- What counts as a wage garnishment
- Step one: work out disposable earnings
- The federal limits by pay period
- Different limits for support, student loans and taxes
- Bonuses, commissions and severance count too
- Can your employer fire you over a garnishment?
- What to do if you get a garnishment notice
- The verdict
- Frequently asked questions
Wage garnishment is when an employer must withhold part of your pay to settle a debt, usually because of a court order. For ordinary debts, federal law caps it at the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage. As of October 2026, the Department of Labor says that means nothing can be garnished from weekly disposable earnings of $217.50 or less.
The limits come from the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), which the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division enforces in all 50 states, DC and US territories. Everything below comes from its Fact Sheet #30. One rule to know before anything else: if your state's law gives a lower garnishment amount than the federal one, the lower amount wins.
What counts as a wage garnishment
A garnishment is any legal or equitable procedure that requires part of your earnings to be withheld for a debt. Most are court orders. The DOL also lists IRS and state tax levies and federal agency administrative garnishments for non-tax debts. A voluntary wage assignment, where you agree to your employer paying a creditor, isn't a garnishment.
Step one: work out disposable earnings
Every limit is a percentage of disposable earnings, which is what's left after deductions required by law. That means federal, state and local taxes, your share of Social Security and Medicare, state unemployment insurance tax and legally required retirement withholdings come off first.
The catch most people miss: deductions that aren't required by law usually can't be subtracted. Health and life insurance, union dues, voluntary retirement contributions, charity donations and payroll advances stay in the figure, so disposable earnings are often higher than take-home pay.
The federal limits by pay period
For ordinary garnishments (not support, bankruptcy or tax), the weekly cap is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage. Here's the DOL's own table as of October 2026:
| Pay period | No garnishment at or below | Only the amount above the floor | Maximum 25% from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | $217.50 | $217.50 to $290.00 | $290.00 |
| Biweekly | $435.00 | $435.00 to $580.00 | $580.00 |
| Semimonthly | $471.25 | $471.25 to $628.33 | $628.33 |
| Monthly | $942.50 | $942.50 to $1256.66 | $1256.66 |
These caps apply per pay period no matter how many garnishment orders the employer receives. The DOL's example: disposable earnings of $233 in a week allow only $15.50 to be garnished, because only the amount above $217.50 can be taken.
Different limits for support, student loans and taxes
| Type of debt | Federal limit |
|---|---|
| Ordinary consumer debt | Lesser of 25% or the amount above 30x minimum wage |
| Child support or alimony, supporting another spouse or child | Up to 50% of disposable earnings |
| Child support or alimony, not supporting anyone else | Up to 60% of disposable earnings |
| Support more than 12 weeks in arrears | An extra 5% |
| Defaulted debts owed to the US government, including federal student loans | Up to 15% of disposable earnings |
| Federal or state tax debts, certain bankruptcy orders | The CCPA limits don't apply |
The CCPA doesn't set which garnishment gets paid first; state or other federal laws decide that. What it does set is the ceiling. The DOL's example: someone with $370 of weekly disposable earnings already has $140 a week taken for child support. A consumer creditor then serves an order, but because $140 is already more than 25% of $370, nothing more can be taken for that consumer debt.
Bonuses, commissions and severance count too
Earnings means pay for personal services: wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses and periodic pension payments, plus employment-based disability payments. The DOL lists lump sums that count, including sign-on and referral bonuses, profit sharing, holiday pay, severance pay, termination pay and workers' compensation wage replacement. Its test is whether the employer paid the amount for your services.
A bonus is garnished separately from regular pay. The DOL's example: a $402 bonus leaves $368 of disposable earnings, so 25% ($92) can be garnished from it. For tipped workers, cash wages plus any tip credit count as earnings; tips above that don't.
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Can your employer fire you over a garnishment?
Not for one debt. The CCPA bars an employer from firing an employee whose earnings are garnished for any one debt, however many levies are made to collect it. That protection doesn't extend to garnishments for 2 or more separate debts, so it's worth paying attention as soon as a second order lands. If you're also unsure whether you're classed correctly for overtime, see our guide to the FLSA.
What to do if you get a garnishment notice
- Check the type of debt on the order: ordinary, support, federal agency or tax.
- Work out your disposable earnings for the pay period using only legally required deductions.
- Apply the matching limit from the tables above, and check whether your state's limit is lower.
- Compare it with what your employer withheld on your payslip.
- If more was taken than the federal limit allows, contact the DOL's Wage and Hour Division. Questions about priority or the debt itself go to the court or agency that issued the order.
If you're an employer, payroll software won't save you from a wrong disposable earnings figure, so build the calculation from the DOL's definition. Our W-4 guide covers the withholding side.
The verdict
The 25% figure is a ceiling, not a target: low earners can owe nothing, and a lower state limit beats the federal one. Check the debt type first, because support, student loan and tax garnishments play by different rules, and remember the one-debt firing protection ends when a second debt arrives.
Frequently asked questions
How much of my paycheck can be garnished?
For ordinary debts, the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage, as of October 2026.
Can wages be garnished for child support at a higher rate?
Yes. Up to 50% if you support another spouse or child, or up to 60% if you don't, plus 5% if payments are more than 12 weeks behind.
Can I be fired because my wages are garnished?
Not for a single debt. The CCPA protects you from being fired over garnishment for any one debt.
Does a state garnishment law override the federal limit?
Whichever law results in the lower amount being garnished must be followed.
