Michigan: Homestead Exemption Amounts

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Michigan's homestead exemption starts in the state constitution: Mich. Const. art. X, Sec. 3 guarantees "a homestead in the amount of not less than $3,500" exempt "from forced sale on execution or other process of any court." The Legislature implements that floor in the Revised Judicature Act at MCL 600.6023(1)(g), and has set the statutory figure at exactly $3,500, the constitutional minimum, never using its authority to go higher. Two related sections matter: MCL 600.6023a, which separately protects property spouses hold as tenants by the entirety, and MCL 600.6060, which blocks a judgment creditor from forcing a sale of a mortgaged homeowner's equity of redemption.

Exemption amount

$3,500. That's not a typo, it's the same number written into the 1963 Michigan Constitution, still the operative statutory figure today. A 2012 amendment to MCL 600.6023 (2012 PA 553, effective Jan. 2, 2013) updated other parts of the exemption statute but left this dollar figure untouched. Given how far home values have risen since 1963, this exemption offers little real protection in most Michigan judgment cases today.

Size or acreage limit

Michigan caps the exempt land at 40 acres outside a recorded plat, city, or village, or 1 lot within one, with the dwelling house and appurtenances on it. In practice this rarely matters, since the $3,500 dollar cap is almost always the binding limit regardless of lot size.

Automatic, or do you have to file something?

Automatic. MCL 600.6023(1)(g) applies to "any resident of this state" who owns and occupies the property, with no filing or recording step. Michigan has no optional recorded homestead declaration under this chapter at all, unlike some states, there's no stronger protection available by choosing to record something. (Michigan's "Principal Residence Exemption" is a different, unrelated property-TAX filing that lowers your tax bill; it has no effect on protection from a judgment creditor.)

Who qualifies, and can spouses double it?

Any Michigan resident who owns and occupies the property as a homestead qualifies, and the statute doesn't provide an explicit per-person or per-couple doubling of the $3,500 figure. What matters far more in practice is a separate protection: under MCL 600.6023a, real property that spouses hold jointly as tenants by the entirety is "exempt from execution under a judgment entered against only 1 spouse", the entire property, not capped at $3,500, as long as the judgment isn't against both spouses jointly. For a married couple who own their home together, this entireties protection typically does far more work than the homestead exemption itself.

What it actually protects you from

The homestead is "exempt from levy and sale under an execution" (MCL 600.6023(1)). Separately, MCL 600.6060 blocks a creditor holding a judgment on a mortgage debt from forcing a sale of the mortgaged property's equity of redemption through execution. Neither protection stops a lawfully obtained mortgage from being enforced through its own foreclosure process.

Debts that can still reach your home

A lawfully obtained mortgage on the home isn't blocked by the exemption, and a mortgage isn't valid against a married debtor's homestead without that debtor's spouse's signature, unless it's a purchase-money mortgage or it's gone unchallenged on the public record for 25 years (MCL 600.6023(1)(g)). More broadly, MCL 600.6023(2) says the exemption "does not extend to any lien on the exempt property that is excluded from exemption by law." Delinquent property taxes are the clearest example in practice: Michigan collects those through an entirely separate foreclosure process under the General Property Tax Act, not through this execution exemption.

Protection for sale proceeds

None, under this general scheme, MCL 600.6023 has no provision exempting the cash proceeds of a home sale. That's a real gap compared to states like California, Texas, or Illinois, which give a debtor a window (often six months to a year) to reinvest sale proceeds without losing the exemption. Michigan does have a separate, more generous homestead exemption for people who actually file bankruptcy (MCL 600.5451(1)(m)), which does include a one-year proceeds exemption (MCL 600.5451(3)), but that's a different statute limited to a bankruptcy filing, not available to someone simply facing a state-court judgment.

What trips people up

Michigan's bankruptcy-only homestead exemption is much larger than this page's exemption and gets confused with it constantly. MCL 600.5451(1)(m) protects a debtor who actually files for bankruptcy up to an inflation-adjusted $51,150 (or $76,725 if 65+ or disabled) for cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. That figure has nothing to do with the $3,500 general exemption on this page, which applies to an ordinary state-court money judgment whether or not anyone files bankruptcy. If you see a source citing a Michigan homestead exemption in the tens of thousands of dollars, it's almost certainly describing the bankruptcy-only figure, not the exemption that actually protects you from an everyday judgment creditor.

Separately, a bill that would have raised the general $3,500 figure to $125,000/$200,000 (HB 4900) passed the Michigan Legislature in December 2024 but was withheld from the Governor during a presentment dispute. On July 10, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court declined review, leaving in place an order requiring presentment; the House delivered the bill that day, and Governor Whitmer vetoed it. The proposed increase is therefore dead, and $3,500 remains the current general exemption amount.

Common questions

Do I need to file anything to protect my home under Michigan's homestead exemption? No. It applies automatically to any resident who owns and occupies the property. There's no recorded declaration available or required under this chapter.

I heard Michigan's homestead exemption is over $100,000, is that true? No, not under the general judgment exemption. If you actually file bankruptcy, Michigan's separate bankruptcy-only exemption currently protects $51,150 (more if you're 65+ or disabled). A bill that would have raised the general, non-bankruptcy exemption to $125,000 was vetoed on July 10, 2026, so it never became law.

My spouse and I own our home together, are we better protected than the $3,500 figure suggests? Often, yes. If you hold the property as tenants by the entirety (the default for married co-owners in Michigan), the entire property is exempt from a judgment against only one spouse, regardless of the $3,500 homestead cap. That protection disappears, though, against a joint debt owed by both spouses together.

Statutes and sources

• Mich. Const. art. X, Sec. 3, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-Article-X-3 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• MCL 600.6023(1)(g), https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-6023 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• MCL 600.6023(2), https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-6023 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• MCL 600.6023a, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-6023a (accessed 2026-07-09)
• MCL 600.6060, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-6060 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• MCL 600.5451(1)(m), (3) (bankruptcy-only exemption, referenced for contrast), https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-5451 (accessed 2026-07-12)
• Michigan Treasury 2026 bankruptcy-exemption inflation adjustments, https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/-/media/Project/Websites/treasury/ORTA/Economic-Reports-Notices/FY-2026/Bankruptcy-Notice_-March-2026-Signed.pdf (accessed 2026-07-12)
• HB 4900 (2023-2024 Regular Session) enrolled text, https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/billenrolled/House/pdf/2023-HNB-4900.pdf (accessed 2026-07-09)
• Michigan Senate v. Michigan House of Representatives, MSC Case No. 169381, July 10, 2026 order, https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/case-documents/uploads/sct/public/orders/169381_107_01.pdf (accessed 2026-07-12)
• Governor Whitmer's July 10, 2026 veto letter for HB 4900 and eight companion bills, https://michiganadvance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/HBs-4177-4665-4666-4667-4900-4901-5817-5818-6058-Veto-Letter-FINAL.pdf (accessed 2026-07-12)