In Tennessee, the single most useful protection most consumers have is the state's $10,000 general personal-property exemption under Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-103: you may protect up to $10,000 worth of almost any personal property — including the equity in your car, cash in a bank account, furniture, or electronics — from a judgment creditor's levy. Tennessee is unusual in that it does not have a separate motor-vehicle exemption; instead, you shield your vehicle's equity by applying this general $10,000 allowance. Knowing how to claim it, and the other Tennessee exemptions below, is what stands between a court judgment and your bank account.
An exemption does not erase a debt or stop a creditor from suing you. What it does is identify specific property and income that, even after a creditor wins a money judgment, cannot legally be taken to satisfy it. In Tennessee, exemptions are governed mainly by Title 26, Chapter 2 of the Tennessee Code, supplemented by federal protections for wages and public benefits.
Tennessee's homestead exemption: $35,000, not $5,000
If you have read that Tennessee's homestead exemption is only $5,000, that information is out of date — and believing it could cost you your house. Tennessee overhauled the homestead exemption in 2021 Public Chapter 301 (SB 566/HB 676), effective January 1, 2022. The current exemption in your primary residence (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-301(a)) is:
$35,000 for an individual.
$52,500 combined for individuals who jointly own and use the property as their principal place of residence.
Public Chapter 301 did two things: Section 1 replaced "$5,000" with "$35,000" and "$7,500" with "$52,500" in § 26-2-301(a), and Section 2 deleted subsections (e) and (f) entirely. Those deleted subsections held the old age- and child-based tiers, which the General Assembly's own fiscal note lists: $12,500 for an unmarried owner 62 or older, $20,000 and $25,000 for married couples with one or both spouses 62 or older, and $25,000 for an owner with a minor child in custody. Those enhanced tiers no longer exist. That is not a loss — the flat $35,000 (or $52,500) is larger than every tier it replaced, and it applies regardless of your age or whether you have children. Do not claim a repealed amount, and do not let an outdated guide convince you that only $5,000 of your equity is safe.
The same act also raised two related figures from $5,000 to $35,000: the exemption for insurance proceeds when a homestead is destroyed by fire (§ 26-2-304) and the figure used when a tract that cannot be divided is sold (§ 26-2-309).
Married couples who own a home as tenants by the entirety often receive added protection against a judgment that runs against only one spouse, because Tennessee recognizes this form of joint ownership — the Court of Appeals applied that principle in Boren v. Hill Boren, P.C. (No. W2021-01024-COA-R3-CV). The homestead exemption does not protect you from a mortgage lender foreclosing, from a property-tax lien, or from a contractor's mechanic's lien on the home itself — those are debts secured by the property.
Wage garnishment limits
For most consumer debts, the maximum a creditor can garnish from your paycheck is the lesser of: 25% of your disposable earnings for that week, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106 and § 26-2-107). The calculation is printed on the state's own Execution/Garnishment form. This mirrors the federal cap under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and because Tennessee has no separate state minimum wage, the calculation uses the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as of 2026 — meaning the first roughly $217.50 of weekly disposable earnings is fully protected. Confirm the current federal figure before relying on a specific dollar amount, as the federal minimum wage can change.
Tennessee adds a protection many states lack: an extra $2.50 per week for each dependent child under age 16 who resides in Tennessee, subtracted from whatever the creditor could otherwise take. You must claim it by filing the proper paperwork with the court — the employer will not apply it on its own. Garnishment for child support, alimony, and taxes follows different, higher limits (up to 50–65% for support, and no protection at all for federal or state taxes under 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)).
Retirement accounts and pensions
Tennessee broadly protects retirement savings under Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-105 — not § 26-2-104, which is the clothing-and-family-Bible section discussed below. Section 26-2-105(b) exempts funds in plans qualified under Internal Revenue Code §§ 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, and 408A — which covers 401(k) and 403(b) plans, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and rollover IRAs — from creditors' claims. In Boren v. Hill Boren, P.C., the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed a trial court and held that the annuities and other funds in a debtor's qualified rollover IRA "are protected by Tennessee Code Annotated section 26-2-105 and are not subject to execution by creditors," even though the debtor was over 59½ and already taking withdrawals.
