If a garnishment notice landed on your desk — or you've heard one is coming — the first thing you want to know is the scariest one: how much of my paycheck can they actually take? The honest answer is that for ordinary consumer debt, federal law puts a hard ceiling on it, and your state may shield even more. You almost never lose your whole check. Here is exactly how the math works, and where to find your own state's number.
The federal cap: the "lesser of" rule
For ordinary consumer debts — credit cards, medical bills, most personal loans, payday loans, and old collection accounts — the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1673, sets the maximum a creditor can garnish from any single pay period. They get the lesser of these two figures:
- 25% of your disposable earnings for that week, or
- the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009, so 30 times it is $217.50 per week. That figure is a protected floor: for ordinary debt, no garnishment can dip below it. Whichever of the two numbers is smaller is the legal maximum — never the larger one. This is the rule that explains how wage garnishment works once an order reaches your employer.
What "disposable earnings" actually means
The cap is based on your disposable earnings, not your gross pay and not your take-home pay. Disposable earnings are your gross wages minus the deductions the law requires — federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and any mandatory retirement contributions. That's it.
Here's the part people get wrong: voluntary deductions do not come out first. Your health insurance premium, your 401(k) contribution, union dues you choose, charitable giving — none of those reduce the figure the 25% is calculated against. Only legally mandated withholdings count. So your "disposable earnings" are usually a good deal higher than the dollar amount that actually hits your bank account.
How the lesser-of test plays out
Think of it as two gates the creditor has to pass through, and they only get whatever falls inside both.
Lower-income week. If your weekly disposable earnings are at or below $217.50, the second part of the test produces zero — there's no margin above the floor — so nothing can be garnished for ordinary debt, even though 25% would otherwise be some dollar amount. The floor wins.
Higher-income week. As your disposable earnings climb well above $217.50, the 25% figure becomes the smaller of the two and takes over as the cap. At that point a creditor can reach up to a quarter of your disposable earnings — and not a penny more. Between those two zones, the protected $217.50 is always carved out first. Because state law often raises the floor or lowers the percentage, exact dollar figures vary; rather than guess, run your numbers through the wage garnishment calculator for your state.
Different debts, different caps
The 25% / $217.50 rule is for ordinary debt. A few categories follow their own, harsher rules and don't even need a court judgment:
- Child support and alimony. Through an income-withholding order, the CCPA allows up to 50% of disposable earnings if you support another spouse or child, and up to 60% if you don't — with an extra 5% if you're more than 12 weeks behind. These run far above the consumer-debt cap.
- Federal student loans. The Department of Education can use Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) to take up to 15% of your disposable pay without suing you first. You have the right to request a hearing within 30 days of the notice. Resolve these through studentaid.gov, never a settlement company.
- IRS back taxes. A federal tax levy doesn't use the 25% rule at all. The IRS follows its own exempt-amount tables (based on your filing status and dependents) that leave you a set amount and can take the rest. It issues statutory notices but does not need a lawsuit.
What if more than one creditor is garnishing me?
You don't multiply the cap by the number of creditors. For ordinary consumer debt, the 25% ceiling is an aggregate — it covers everything withheld for that type of debt combined. If one credit-card judgment is already taking the maximum, a second ordinary creditor generally has to wait in line until the first is paid off; they can't both garnish 25% at once. Priority debts like child support are calculated first and can sit on top of that, which is why total withholding for support can be so much higher.
State floors — and states that ban it outright
States can protect more than federal law, but never less. Many raise the weekly protected floor above $217.50 or cap garnishment below 25%. And a handful bar wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debt almost entirely:
- Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and New Hampshire do not allow wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debt.
- Even in those states, wages can still be reached for child support, taxes, and federal student loans — the federal exceptions override the state ban.
Other exempt income — Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, and most disability — is generally protected from garnishment for ordinary debt no matter where you live; see can Social Security be garnished? Because the protections turn on your specific state and your weekly disposable figure, the wage garnishment calculator is the fastest way to get a realistic estimate for your situation.
If the amount still feels impossible
Even a capped garnishment can wreck a tight budget. You have moves: you can file a claim of exemption (a free court form) to assert the protected floor or exempt income; you may be able to negotiate a payment plan with the creditor's attorney; and filing bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay (11 U.S.C. § 362) that stops most garnishments the moment you file. Start with how to stop a wage garnishment, and talk to free help before you pay anyone: a nonprofit NFCC credit counselor (nfcc.org), the CFPB (consumerfinance.gov), your court's self-help center, or local legal aid. And remember: you cannot be arrested for ordinary consumer debt.
This page is general information, not financial or legal advice. Your state's collection and exemption laws vary — consider talking to a nonprofit credit counselor before you act.