Garnishment Calc

50 states + DC · statute-cited · verified

Wage Garnishment Calculator

Federal law lets an ordinary creditor take the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or everything above $217.50 a week. 30 jurisdictions protect more and 4 bar it for most debts — pick where you work to see the exact amount for your paycheck.

Type of garnishment
Example figures shown; use your stub.
How often you are paid
What counts
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Choose your state

Each state page applies that state’s own statute, quotes it, and works an example with its real figures. The tag shows the weekly disposable pay below which nothing can be taken and the largest share that can be taken above it.

Compare every state’s rule in one table.

How the number is worked out

Garnishment limits are applied to disposable earnings: gross pay minus the deductions the law requires — income taxes, Social Security and Medicare, and mandatory state payroll taxes. Voluntary deductions such as a 401(k), union dues or (in most places) health insurance are not subtracted.

The federal Consumer Credit Protection Act then allows the smaller of two amounts: 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount by which they exceed 30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage. With $600 of weekly disposable earnings the two tests give $150 and $382.50, so $150 is the most that can be taken. A state may only make that smaller, never larger — so the calculator runs both rules and shows which one wins.

Other kinds of debt use different federal rules, which the mode switch above applies: up to 50–65% for child support, 15% for defaulted federal student loans, and an exempt-amount table for IRS levies. Read the full method with pay-period tables.

Answers to common questions

How much can be garnished from my paycheck?

For a credit-card, medical or personal-loan judgment: at most 25% of disposable earnings, and nothing at all if your disposable pay is $217.50 a week or less ($435 every two weeks, $471.25 twice a month, $942.50 a month). Your state’s limit is often lower — enter your pay above to see it.

What is the maximum wage garnishment in my state?

It ranges from zero in Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and South Carolina (for ordinary debts) to the federal 25% in states that copy the federal formula. California takes at most 20%, Massachusetts and Delaware 15%, Arizona 10%. The state comparison table lists every state’s floor and maximum.

Can I be garnished in a state that bans it?

Yes, for debts that federal law or the state constitution carves out. Court-ordered child support, federal student-loan administrative garnishment and IRS levies reach wages in every state. See what each ban covers.

Can my employer fire me over a garnishment?

Federal law forbids firing an employee because their earnings have been garnished for any one debt. Some states go further — Iowa bars it for any garnishment, and Connecticut only allows discipline after more than seven wage executions in a year.

What if I already have a garnishment for child support?

Support withholding counts against the 25% federal ceiling for ordinary debts. If support already takes 25% or more of your disposable earnings, a credit-card creditor gets nothing until it drops. Enter the existing amount under “other garnishments” to see the remainder.