Two limits matter. First, the § 26-2-105 exemption runs against creditors other than the State of Tennessee, and it does not defeat an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order. Second, a plan that is not IRC-qualified falls under § 26-2-111(1)(D) instead, where payments are exempt only to the same extent that earnings are exempt — a much narrower protection. Federal law also protects ERISA plans independently, and state, county, and municipal pensions for Tennessee public employees and teachers carry their own statutory protections.
Public benefits: Social Security, unemployment, and more
Several income sources are protected by both Tennessee and federal law. Tennessee's "miscellaneous exemptions" statute, § 26-2-111(1), covers most of them, and they are listed as protected on the Tennessee Supreme Court's official Protected Income and Assets form:
Social Security and SSI — protected under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 407). Banks are required to automatically shield up to two months of directly deposited federal benefits from a garnishment order, even before you file a claim.
Unemployment compensation — exempt as a "disability, illness, or unemployment benefit" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-111(1)(C), and listed as exempt money on the state's Notice to Judgment Debtor.
Workers' compensation benefits.
Veterans' benefits (§ 26-2-111(1)(B)) and public assistance such as Families First, Tennessee's TANF program (§ 26-2-111(1)(A)).
Alimony and child support you receive, and state, federal, or city pensions.
These benefits do not count against your $10,000 personal-property exemption. The Supreme Court's form says so on its face: a bank account made up solely of Social Security, SSI, unemployment, workers' comp, Families First, veterans' benefits, alimony or child support, or a government pension is exempt in addition to the $10,000. Even so, money can become tangled once it lands in an account mixed with other funds. Keeping benefit deposits in a separate account makes it far easier to prove the funds are protected if a levy hits.
Injury, wrongful-death, and crime-victim recoveries are capped
These recoveries are exempt, but only up to specific dollar limits, and they are found in § 26-2-111(2) — not § 26-2-110, which is a separate insurance-proceeds exemption. Per the state's own TACIR report on Tennessee's exemptions (at 19 & n.37):
$5,000 for crime victims' reparation.
$7,500 for personal-injury recoveries.
$10,000 for wrongful-death recoveries.
$15,000 maximum for any combination of the three.
This matters: if you settle an injury claim for $60,000, only $7,500 of it is protected by this exemption once it is in your hands. The rest is reachable by a judgment creditor unless some other exemption applies. Plan for that before the money lands in your bank account.
Vehicles, household goods, and tools of trade
As noted, Tennessee has no standalone car exemption — you protect vehicle equity through the $10,000 general personal-property exemption under § 26-2-103. Beyond that:
Always-exempt items (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-104): necessary and proper wearing apparel (clothing) for yourself and your family, the family Bible, school books, family pictures and portraits, and a personal storage trunk. The Supreme Court's form confirms you do not even have to list these — they are automatically protected and do not eat into your $10,000.
Tools of the trade (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-111): tools, books, and implements necessary for your trade or profession, up to $1,900 — a separate cap that does not come out of the $10,000.
Household furnishings and most other belongings are protected by stacking them under the $10,000 general exemption.
How to claim a Tennessee exemption — the 20-day rule
Exemptions are not applied automatically — you must assert them. Tennessee does not leave the deadline vague. The Notice to Judgment Debtor that must accompany an execution or garnishment (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-404(a)) states it plainly:
"If you file a motion within twenty (20) days from the date this notice was mailed to you or was given to you, the court must hear and decide your motion promptly, and in no event later than fourteen (14) days from filing."
So: 20 days from the date the notice was mailed or handed to you to file, and if you make that window the court must hear and decide your claim within 14 days. The same 20-day window applies under § 26-2-216(b)(2) if your employer is withholding too much from your wages. Filing after 20 days is not expressly forbidden by the notice, and you should still file — but you lose the guaranteed prompt hearing, and once seized funds have been paid over to the creditor they are far harder to get back. Treat 20 days as the real deadline. Steps to take:
Read the garnishment or levy notice and count 20 days from the date it was mailed or delivered to you.
