Garnishment Calc
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Texas Wage Garnishment Calculator

The Texas Constitution forbids garnishing current wages for ordinary debts. Only court-ordered child support and spousal maintenance are excepted — plus federal collections that override state law.

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Article XVI, section 28

No current wages for personal service shall ever be subject to garnishment, except for the enforcement of court-ordered: (1) child support payments; or (2) spousal maintenance.
Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28 and Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001(b)(1)§1

A judgment that cannot touch a paycheck

When a credit-card issuer wins a judgment against a Houston nurse, the Texas Constitution keeps the nurse’s current wages out of reach: no writ can direct the hospital to withhold pay. The calculator therefore shows $0.00 in creditor mode; switch to support, student-loan or IRS mode to see the collections that do apply.

Federal collections and paid wages

  1. Texas Property Code § 42.001(b)(1) repeats the protection: current wages for personal services are exempt except for court-ordered child support.§1
  2. Federal student-loan administrative wage garnishment and IRS levies apply "notwithstanding" state law, so they can still reach Texas wages.§2
  3. The protection is for current wages; money already paid to you and sitting in an account is governed by other exemption rules.§1
  1. Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28 and Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001(b)(1) (As published 2026)
  2. 34 CFR Part 34
  3. 15 U.S.C. § 1673