Wage garnishment: how much can be taken, and how to stop it

Wage garnishment happens when your employer is served with a garnishment order and holds back a legally required portion of your pay for your debts.^[10] Bank garnishment works the same way, except the order goes to your bank or credit union, which must hold back money from your account.^[10]

The garnishee is the person or business ordered to hold back the money: your employer for wages, your bank for an account. A writ or order of garnishment is the court document that tells it to do so.^[10][11]

A garnishment order generally allows the creditor to collect the amount of the judgment plus additional interest, fees and costs of collection.^[1]

Generally, no. Most creditors and debt collectors can garnish wages or benefits only after a court issues a judgment saying you owe the debt.^[1] The FTC puts it simply: the collector must first sue you to get a court order.^[2]

Some government debts are different. Federal and state agencies can sometimes garnish pay, benefits or bank accounts without a court order, and states can generally garnish wages or bank accounts to collect child support.^[1]

A collector must not threaten to garnish your wages if they cannot legally be garnished: that is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.^[11] So if a collector threatens garnishment before suing you, or in a state that does not allow it for your kind of debt, write down what was said.

For ordinary debts, federal law limits a weekly wage garnishment to the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which they exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. Where a state law protects more of your pay, the state limit applies.^[3]

Disposable earnings means what is left of your pay after deductions the law requires, such as federal, state and local taxes and Social Security, not after voluntary deductions like health insurance or retirement contributions.^[3]

With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, 30 times the minimum wage is $217.50 a week.^[3] So:

• If your disposable earnings are $217.50 a week or less, nothing can be garnished for an ordinary debt.
• At $250 a week, 25 percent would be $62.50, but only $32.50 is above $217.50, so the most that can be taken is $32.50.
• At $800 a week, the most is 25 percent, or $200.

The federal limit applies to all garnishments for ordinary debts combined, not to each one separately.^[3][12] Your state may set a lower limit, and where it protects more of your pay, the state limit applies.^[3]

The federal 25 percent limit does not apply to every kind of debt. Higher limits apply to court orders for child support or alimony, and the limit does not restrict bankruptcy court orders or debts for federal or state taxes.^[3][12]

For support orders, up to 50 percent of disposable earnings can be garnished if you are supporting another spouse or child, and up to 60 percent if you are not, with an extra 5 percent if the support is more than 12 weeks overdue.^[3][12]

If you default on federal student loans, the Department of Education can order your employer to withhold up to 15 percent of your disposable pay to collect the debt, without taking you to court. This is called administrative wage garnishment.^[8][13]

You get notice first, and you can request a hearing. A hearing request postmarked no later than 30 days from the date the garnishment notice was sent temporarily pauses the garnishment until after the hearing.^[8] You can object on grounds such as financial hardship, or that the debt is wrong or eligible for discharge.^[14][15]

This matters now: in December 2025 the Department announced it would resume garnishing the wages of borrowers in default, with the first notices mailed in January 2026.^[15] Private student loans follow the ordinary rules: the lender must sue and win a judgment first.^[1]

Collection agencies that handle defaulted student loans include ConServe and Alltran Education, formerly Enterprise Recovery Systems; private student loans held by the National Collegiate trusts follow the ordinary rules instead.

Federal law is the floor. Many states protect much more, and your state's rule applies where it protects more of your pay.^[3] Here are some of the strongest protections; our state guides cover all 50 states and DC.

No wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debt

Caps well below 25 percent

Unusual protections

Many federal benefits are generally exempt from court-ordered garnishment, except to pay delinquent taxes, child or spousal support, or student loans. These include Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, veterans' benefits, and federal retirement and disability benefits.^[2] The Social Security Act itself bars Social Security benefits from being taken by garnishment or other legal process.^[61]

States set their own rules for state benefits, such as unemployment, workers' compensation and state pensions.^[2] Our state guides list the main protections in each state.

