If a creditor wins a judgment, federal law caps how much of your paycheck they can garnish for ordinary consumer debt — and many states protect even more. Enter your weekly take-home pay to see the federal limit and what's protected, then check your state's rule. General information, not a calculation of what's owed in your case.
For ordinary consumer debt, the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act limits a wage garnishment to the lesser of 25% of your disposable weekly earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50 a week). If your weekly take-home is at or below that floor, none of it can be garnished for consumer debt. Child or spousal support, unpaid taxes, and federal student loans follow different, higher limits.
States are free to shield more of a paycheck than the federal floor, and a handful effectively bar wage garnishment for most consumer debts altogether. Certain income is generally protected no matter what — Social Security, veterans' benefits, and most federal benefits. And before a consumer-debt garnishment can start, a creditor usually has to sue and win a judgment first. This tool computes the federal limit and points you to your state's rule and official resources.
Under federal law, the most a creditor can garnish from a paycheck for ordinary consumer debt is the lesser of 25% of your disposable (after-tax) earnings or the amount your weekly pay exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage — so the first $217.50 of weekly take-home is always protected. States may protect more, and many do, by shielding a larger share of pay or tying the exemption to a higher state minimum wage. A few states go further and bar wage garnishment for most consumer debts entirely.
| State | Consumer-debt wage-garnishment limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Alaska | At least $473/week of net earnings exempt (more protective than federal) | Alaska Stat. §09.38.030 |
| Arizona | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Arkansas | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| California | Lesser of 20% of disposable pay or 40% of pay over 48× state minimum wage | Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §706.050 |
| Colorado | Lesser of 20% of disposable pay or pay over 40× minimum wage (more protective) | Colo. Rev. Stat. §13-54-104 |
| Connecticut | Lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 40× minimum wage (more protective) | Conn. Gen. Stat. §52-361a |
| Delaware | 85% of wages exempt — a creditor may take at most 15% (more protective) | Del. Code tit. 10, §4913 |
| District of Columbia | Pay up to 40× DC minimum wage exempt; only 25% of the excess garnishable | D.C. Code §16-572 |
| Florida | Head-of-family wages exempt if disposable pay is $750/week or less | Fla. Stat. §222.11 |
| Georgia | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Hawaii | Graduated state formula or the federal limit, whichever protects more pay | Haw. Rev. Stat. §652-1 |
| Idaho | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Illinois | Lesser of 15% of gross pay or pay over 45× minimum wage (more protective) | 735 ILCS 5/12-803 |
| Indiana | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Iowa | Annual dollar caps limit how much one creditor can garnish per year | Iowa Code §642.21 |
| Kansas | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Kentucky | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Louisiana | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Maine | Lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 40× minimum wage (more protective) | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A, §5-105 |
| Maryland | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Massachusetts | Greater of 85% of gross wages or 50× minimum wage is exempt (more protective) | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 246, §28 |
| Michigan | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Minnesota | Greater of 75% of disposable pay or 40× minimum wage exempt; lower rates for lower earners | Minn. Stat. §571.922 |
| Mississippi | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Missouri | Head-of-household pay is 90% exempt — at most 10% garnishable (more protective) | Mo. Rev. Stat. §525.030 |
| Montana | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Nebraska | Head-of-family pay is 85% exempt — at most 15% garnishable (more protective) | Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-1558 |
| Nevada | 82% of disposable pay exempt if gross weekly pay is $770 or less (more protective) | Nev. Rev. Stat. §31.295 |
| New Hampshire | 50× minimum wage exempt; wage attachment is one-time, not a continuing garnishment | N.H. Rev. Stat. §512:21 |
| New Jersey | Capped at 10% of pay for earners up to 250% of the federal poverty level | N.J. Stat. §2A:17-50 |
| New Mexico | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| New York | Lesser of 10% of gross pay or 25% of disposable pay (more protective) | N.Y. CPLR §5231 |
| North Carolina | Most wages exempt — no wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debt | N.C. Dept. of Labor — Garnishments (N.C. Gen. Stat. §1-362) |
| North Dakota | Greater of 75% or 40× minimum wage exempt, plus $20/week per dependent | N.D. Cent. Code §32-09.1-03 |
| Ohio | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Oklahoma | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Oregon | 75% of disposable pay exempt, with a weekly dollar floor above the federal minimum | Or. Rev. Stat. §18.385 |
| Pennsylvania | Most wages exempt — consumer-debt wage garnishment effectively barred | 42 Pa. C.S. §8127 |
| Rhode Island | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| South Carolina | Most wages exempt — consumer-debt wage garnishment barred by statute | S.C. Code §37-5-104 |
| South Dakota | Pay over 40× minimum wage garnishable, minus $25/week per dependent (more protective) | S.D. Codified Laws §21-18-51 |
| Tennessee | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Texas | Most wages exempt — consumer-debt wage garnishment effectively barred | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §63.004 |
| Utah | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Vermont | Consumer debt: greater of 85% of disposable pay or 40× minimum wage exempt | 12 V.S.A. §3170 |
| Virginia | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
| Washington | Consumer debt: greater of 80% of disposable pay or 35× state minimum wage exempt | Wash. Rev. Code §6.27.150 |
| West Virginia | Consumer debt: 80% of disposable pay exempt — at most 20% garnishable (more protective) | W. Va. Code §46A-2-130 |
| Wisconsin | 80% of disposable pay exempt; fully exempt if household income is below the poverty line | Wis. Stat. §812.34 |
| Wyoming | Federal limit: lesser of 25% of disposable pay or pay over 30× minimum wage | CCPA Title III, 15 U.S.C. §1673 |
General information, not legal advice. Garnishment for child or spousal support, unpaid taxes, and student loans follows different — and usually higher — limits. Confirm the rule and the current figures with your court or a licensed attorney in your state.
Disclaimer: NotALawyer.com provides general legal information, not legal advice, and is not a law firm. Using a tool does not create an attorney–client relationship. Laws change and vary by situation — verify anything important with the official source or a licensed attorney in your state.