Pay problems and rights
How much of my paycheck can be garnished?
A garnishment order arrives at your employer, not at you. Federal law decides how much of the check it can reach.
The short answer
For an ordinary debt, federal law caps garnishment at the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount above $217.50 a week (30 × the $7.25 federal minimum wage). Earn $217.50 or less in disposable earnings for the week and nothing can be taken. Child support, federal student loans and tax debts each run under higher, separate limits, and a more protective state law always wins.
The two-part test
Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act sets one calculation that every ordinary garnishment has to satisfy. Work out both figures and take the smaller.
| Weekly disposable earnings | 25% of it | Amount above $217.50 | Most that can be taken |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200.00 | $50.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| $217.50 | $54.38 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| $300.00 | $75.00 | $82.50 | $75.00 |
| $400.00 | $100.00 | $182.50 | $100.00 |
| $600.00 | $150.00 | $382.50 | $150.00 |
| $1,000.00 | $250.00 | $782.50 | $250.00 |
The $217.50 floor uses the federal minimum wage of $7.25, not your state's. Below about $290.00 a week the floor test binds; above it the 25% test does.
Pay periods other than weekly use the equivalent multiple - 60 times the minimum wage for a biweekly period, 65 for semi-monthly, 130 for monthly - so the protection scales with the length of the period rather than the number of checks.
What counts as disposable earnings
| Deduction | Reduces disposable earnings? |
|---|---|
| Federal, state and local income tax | Yes - legally required |
| Social Security and Medicare | Yes - legally required |
| Mandatory state disability or unemployment contributions | Yes - legally required |
| 401(k), 403(b) and other retirement contributions | No - voluntary, even when pre-tax |
| Health, dental and vision premiums | No - voluntary |
| Union dues, charitable giving, savings transfers | No - voluntary |
This is the detail people get wrong most often. Pre-tax and voluntary are different questions: a 401(k) deduction cuts your taxable wages but not the base a garnishment is calculated on.
Which lines on your stub are which is covered in the pay stub decoder, and the pre-tax versus voluntary distinction in the deductions guide.
The debts with their own limits
| Type of debt | Federal limit | Court order needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary consumer debt - credit card, medical, personal loan | Lesser of 25% or the amount above $217.50/week | Yes |
| Child support or alimony, supporting another spouse or child | 50% of disposable earnings, 55% if over 12 weeks in arrears | No - a withholding order suffices |
| Child support or alimony, not supporting another spouse or child | 60% of disposable earnings, 65% if over 12 weeks in arrears | No |
| Federal student loans in default | 15% of disposable pay, and the weekly floor still applies | No - administrative garnishment |
| Federal tax levy | No percentage; an exempt amount from IRS Publication 1494 is left, the rest can be taken | No |
| State tax debt | Set by the state, and often more aggressive than the consumer-debt cap | Varies |
When several orders arrive at once, they do not simply stack. Support orders take priority, and the total taken still cannot breach the highest applicable ceiling - so a support order at 50% leaves nothing available for a consumer-debt garnishment underneath it.
Your job is protected - once
Title III makes it unlawful for an employer to fire you because your wages were garnished for any one debt, however many individual deductions that one debt produces. The protection stops there: a second garnishment for a separate debt is not covered by federal law, though several states extend the protection further.
If the amount looks wrong
- Recalculate disposable earnings. Start from gross, subtract only taxes and mandatory contributions, and run the two-part test yourself.
- Check the pay-period multiple. A biweekly garnishment using the weekly floor takes roughly twice what it should.
- Ask payroll for the order. You are entitled to know what is being enforced and by whom; the employer is following a document, not making a decision.
- Check your state. Where state law protects more, the employer must apply the state figure. The Department of Labor keeps a directory of state labor offices.
To see the size of the check the garnishment applies to, the paycheck calculator gives net pay after taxes for any state, and the smaller-paycheck guide covers the other reasons a deduction can appear without warning.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much of my paycheck can be garnished for a regular debt?+
The lesser of two figures: 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your disposable earnings exceed $217.50 a week (30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage). Whichever is smaller is the cap. If your disposable earnings for the week are $217.50 or less, nothing can be garnished for an ordinary consumer debt.
What are disposable earnings?+
Pay left after legally required deductions - federal, state and local taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and any mandatory state unemployment or disability contribution. Voluntary deductions do not reduce it: a 401(k) contribution, health premium, union due or savings transfer all come out of money that still counts as disposable earnings for garnishment purposes.
Can child support take more than 25%?+
Yes. Support orders are capped at 50% of disposable earnings if you are supporting another spouse or child, and 60% if you are not. An extra 5 percentage points can be added when payments are more than twelve weeks in arrears, taking the ceiling to 55% or 65%.
Can I be fired for a wage garnishment?+
Not for a first one. Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act makes it unlawful to discharge an employee because their earnings have been subject to garnishment for any one debt. That protection does not extend to a second or subsequent garnishment for separate debts, and some states go further than the federal rule.
Do federal student loans and tax debts follow the same limits?+
No, both have their own rules. The Department of Education can garnish up to 15% of disposable pay administratively, without a court order. The IRS does not use a percentage at all - it leaves you an exempt amount based on your filing status and dependents from Publication 1494 and can levy everything above it.
Does my state protect more of my pay?+
Often. Where a state garnishment law is more protective than the federal one, the state law applies, and several states restrict or effectively prohibit garnishment for ordinary consumer debts. The federal figures on this page are the floor of your protection, not the ceiling.
Sources
- US Department of Labor, fact sheet 30: the federal wage garnishment law (CCPA Title III)
- US Department of Labor, wage garnishment overview
- 29 CFR Part 870, restriction on garnishment
- 34 CFR Part 34, administrative wage garnishment for federal student loans
- IRS Publication 1494, amount exempt from an IRS wage levy
- US Department of Labor, state labor office contacts
General information for planning, not legal advice. State garnishment law is often more protective than the federal floor described here; check your state labor office or a licensed attorney for your own situation.
Read next
Related guides and tools
- How to read a pay stub
Every section of a pay stub explained, plus a decoder for the abbreviations payroll systems use.
- Pre-tax vs. post-tax deductions
Which benefits come out before tax, which come out after, and why a 401(k) still pays Social Security.
- When do I get my final paycheck?
What federal law guarantees when a job ends, the three patterns state deadlines follow, and unused vacation.
- Why is my paycheck less than usual?
Ten reasons a check shrinks between one payday and the next, and how to tell which one hit you.