Use the free, Tennessee Supreme Court-approved form — Protected Income and Assets (Affidavit of Claim Exemptions) (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 26-2-102 and 26-2-114). The court clerk also has it. It prints the $10,000 and $1,900 caps on its face.
File the sworn form with the court clerk, list the specific property or income you are protecting, mail a copy to the creditor or its lawyer, and keep a copy. If you cannot afford the filing fee, ask the clerk for a Request to Postpone Filing Fees (Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency).
Bring proof — bank statements showing Social Security or unemployment deposits, pay stubs, or a vehicle valuation — to the hearing.
If you are also weighing bankruptcy, note that Tennessee has opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions (§ 26-2-112), so these state figures are the ones that apply.
Where to verify and get help
The dollar figures and rules above come from Title 26 of the Tennessee Code, the enacted 2021 Public Chapter 301, and the official court forms linked throughout — but statutes are periodically amended, as the 2022 homestead change shows. Confirm current amounts against the Tennessee Code or with a Tennessee attorney before acting; this article is general information, not legal advice. For consumer-protection questions and to file a complaint about an abusive collector, contact the Tennessee Attorney General's Division of Consumer Affairs, which operates within the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter. At the federal level, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) limits how third-party collectors may contact you, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs how a judgment or debt may appear on your credit report. Low-income Tennesseans may also qualify for free help through Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, West Tennessee Legal Services, or Memphis Area Legal Services.
Official Tennessee Sources
This page is based on Tennessee law. Limits and deadlines change — verify the current details directly with the official Tennessee sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.
Federal law also applies. Federal laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act protect you nationwide, on top of Tennessee’s own rules.
Frequently asked questions
Does Tennessee have a separate exemption for my car?
No. Tennessee has no standalone motor-vehicle exemption. You protect equity in your vehicle by applying the general $10,000 personal-property exemption under Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-103, which can also cover bank funds, furniture, and other belongings. The Tennessee Supreme Court's ‘Protected Income and Assets’ form lists ‘Car, truck, or other vehicle’ as line 1 of that $10,000.
How much of my wages can a creditor garnish in Tennessee?
For most debts, the limit is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount exceeding 30 times the federal minimum wage, matching the federal cap. Tennessee then subtracts an extra $2.50 per week for each dependent child under 16 who lives in Tennessee — but you must claim it with the court, because your employer will not apply it automatically. Child support, alimony, and tax garnishments follow higher limits.
Can a creditor take my Social Security in Tennessee?
No. Social Security and SSI are protected under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 407), and banks must automatically shield up to two months of directly deposited federal benefits. Unemployment, workers' comp, veterans' benefits, Families First, and government pensions are protected too, and none of them count against your $10,000 personal-property exemption. Keeping benefits in a separate account makes proving the exemption easier if a levy occurs.
How do I claim an exemption after my bank account is levied?
File a motion with the court clerk within 20 days of the date the notice was mailed or given to you — the statutory Notice to Judgment Debtor (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-404(a)) says that if you file within 20 days, the court must hear and decide your claim within 14 days of filing. Use the free Tennessee Supreme Court-approved form, ‘Protected Income and Assets (Affidavit of Claim Exemptions),’ available from the clerk or at tncourts.gov. Filing late is better than not filing, but you lose the guaranteed prompt hearing and seized money may already have been paid to the creditor, so act inside the 20 days.
Is Tennessee's homestead exemption really only $5,000?
No — that figure is obsolete, and any source still repeating it is out of date. Since January 1, 2022, when 2021 Public Chapter 301 took effect, Tennessee's homestead exemption is $35,000 for an individual and $52,500 combined for people who jointly own and live in the home. The same act deleted subsections (e) and (f) of § 26-2-301, repealing the old $12,500–$25,000 tiers for owners age 62 or older and the $25,000 tier for owners with a minor child. There is now one flat amount, and it is bigger than any tier it replaced. If you have around $30,000 of equity, do not assume a judgment creditor can force a sale — that equity is very likely fully exempt.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most current law or the law in your jurisdiction. Laws vary by state and change over time. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.
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