Alabama Wage Garnishment Calculator
Alabama writes the federal formula into its own consumer-credit law: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or everything above $217.50 a week.
A weekly paycheck under Alabama’s consumer-credit statute
Take a warehouse job paying $640.00 a week with $85.00 withheld for taxes, leaving $555.00. Against a credit-card judgment Alabama allows $138.75: a quarter of the check is smaller than the $337.50 that sits above the $217.50 line, so the percentage governs. The worker still takes home $416.25; under § 6-10-7 the employer pays the withheld money into court, starting 30 days after the first retention.
Section 5-19-15, word for word
with respect to a consumer credit transaction, the amount of unpaid earnings of the debtor subject to garnishment shall not exceed the lesser of: (1) Twenty-five percent of the debtor’s disposable earnings for that week; or (2) The amount by which the debtor’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect when payable.
Court procedure and the constitutional question
- Creditors cannot garnish wages before they win a judgment on a consumer credit debt.§1
- For other judgments, Ala. Code § 6-10-7 exempts 75% of wages; the employer starts paying the withheld money into court after 30 days and must report within 15 days if you leave the job.§2
- Alabama’s $7,500 personal-property exemption expressly does not cover wages (Ala. Code § 6-10-6), so the 25% ceiling is the main statutory protection.§2
- NCLC’s 2025 survey reports that an Alabama appellate decision lets debtors apply the state constitution’s personal-property exemption to wages held by an employer. That route requires a claim to the court; this calculator does not model it.§3