Homestead Exemption Amounts in Maine

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The court order supplies the current dollar figures

The figures printed in 14 M.R.S. § 4422(1) are statutory bases, not the current operative amounts. The section requires periodic inflation adjustments, and Maine Supreme Judicial Court Administrative Order JB-24-02 sets the present Residence amounts at $94,300, $188,550, and $282,800. The order took effect October 24, 2024 and says it applies the required three-year adjustment immediately.

The ordinary $94,300 tier applies subject to paragraph B. The $188,550 tier applies when the debtor or a dependent is at least 60 or meets the stated disability test; paragraph A also uses the higher tier when minor dependents have their principal residence with the debtor.

Joint ownership uses fractional-share formulas

Section 4422(1)(A) limits a joint owner's exemption to the lesser of the ordinary individual amount or the owner's fractional share multiplied by the adjusted $188,550 amount. Paragraph B uses the lesser of the higher individual amount or the fractional share multiplied by the adjusted $282,800 amount. These formulas do not give each co-owner an unrestricted full exemption.

Paragraph B also preserves the maximum after one joint owner dies in two stated age combinations involving a deceased owner age 67 or older and a surviving owner age 60 or older.

The proceeds window is for residential reinvestment

Under § 4422(1)(C), the exempt portion of sale proceeds, and specified money returned under the cited tax-sale provision, remains exempt for 12 months from receipt for purposes of reinvesting in a residence within that period. Paragraph E separately freezes the claim at the exemption amount in effect when the creditor's lien was recorded.

Section 4422's opening clause excludes fraudulently conveyed property, and paragraph D excludes judgments based on torts involving more than ordinary negligence. Section 4426 confirms that Maine uses its state exemption scheme in bankruptcy rather than the federal exemption list, subject to its stated exception.

What trips people up

Reading only the statutory $80,000 and $160,000 bases understates current law. The adjustment clause and JB-24-02 must be read together. A second trap is the lien-date rule: a later inflation adjustment does not enlarge the amount available against a lien already recorded under § 4422(1)(E).

Common questions

Does Maine require a recorded homestead declaration?

Section 4422 makes qualifying property exempt from attachment and execution and states no advance declaration or recording condition.

Is there an acreage limit?

No acreage limit appears in § 4422(1)(A); the protection is controlled by the applicable dollar and fractional-share limits.

How long are sale proceeds protected?

Twelve months from receipt, for purposes of reinvesting in a residence within that period.

Statutes and sources

• 14 M.R.S. § 4422 — residence property, base amounts, joint-owner rules, proceeds, exclusions, lien-date rule, and indexing. Maine Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Me. Sup. Jud. Ct. Admin. Order JB-24-02 — current inflation-adjusted amounts. Maine Judicial Branch (accessed 2026-08-10).
• 14 M.R.S. § 4426 — bankruptcy exemption election. Maine Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).