The short answer: every owner who lives in their Massachusetts home already has an automatic homestead exemption of $125,000 under M.G.L. c. 188, § 4. Recording a declaration of homestead at the Registry of Deeds raises that protection to $1,000,000 (§ 1, as increased by the Legislature in August 2024). It costs $35 to record at the Suffolk and Middlesex South registries. A homestead shields the equity in your principal residence from many unsecured creditors. It does not stop your mortgage lender, the tax collector or a support order.
For the other fees at closing, see our guide to Massachusetts closing costs.
Automatic vs. declared homestead
| Automatic (§ 4) | Declared (§ 3) | Elderly or disabled (§ 2) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | $125,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 per qualifying owner |
| Filing needed | None | Recorded declaration | Recorded declaration with the required statement |
| Who it benefits | Owner and family members living there | Each declaring owner and family members living there | Each owner who is 62 or older, or disabled as the statute defines it |
A few details from § 1 matter for couples and co-owners:
- Joint tenants and tenants by the entirety share one exemption. It stays whole and isn’t split between them, but together they can’t exceed $125,000 (automatic) or $1,000,000 (declared).
- Tenants in common and trust beneficiaries divide the exemption. Under the automatic homestead it is split by ownership share. Under a declared homestead, $1,000,000 is divided by the number of co-owners or beneficiaries who live in the home.
- Elderly or disabled declarations under § 2 give each qualifying owner the full declared amount without splitting it among co-owners. When a home carries both § 2 and § 3 declarations, the statute has its own formula, so ask your attorney how it applies to you.
Who can file
You must be an owner and live in the home, or intend to, as your principal residence. Section 1 defines an owner as a natural person who is a sole owner, joint tenant, tenant by the entirety, tenant in common, life estate holder, remainderman, or holder of a present, vested beneficial interest in a trust. A “home” can be a single-family house, a two- to four-family dwelling, a condominium unit used as a residence, a manufactured home, or a residential cooperative unit.
The elderly or disabled declaration under § 2 is open to an owner who is an “elderly person” (62 or older) or a “disabled person,” meaning someone with a medically determinable, permanent impairment that meets the Supplemental Security Income disability standard in 42 U.S.C. 1382c. A disabled owner must record either a Social Security disability award letter (original or certified copy) or a letter from a physician registered with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine certifying that standard.
How to file at the Registry of Deeds
Filing a declaration of homestead
- Get the form. Your closing attorney can prepare it, or ask your county Registry of Deeds for its form. Use the version that matches how you hold title (individual, married couple, trust, or elderly or disabled owner).
- Fill it in. Under § 5, the declaration must name each owner who will benefit and any non-titled spouse, and state that each person named lives or intends to live in the home as their principal residence. If a married couple owns and lives in the home, both spouses sign. If the home is in a trust, only the trustee signs. It must also say whether anyone it covers is a servicemember.
- Sign it under penalty of perjury and have it acknowledged before a notary.
- Record it at the Registry of Deeds for the county or district where the home is, in person or by mail. Boston homes record at the Suffolk Registry. The declaration has to be its own document. Section 5(c) says it can’t be created inside the deed that gives you title, though it can be recorded the same day.
- Pay the fee. Chapter 262, § 38 sets a $30 base fee. Suffolk and Middlesex South each post a $35 total. Norfolk posts $36 for recorded land (including a $1 mailing charge) and $35 for registered land. Other registries set their own posted totals, so check yours. Suffolk takes cash, checks or money orders and asks for a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of your original.
When to re-file, and when you don’t have to
- Refinancing: no. A mortgage doesn’t end a homestead (§ 10(d)), and a lender may not require a release of homestead (§ 9).
- Marrying: no. A § 3 declaration made by a single owner automatically benefits the spouse after the wedding (§ 5(d)).
- Moving your home into a trust for your own benefit: usually not for you. That deed doesn’t end your existing homestead (§ 10(a)(1)). Ask your attorney whether a new declaration signed by the trustee makes sense.
- Buying a new home: yes. Recording a declaration on another property ends the old one for you and for your spouse and minor children who move with you (§ 10(a)(5)).
- Turning 62, or becoming disabled: optional. You may record a § 2 declaration, but can’t hold § 2 and § 3 rights at once.
A homestead also ends when you sell to someone outside the family, record a release, or stop living in the home. After a sale, § 11 protects the proceeds until you buy another home you’ll live in, or for one year, whichever comes first. After a fire or other casualty, insurance proceeds are protected for up to two years.
When an owner with a § 3 or automatic homestead dies or divorces, § 7 continues the homestead for the surviving or former spouse and minor children who live there. A § 2 homestead ends at the owner’s death, although § 2(b) lets a surviving spouse who lives there keep its benefit as if it were a § 3 declaration.
What it does and doesn’t protect against
Within the exemption amount, a homestead protects your home from attachment, seizure, execution on a judgment, levy and sale to pay debts.
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This page is general information, not legal advice. Ask your real estate attorney which form fits how you hold title.