Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Michigan is a split case. Because Michigan opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions, its bankruptcy-specific homestead exemption is what most people mean by ‘the’ Michigan homestead exemption: $51,150 of equity, or $76,725 if the debtor or a dependent is 65 or older or disabled, both current as of April 1, 2026 under the statute’s mandatory 3-year inflation adjustment. For an ordinary state-court money judgment outside bankruptcy, the general homestead-from-execution statute protects only $3,500, unchanged since 1961.
The statute’s own printed number is not the current number. MCL 600.5451 still prints its original $30,000 / $45,000 figures, but the same section requires the state to adjust them for inflation every three years. The Michigan Department of Treasury’s official adjustment, effective April 1, 2026, sets the amounts actually in force today at $51,150 and $76,725.
This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5451(1)(m), inflation-adjusted effective April 1, 2026; general civil-execution homestead at MCL 600.6023(1)(g), a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
Michigan homestead exemption at a glance
| Protected amount | Michigan is a split case. Because Michigan opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions, its bankruptcy-specific homestead exemption is what most people mean by ‘the’ Michigan homestead exemption: $51,150 of equity, or $76,725 if the debtor or a dependent is 65 or older or disabled, both current as of April 1, 2026 under the statute’s mandatory 3-year inflation adjustment. For an ordinary state-court money judgment outside bankruptcy, the general homestead-from-execution statute protects only $3,500, unchanged since 1961. |
|---|---|
| Filing/declaration | Not required: No declaration or filing is required to create the exemption; it applies automatically to property meeting the statutory definition of ‘homestead’ when claimed in a bankruptcy or execution proceeding. |
| Married couples / joint owners | The debtor, any codebtor, and the debtor’s dependents share one combined homestead exemption rather than each getting a separate one; separately, real property held by a married couple as tenants by the entirety is exempt from a debt owed by only one spouse. |
| If you sell the home | If the exempt home is sold, damaged, destroyed, or taken for public use, the resulting proceeds stay exempt for up to one year after the owner receives them, as long as the owner keeps them identifiable as proceeds. |
How it works in Michigan
- No filing required. No declaration or filing is required to create the exemption; it applies automatically to property meeting the statutory definition of ‘homestead’ when claimed in a bankruptcy or execution proceeding.
- Married couples and joint owners: The debtor, any codebtor, and the debtor’s dependents share one combined homestead exemption rather than each getting a separate one; separately, real property held by a married couple as tenants by the entirety is exempt from a debt owed by only one spouse.
If you sell the home
If the exempt home is sold, damaged, destroyed, or taken for public use, the resulting proceeds stay exempt for up to one year after the owner receives them, as long as the owner keeps them identifiable as proceeds.
What it does not protect against
The exemption doesn’t defeat a mortgage, lien, or security interest the debtor consensually gave or that was otherwise lawfully obtained; only a lien obtained involuntarily by judgment, attachment, levy, or similar legal process against the debtor is cut off.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5451(1)(m), inflation-adjusted effective April 1, 2026; general civil-execution homestead at MCL 600.6023(1)(g): “The interest of the debtor, the codebtor, if any, and the debtor’s dependents, not to exceed $30,000.00 in value or, if the debtor or a dependent of the debtor at the time of the filing of the bankruptcy petition is 65 years of age or older or disabled, not to exceed $45,000.00 in value, in a homestead.” Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. A second citation, the general civil-execution homestead statute Michigan’s own citation names, MCL 600.6023, is available here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.