Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: Indiana’s exemption statute still prints $15,000 for real estate or personal property that is the debtor’s or a dependent’s residence, but a separate section requires the Department of Financial Institutions to readjust that figure for inflation by rule every six years. The DFI’s current rule, effective March 1, 2022, sets the operative exemption at $22,750. For married co-owners holding the home as tenants by the entireties, the exemption is individually available to each spouse against their own interest, so a jointly-owned homestead is protected up to $45,500 combined at the current figure.
The statute’s own printed number is not the current number. Ind. Code Section 34-55-10-2(c)(1) still prints its original $15,000 figure. A separate section, Section 34-55-10-2.5, requires the Department of Financial Institutions to readjust that figure for inflation by rule every six years. The DFI’s current rule, 750 Ind. Admin. Code 1-1-1, sets the amount actually in force at $22,750, effective March 1, 2022.
This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under Ind. Code § 34-55-10-2(c)(1), operative amount set under § 34-55-10-2.5 by rule at 750 Ind. Admin. Code 1-1-1, a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
Indiana homestead exemption at a glance
| Protected amount | Indiana’s exemption statute still prints $15,000 for real estate or personal property that is the debtor’s or a dependent’s residence, but a separate section requires the Department of Financial Institutions to readjust that figure for inflation by rule every six years. The DFI’s current rule, effective March 1, 2022, sets the operative exemption at $22,750. For married co-owners holding the home as tenants by the entireties, the exemption is individually available to each spouse against their own interest, so a jointly-owned homestead is protected up to $45,500 combined at the current figure. |
|---|---|
| Filing/declaration | Not required: No advance recorded declaration is required; the exemption is claimed defensively when a creditor actually executes against the property, by delivering a schedule of the debtor’s property to the officer holding the execution. |
| Married couples / joint owners | The exemption is individually available to each spouse against property they hold as tenants by the entireties, so a married couple who jointly own their home can together protect twice the individual amount ($45,500 combined at the current $22,750 figure). |
How it works in Indiana
- No filing required. No advance recorded declaration is required; the exemption is claimed defensively when a creditor actually executes against the property, by delivering a schedule of the debtor’s property to the officer holding the execution.
- Married couples and joint owners: The exemption is individually available to each spouse against property they hold as tenants by the entireties, so a married couple who jointly own their home can together protect twice the individual amount ($45,500 combined at the current $22,750 figure).
What it does not protect against
The exemption does not apply against a lien the debtor voluntarily granted, such as a mortgage, to the extent of the balance due on the debt secured by that lien.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from Ind. Code § 34-55-10-2(c)(1), operative amount set under § 34-55-10-2.5 by rule at 750 Ind. Admin. Code 1-1-1: “Real estate or personal property constituting the personal or family residence of the debtor or a dependent of the debtor, or estates or rights in that real estate or personal property, of not more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).” Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. A second citation, Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute mirror of Indiana Administrative Code 750 IAC 1-1-1, the DFI rule setting the current $22,750 figure, cross-referenced to IC 34-55-10-2(c)(1), is available here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.