Ohio is an opt-out state: if you file bankruptcy while domiciled in Ohio, you must use Ohio's own exemptions and you are not allowed to choose the federal bankruptcy exemption set found in 11 U.S.C. § 522(d). The controlling statute is Ohio Revised Code (ORC) § 2329.66, and Ohio has expressly exercised its right under § 522(b)(2) to make the federal list unavailable to its residents. This single rule shapes everything else in an Ohio case, because what you keep is defined by the Ohio dollar caps, not the federal ones. The one practical exception sits outside § 2329.66: certain federal nonbankruptcy exemptions (for example, Social Security benefits, most ERISA-qualified retirement plans, and certain veterans' and federal benefits) remain available to Ohio filers in addition to the state list.
Ohio's exemption amounts are not static. ORC § 2329.66(B) directs that the dollar figures be adjusted for inflation every three years on April 1 (2019, 2022, and most recently April 1, 2025). The Ohio Judicial Conference publishes the updated chart after each adjustment. Because of this triennial reset, the exact figure that protects your house or car depends on the date you file. The amounts below reflect Ohio's recently adjusted ranges, but you should confirm the current April 2025 figure for each category before relying on it.
The Ohio Homestead Exemption
The homestead exemption, ORC § 2329.66(A)(1), protects equity in one parcel of real or personal property that you or a dependent use as a residence. As of the 2022 adjustment the cap was $161,375, and the April 1, 2025 inflation adjustment raised it again; verify the post-2025 figure because it is materially higher. The exemption is measured in equity, not the home's total value: subtract your mortgage balance and any liens from market value, and the homestead cap only has to cover what is left.
A key Ohio advantage is that the homestead exemption is per debtor. A married couple who both have an ownership interest and file jointly can each claim the homestead, effectively doubling the protected equity. This is unusually generous compared with the federal homestead, and it is one reason many Ohio homeowners can file Chapter 7 without losing the house. The homestead does not, however, defeat a valid mortgage or a properly perfected lien; it protects equity from unsecured creditors and the bankruptcy trustee, not from the lender you signed with.
Vehicle, Cash, and the Wildcard
The motor-vehicle exemption, ORC § 2329.66(A)(2), protected up to $4,000 of equity in one vehicle as of the 2022 adjustment, with a higher figure after April 2025. As with the home, this is equity: if you still owe on a car loan, you subtract the loan balance, so a financed car with little equity is usually fully protected.
Ohio also gives you a wildcard exemption under ORC § 2329.66(A)(18), which protected roughly $1,475 as of 2022 (again adjusted upward in 2025). The wildcard can be applied to any property of your choosing—a bank account, a tax refund, a second vehicle, or extra equity in something not otherwise covered. It is the tool Ohio filers use to protect cash, which is otherwise hard to exempt. There is a separate small cash/deposit allowance, but most people stack the wildcard onto liquid funds to keep them.
Personal Property and Other Common Exemptions
Beyond the headline categories, ORC § 2329.66 protects a range of household and personal items. Typical 2022-adjusted figures (each raised in 2025) include:
- Household goods and furnishings (A)(4)(b): up to about $675 per item, with an aggregate cap near $14,875 for furniture, appliances, and similar property.
- Jewelry (A)(4)(c): about $1,825.
- Tools of the trade (A)(5): roughly $2,825 in implements, books, and tools used in your work.
- Wearing apparel, beds, and bedding, plus an allowance for cooking and refrigeration equipment.
- Health aids reasonably necessary for the debtor or a dependent (fully exempt).
- The cash value of life insurance and many annuity contracts, and most tax-qualified retirement accounts (401(k), IRA within federal limits, pensions).
- Public benefits such as workers' compensation, unemployment, Social Security, and the earned-income tax credit portion of a refund.
- Support and spousal-support payments reasonably necessary for support.
These items are exempt only up to their stated caps; value above the cap can become part of the bankruptcy estate that a Chapter 7 trustee may sell, with the proceeds above the exemption distributed to creditors.