Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (2026)

Property exempt from seizure under execution or attachment

✓ current as of July 2026

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There shall be exempt from seizure under execution or attachment:

(a) Tangible personal property of the following kinds selected by the debtor, not exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in cumulative value:
- (i) Household goods, wearing apparel, books, animals or crops;
- (ii) Motor vehicles;
- (iii) Implements, professional books or tools of the trade;
- (iv) Cash on hand;
- (v) Professionally prescribed health aids;
- (vi) Any items of tangible personal property worth less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) each.
  Household goods, as used in this paragraph (a), means clothing, furniture, appliances, one (1) radio and one (1) television, one (1) firearm, one (1) lawn mower, linens, china, crockery, kitchenware, and personal effects (including wedding rings) of the debtor and his dependents; however, works of art, electronic entertainment equipment (except one (1) television and one (1) radio), jewelry (other than wedding rings), and items acquired as antiques are not included within the scope of the term "household goods." This paragraph (a) shall not apply to distress warrants issued for collection of taxes due the state or to wages described in Section 85-3-4.

(b)
- (i) The proceeds of insurance on property, real and personal, exempt from execution or attachment, and the proceeds of the sale of such property.
- (ii) Income from disability insurance.

(c) All property in this state, real, personal and mixed, for the satisfaction of a judgment or claim in favor of another state or political subdivision of another state for failure to pay that state's or that political subdivision's income tax on benefits received from a pension or other retirement plan. As used in this paragraph (c), "pension or other retirement plan" includes:
- (i) An annuity, pension, or profit-sharing or stock bonus or similar plan established to provide retirement benefits for an officer or employee of a public or private employer or for a self-employed individual;
- (ii) An annuity, pension, or military retirement pay plan or other retirement plan administered by the United States; and
- (iii) An individual retirement account.

(d) One (1) mobile home, trailer, manufactured housing, or similar type dwelling owned and occupied as the primary residence by the debtor, not exceeding a value of Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00); in determining this value, existing encumbrances on the dwelling, including taxes and all other liens, shall first be deducted from the actual value of the dwelling. A debtor is not entitled to the exemption of a mobile home as personal property who claims a homestead exemption under Section 85-3-21, and the exemption shall not apply to collection of delinquent taxes under Sections 27-41-101 through 27-41-109.

(e) Assets held in, or monies payable to the participant or beneficiary from, whether vested or not, (i) a pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus or similar plan or contract established to provide retirement benefits for the participant or beneficiary and qualified under Section 401(a), 403(a), or 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (or corresponding provisions of any successor law), including a retirement plan for self-employed individuals qualified under one (1) of such enumerated sections, (ii) an eligible deferred compensation plan described in Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (or corresponding provisions of any successor law), (iii) an individual retirement account or an individual retirement annuity within the meaning of Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code (or corresponding provisions of any successor law), including a simplified employee pension plan, or (iv) a Roth individual retirement account within the meaning of Section 408A of the Internal Revenue Code (or corresponding provisions of any successor law).

(f) Monies paid into or, to the extent payments out are applied to tuition or other qualified higher education expenses at eligible educational institutions, as defined in Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code or corresponding provisions of any successor law, monies paid out of the assets of and the income from any validly existing qualified tuition program authorized under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code or corresponding provisions of any successor law, including, but not limited to, the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (MPACT) Program established under Sections 37-155-1 through 37-155-27 and the Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program established under Sections 37-155-101 through 37-155-125.

(g) The assets of a health savings account, including any interest accrued thereon, established pursuant to a health savings account program as provided in the Health Savings Accounts Act (Sections 83-62-1 through 83-62-9).

(h) In addition to all other exemptions listed in this section, there shall be an additional exemption of property having a value of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) of whatever type, whether real, personal or mixed, tangible or intangible, including deposits of money, available to any Mississippi resident who is seventy (70) years of age or older.

(i) An amount not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) of earned income tax credit proceeds.

(j) An amount not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) of federal tax refund proceeds.

(k) An amount not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) of state tax refund proceeds.

(l) Subject to the provisions of Section 27-7-1003(2), the assets of a catastrophe savings account, including any interest accrued thereon, established under Sections 27-7-1001 through 27-7-1007.

(m) Nothing in this section shall in any way affect the rights or remedies of the holder or owner of a statutory lien or voluntary security interest.

Codes, Hutchinson's 1848, ch. 62, art. 1 (23); 1857, ch. 61, art. 280; 1871, § 2131; 1880, § 1244; 1892, § 1963; 1906, § 2139; Hemingway's 1917, § 1812; 1930, § 1755; 1942, § 307; Laws, 1932, ch. 138; Laws, 1948, ch. 232, § 1; Laws, 1962, 1st Ex Sess. ch. 7; Laws, 1966, ch. 318, § 1; Laws, 1980, ch. 540, § 1; Laws, 1981, ch. 469, § 3; Laws, 1987, ch. 473; Laws, 1991, ch. 479, § 7; Laws, 1995, ch. 565, § 1; Laws, 2002, ch. 594, § 1; Laws, 2006, ch. 595, § 1; Laws, 2008, ch. 557, § 1, eff. 7/1/2008.

Amended by Laws, 2020, ch. 326, HB 1071,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2020.

Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 457, HB 1134, 6, eff. 1/1/2015.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 53 cases (12 in the last 5 years), 1980–2026 · leading case: Deposit Guar. Nat'l Bank v. McLeod (In Re McLeod), 102 B.R. 60 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 1989).

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Deposit Guar. Nat'l Bank v. McLeod (In Re McLeod), 102 B.R. 60 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 1989). · cites it 8× “During November of 1988, the debtor filed motions for partial summary judgment in which he claimed that as a matter of law he was entitled to certain exemptions provided by Section 85-3-1 of the Mississippi Code. The debtor claimed as exempt in his bankruptcy schedules, as…”

Cartwright v. Deposit Guar. Nat. Bank, 675 So. 2d 847 (Miss. 1996). · cites it 12× “Cartwright, a judgment debtor of Deposit Guaranty, attempted to claim the account and the funds it represented as exempt property pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (1972). The county court found that the account was not exempt, since it was not "tangible personal property"…”

Hemsley v. Hemsley, 639 So. 2d 909 (Miss. 1994). · cites it 2× “Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (1991). Assets that the legislature has seen fit to protect from creditors this Court now finds subject to division between divorcing spouses.”

Barkley v. Tower Loan of Mississippi, Inc. (In Re Kennedy), 139 B.R. 389 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 1992). · cites it 11× “Section 85-3-1, MCA, provides as follows: There shall be exempt from seizure under execution or attachment: (a) Tangible personal property of any kind, not exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.”

Parker v. Parker, 641 So. 2d 1133 (Miss. 1994). · cites it 2× “Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (1991). Ironically, what the legislature has seen fit to protect from creditors, this Court now decrees subject to division between divorcing spouses.”

Brame v. Brame, 796 So. 2d 970 (Miss. 2001). · cites it 2× “Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (2000). Sherrye's interest in the trust consists of a one-third remainder interest in the $600,000 corpus.”

Bonds v. Bonds, 409 So. 2d 704 (Miss. 1982). · cites it 4× “818 (1927), even this liberal interpretation must yield when the subject of the garnishment is for child support and alimony which have been specifically excluded from the general exemption statute, the only statute that could apply in this case, which is Section 85-3-1 and…”

Maranatha Faith Ctr., Inc. v. Colonial Trust Co., 904 So. 2d 1004 (Miss. 2004). · cites it 2× “Relying on Miss.Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (Supp.2004), Maranatha claims that the writ should have been quashed.”

Roup v. Com. Rsch., LLC, 2015 CO 38 (Colo. 2015). “98 (2014); Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (g) (2014); Neb.”

One Source Forms & Labels, Inc. v. Callahan (In re Davidson), 596 B.R. 841 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2019). · cites it 2× “00 from his wildcard exemption provided under Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1 (h). Undoubtedly, this is a disappointing result considering the enormity of what he has lost due to Callahan's actions.”

In Re Cobbins, 234 B.R. 882 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 1999). · cites it 6× “Miss.Code Ann. § 85-3-1. Thus, as a result of the 1995 amendment limiting the range of personal property that may be exempted from seizure, a debtor is also prohibited from claiming a mobile home as exempt personal property.”

Denise E. Mooney v. Joy R. Webster, 812 F.3d 1276 (11th Cir. 2016). “22(2); Miss.Code Ann. § 85-3-1(g); Or.Rev.Stat. § 18.”

Show all 53 citing cases →

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(1) — 2 cases

Barkley v. Tower Loan of Mississippi, Inc. (In Re Kennedy), 139 B.R. 389 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 1992). “Section 85-3-1, MCA, provides as follows: There shall be exempt from seizure under execution or attachment: (a) Tangible personal property of any kind, not exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.”

ITT Fin. Servs. v. Fox (In re Fox), 902 F.2d 411 (5th Cir. 1990).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(1)(a) — 1 case

Haynes v. First United Bank of Mississippi (In re Haynes), 95 B.R. 44 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 1988).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(1)(d) — 1 case

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(2) — 1 case

ITT Fin. Servs. v. Fox (In re Fox), 902 F.2d 411 (5th Cir. 1990).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(a) — 5 cases

Lawrence v. Greenline Equip., Inc., 676 So. 2d 291 (Miss. 1996).

In the Matter of the Est. of Julisa Matute, Deceased: Univ. of South Alabama, by & through its Div., USA Health Univ. Hosp. v. Julita Perez (Miss. 2020).

Dennis Wester & Brenda Wester (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2020).

Nicole A. Cole (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2025).

Lee R. Lawrence v. Greenline Eqmpt (Miss. 1992).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(a)(iii) — 1 case

Nicole A. Cole (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2025).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(a)(iv) — 1 case

Glenn Folse v. Paula N Stennett-Yancey (Miss. 1997).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(a)(vi) — 1 case

John E. Farris & Jaime L. Farris (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 2022).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(d) — 1 case

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(e)(i) — 1 case

Gladwell v. Reinhart, 267 P.3d 895 (Utah 2011).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(g) — 1 case

Denise E. Mooney v. Joy R. Webster, 812 F.3d 1276 (11th Cir. 2016). “22(2); Miss.Code Ann. § 85-3-1(g); Or.Rev.Stat. § 18.”

— Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-1(h) — 1 case

Mills v. Billings (S.D. Miss. 2021).

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