How Much Can a Debt Collector Garnish From Your Wages?

For most consumer debts, a debt collector with a court judgment can garnish up to 25% of your disposable earnings each pay period. That is the ceiling federal law sets for how much a debt collector can garnish from your wages, and it comes with a floor: the first $217.50 of your weekly disposable earnings is fully protected. Support orders, tax debts, and federal student loans follow different rules, and some states cap garnishment lower than 25% or prohibit it for consumer debt entirely.

The Federal 25% Cap and the $217.50 Floor

The Consumer Credit Protection Act sets the limit for ordinary debts such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. Each pay period, a creditor can take the lesser of two numbers: 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.¹ With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour, the 30-times threshold works out to $217.50 per week.²

The two-part test produces different results at different income levels:

Weekly disposable earnings of $217.50 or less: nothing can be garnished.
Between $217.50 and $290: the creditor takes only the amount above $217.50.
Above $290: the flat 25% cap controls, because 25% of $290 equals $72.50, the same as $290 minus $217.50.

Someone earning $250 in weekly disposable pay loses $32.50, not $62.50. The formula is designed to leave lower-income workers enough to cover basic living costs.

What Counts as Disposable Earnings

Disposable earnings are not your take-home pay. The law defines them as what remains after your employer subtracts only the deductions it is legally required to withhold.³ That means federal, state, and local income taxes, Social Security and Medicare, and any state-mandated disability or unemployment contributions.⁴

Voluntary deductions do not count. Health insurance premiums, 401(k) contributions, union dues, and similar payroll items stay in the calculation. Your disposable earnings will usually be higher than the net amount you’re used to seeing on your paycheck, and the 25% applies to that larger number. The first garnished check often comes as a surprise for this reason.

When the Limit Is Higher

The 25% cap is the rule for ordinary consumer debt. Several other debts follow their own limits, and a debt collector working for one of these creditors can reach much more of your pay.

Child Support and Alimony

If you’re currently supporting another spouse or child besides the one covered by the order, up to 50% of your disposable earnings can be garnished. If you’re not supporting anyone else, the ceiling is 60%. Falling more than 12 weeks behind adds another 5%, raising the caps to 55% and 65%.¹ Support orders take priority over ordinary judgments, so a credit card creditor gets whatever room remains under its own 25% cap.

Federal Student Loans

Federal agencies do not need a court judgment to garnish wages. Through administrative wage garnishment, the government can take up to 15% of your disposable earnings for defaulted student loans and other non-tax debts owed to federal agencies.⁴ The agency must send written notice and offer a hearing before withholding begins. The 15% cap is separate from the 25% consumer-debt cap, but the combined garnishment from all sources still cannot leave you with less than 30 times the minimum wage each week.

IRS Wage Levies

The IRS operates in reverse of ordinary garnishment. Instead of setting a percentage the IRS can take, the law sets an amount you get to keep, and everything above it goes to the government. The exempt amount depends on your filing status, pay frequency, and number of dependents. A single filer with three dependents paid weekly keeps $615.38 per pay period. A married-filing-jointly couple with two dependents paid biweekly keeps $1,646.16. Filers over 65 or those who are blind get an additional exempt amount.⁵

You have three days after your employer receives the levy notice to submit a statement of your filing status and dependents. Miss that window and the exempt amount is calculated as if you were married filing separately with zero dependents, which is the smallest possible exemption.⁶ The levy stays in place year after year, though you can update your filing information each January.

State Rules Can Lower the Cap

Federal law sets a ceiling, and many states restrict garnishment further. A handful prohibit wage garnishment for consumer debt altogether, including Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In those states, a debt collector with an ordinary judgment cannot touch your paycheck, though child support, taxes, and student loan garnishments still apply.

Other states reduce the percentage below 25% or add protections for specific groups. Several offer a head-of-household exemption that reduces or eliminates garnishment for workers who provide more than half the support for a child or dependent. These protections usually have to be claimed by filing paperwork with the court. Skip that step and the standard amount applies by default.

When federal and state law point to different numbers, the rule that leaves you with more money wins. A state cap of 10% overrides the federal 25%.⁴

If You’re an Independent Contractor

The 25% cap applies only to traditional employer-employee wages. Payments to independent contractors and 1099 workers do not qualify as earnings under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, so its limits do not protect them. A creditor with a judgment can potentially reach a larger share of what a business owes you, depending on your state’s rules for non-wage income. When the business receives a garnishment order, it may be required to withhold the full amount owed up to the judgment balance, with no federal percentage cap. Child support orders reach 1099 payments as well, under state-specific rules.

Can Your Employer Fire You Over a Garnishment?

Not for a single debt. Federal law makes it a crime to terminate an employee because their wages are being garnished for one debt, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.⁷ The shield covers only one garnishment, though. Once a second separate debt hits your paycheck, the federal protection no longer applies. Some states extend the protection to multiple garnishments, so check your state’s rule.

Challenging or Reducing a Garnishment

You can contest a garnishment that reaches exempt income, exceeds the legal percentage, or comes from a debt you don’t owe. The process typically involves filing a written claim of exemption or a motion to reduce with the court that issued the order. Filing fees run from nothing to around $85 depending on the jurisdiction. Move fast: deadlines can be as short as 10 to 30 days after you receive the garnishment notice.

Bring documentation. Pay stubs showing your disposable earnings, benefit statements confirming Social Security or VA deposits, and bank records tracing protected funds all support your position. For a hardship claim, you generally need to show that your basic living expenses exceed the income left after garnishment. Federal agencies reviewing hardship requests on defaulted student loans compare your expenses against IRS national standards for families of similar size and income.⁸ Claimed expenses that exceed those benchmarks may not be accepted as reasonable.

Missing the initial window is not always fatal. If your financial situation changes later, a reduction in income, a new dependent, or an unexpected medical expense can justify going back to the court to request a modification. Judges have discretion to lower the percentage or pause the garnishment while you recover.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
2
U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1672 – Definitions
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act
5
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1494 – Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income
6
Internal Revenue Service. What if I Get a Levy Against One of My Employees, Vendors, Customers or Other Third Parties?
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1674 – Restriction on Discharge from Employment by Reason of Garnishment
8
eCFR. 34 CFR 34.24 – Claim of Financial Hardship by Debtor Subject to Garnishment