Maine Wage Garnishment Calculator
Maine allows the lesser of 25% or the amount above 40 times the state minimum wage — $604 a week at $15.10 — and only after you have missed court-ordered installment payments.
Installment orders come first in Maine
- A court can approve an order to withhold and answer only if you missed two or more installment payments or failed to appear after a subpoena.§2
- Your employer must answer within 20 days of service; either side can then ask for a hearing within 20 days of that answer.§2
- Maine counts "exempt income" (such as certain benefits) together with disposable earnings when applying the 25% and 40-times tests; the calculator uses disposable earnings only.§1
- Maine’s minimum wage is adjusted for inflation each January; until the 2027 rate is verified, 2027 pay dates ask you for the official figure.§3
Forty hours of the higher minimum wage
The amount by which the sum of disposable earnings and exempt income for that week exceeds 40 times the minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 United States Code, Section 206(a)(1) or the state minimum hourly wage prescribed by Title 26, section 664, whichever is higher
A Portland weekly check
Maine protects 40 hours of its $15.10 minimum, $604.00 a week. A Portland worker grossing $800.00 with $140.00 withheld has $660.00 disposable, and the withholding order can reach only the $56.00 above the protected amount — less than half the $165.00 a federal-only state would allow.