adjusted) or their fractional share of double the statute’s base figure ($188,550 as adjusted); in the 60-or-older or disabled tier, the lesser of $188,550 or their fractional share of $282,800. On a joint owner’s death, the survivor’s maximum exemption is not reduced if the deceased was 67+ and the survivor is 60+, or if the survivor is 67+.
If you sell the home
Sale proceeds stay exempt for 12 months from receipt, for the purpose of reinvesting in a residence within that period.
What it does not protect against
The exemption does not apply to judgments based on torts involving more than ordinary negligence by the debtor; the exempt amount is also frozen to whatever was in effect on the date the judgment lien was recorded against the property.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from Maine Revised Statutes, Title 14, § 4422(1): “the debtor’s aggregate interest, not to exceed $80,000 in value, in real or personal property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor uses as a residence… except that if minor dependents of the debtor have their principal place of residence with the debtor, the debtor’s aggregate interest may not exceed $160,000 and except that if the debtor’s interest is held jointly with any other person or persons, the exemption may not exceed in value the lesser of $80,000 or the product of the debtor’s fractional share times $160,000.” Those dollar amounts are the statute’s printed figures; the Supreme Judicial Court adjusted them to $94,300 and $188,550 in Administrative Order JB-24-02. Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.
Figures verified against Title 14 § 4422 (Maine Revisor of Statutes) and Maine Supreme Judicial Court Administrative Order JB-24-02 on September 30, 2026; whether a later court adjustment has been issued was not confirmed beyond the Judicial Branch administrative-orders index.