Protected income does not stop a lawsuit, but it can limit what a creditor can collect if it wins, so tell the court and the creditor about it.^[62][63]

A creditor with a judgment can also get a court order to take money from your bank account.^[2] Unlike wage garnishment, this can happen without warning: the bank may freeze the account as soon as it receives the order, and you must then be sent a notice of the garnishment.^[62]

If you receive federal benefits by direct deposit, your bank must look back two months and protect that amount automatically. A collector can take only what is above two months' worth of benefits.^[62][64]

Some states protect a minimum amount in any bank account, even without federal benefits.^[1] SB 1595 also created a bank account exemption, starting at $2,500 and adjusted each year, and raised the vehicle exemption to $10,000^[59][65].

What works depends on the stage you are at.

Before a judgment: respond to the lawsuit

Most garnishments follow a default judgment, entered because the person sued did not respond. Responding to the lawsuit makes the collector prove its case, and you can raise defenses such as the time limit.^[63] Our guide to debt lawsuits explains how.

File a claim of exemption

If some or all of your income or money is protected, tell the court, the bank or employer, and the creditor in writing straight away. A judge decides whether money should be turned over, based on factors such as the source of the money and federal or state exemptions.^[62] Deadlines can be short: in Nevada, to protect exempt money, you must file a claim of exemption with the court within 10 days of notice of the garnishment^[66][67].

Ask for a hardship reduction

Some states reduce garnishment for hardship or family circumstances. In Oklahoma, debtors with dependents may qualify for a larger hardship exemption from garnishment^[68][69]. In Kansas, if you cannot work for more than two weeks because you or a member of your family is ill, and you show this by affidavit, wage garnishment cannot be used against you until two months after recovery (K.S.A. 60-2310(c))^[46][70].

Challenge the judgment

If you were never properly served, or the judgment is for the wrong person or amount, you may be able to ask the court to reopen the case. Act quickly, because time limits apply.^[63][71]

Negotiate a settlement or payment plan

You can still try to negotiate. Creditors can agree to a compromise or settlement, and some will accept a voluntary payment plan instead of a garnishment. Get any agreement in writing, including what happens to the garnishment.^[63]

Bankruptcy

Filing for bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay, which generally stops garnishments and most other collection actions while the case is pending.^[72] It has serious consequences, so talk to a bankruptcy lawyer or legal aid first.

Federal student loans

Request a hearing within the deadline on the notice, and ask about getting out of default, for example through loan rehabilitation or consolidation.^[8][14]

Federal law prohibits your employer from firing you because your earnings have been garnished for any one debt.^[3][9] The federal protection does not cover garnishments for a second or later debt, but some states protect more.^[3]

In Connecticut, for example, an employer may not discipline, suspend or fire you because of a wage execution unless it has been served with more than seven against you in a calendar year, and each wage execution is automatically paused for 20 days after it is served (Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-361a)^[73][74]. In Colorado, a continuing garnishment lasts six months unless the debt is paid off sooner, and your employer cannot fire you because your earnings are garnished^[75].

It depends on the state. In some states a wage garnishment stays in place until the judgment is paid; in others each order lasts a set time and the creditor has to renew it. In New Jersey, a judgment can be enforced for up to 20 years, and a wage execution stays in place until the judgment is paid or the job ends^[76]. In Virginia, a wage garnishment summons can run for up to 180 days and a bank account garnishment for up to 90 days (Va. Code 8.01-514)^[77].

Your employer is the one served with the garnishment order, so your payroll department can give you a copy. It names the court and the creditor, and the court clerk or the creditor's lawyer can tell you the balance.^[10] Keep records of every deduction.^[2]

In most states, yes, after a court judgment, within the same limits as other debts.^[1] But medical debt has extra protections in some states.

In New York, a judgment in a medical debt lawsuit brought by a licensed hospital or health care professional cannot be collected through an income execution (CPLR 5231(b)(iv))^[21][78][79]. In Virginia, since July 1, 2026, Virginia's Medical Debt Protection Act (Va. Code 59.1-611 to 59.1-613) bars large health care facilities and medical debt buyers from charging interest or late fees until 90 days after the final invoice is due, caps that interest at 3% a year, and bars any medical creditor or collector from lawsuits, garnishment or other extraordinary collection actions until 120 days after that due date, with 30 days' written notice first^{[80][81][82][83]}.

Before a medical bill reaches court, ask the hospital about financial assistance: tax-exempt hospitals must have a policy, and you can often still apply after a bill goes to collections.^[84][85]