Wage Garnishment Calculator
Maximum garnishment under the federal CCPA limits, by pay period and type of debt
A wage garnishment calculator finds the most a creditor can take from a paycheck under federal law. For ordinary debts the limit is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed $217.50, which is 30 times the $7.25 minimum wage. Child support orders can take 50% to 65%, defaulted federal student loans up to 15%, and IRS levies use their own exemption table.
Last updated October 2026
Method: Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1673) as applied in DOL Fact Sheet #30 (December 2024) and 29 CFR 870.10. Ordinary garnishments take the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or disposable earnings above 30 × $7.25 a week (60× biweekly, 65× twice a month, 130× monthly). Support orders take 50% or 60%, plus 5 points for arrears older than 12 weeks. Federal administrative garnishment takes up to 15% (20 U.S.C. 1095a, 31 U.S.C. 3720D), never more than disposable earnings above the same floor (34 CFR 34.19).
Included: Disposable earnings from a pay stub or entered directly, four pay frequencies, consumer debt, support and federal student loan limits, earlier orders that take priority, the amount an order asks for, yearly totals, take-home pay after the garnishment and a side-by-side table of every federal limit.
Not included: State garnishment laws that protect more pay, IRS levy exempt amounts (Publication 1494), state tax levies, Chapter 13 plan payments, priority rules between competing orders, and creditor interest or fees.
💵 Your pay for one pay period
Deductions required by law (these are subtracted):
For example state disability insurance or a mandatory public pension.
Health insurance, 401(k), union dues and similar items do not lower disposable earnings.
⚖️ What is being collected?
Per pay period, for orders that take priority (often child support).
Leave empty to see the federal maximum.
⚖️ Maximum garnishment per pay period
📋 How the limit was found
- 1. Disposable earnings. $2,000.00 − $373.00 required deductions = $1,627.00
- 2. Percentage test. 25% × $1,627.00 = $406.75
- 3. Minimum-wage floor test. $1,627.00 − $435.00 = $1,192.00 (60 × $7.25 is always protected)
- 4. Take the lesser. $406.75
📊 Every federal limit at $1,627.00 per paycheck
Before any earlier orders. Your state may allow less.
| Type of order | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Consumer debt or judgment (25% or amount over the floor) | $406.75 |
| Federal student loan or federal agency debt (15%) | $244.05 |
| Support, supporting another spouse or child (50%) | $813.50 |
| Support, supporting another family, 12+ weeks behind (55%) | $894.85 |
| Support, not supporting another family (60%) | $976.20 |
| Support, not supporting another family, 12+ weeks behind (65%) | $1,057.55 |
| IRS levy, state tax levy or Chapter 13 order | Not capped by these limits |
How much can be garnished: federal wage garnishment limits explained
A wage garnishment is a court or agency order that makes an employer withhold part of an employee's pay and send it to a creditor. Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), enforced by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, caps how much can be withheld in any pay period, however many orders the employer receives. The cap is built on disposable earnings and on the federal minimum wage, so it protects a fixed slice of pay first and only then lets a percentage go to creditors.
To estimate disposable earnings from gross pay, the Paycheck Calculator and the Tax Withholding Calculator show the taxes that come out of each check, and the FICA Calculator isolates Social Security and Medicare. The protected floor is tied to the $7.25 federal rate covered on the Minimum Wage Calculator.
The federal garnishment formula
Every limit starts from disposable earnings for one pay period. The calculator then applies the test that fits the type of order:
Disposable earnings = gross pay − deductions required by law Ordinary limit = lesser of 25% × DE and DE − protected floor Protected floor = 30 × $7.25 per week ($217.50) Support limit = 50% or 60% × DE (+5 points if more than 12 weeks behind) Federal student loan limit = lesser of 15% × DE and DE − protected floor The floor test means that weekly disposable earnings of $217.50 or less cannot be garnished at all for an ordinary debt. Between $217.50 and $290 only the excess over $217.50 can be taken, and from $290 (40 × $7.25) the 25% test is the smaller number and takes over. Whatever the result, the employer withholds the lesser of that limit and the amount the order actually demands.
What counts as disposable earnings
Disposable earnings are earnings left after deductions required by law: federal, state and local income taxes, the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare, state unemployment insurance tax and contributions to a retirement system that the law requires. Deductions you chose do not count. Health and life insurance premiums, 401(k) contributions, union dues, charitable gifts, savings bonds and repayments of payroll advances all stay inside disposable earnings, which is why a garnishment can feel larger than expected.
Earnings are broader than an hourly wage. The CCPA covers wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses and periodic pension or retirement payments, and the Department of Labor adds employment-based disability payments, severance pay, final pay with accrued benefits, back pay and workers' compensation wage replacement. For tipped employees, the cash wage plus any tip credit the employer claims is earnings; tips above that are not. Payments under an employer educational assistance plan are not earnings either.
Protected amounts by pay period
For pay periods longer than a week, federal regulations convert the weekly floor into a multiple of the minimum wage, counting a calendar month as 4 1/3 workweeks. These are the amounts that stay off-limits to ordinary creditors and federal administrative garnishments:
| Pay frequency | Multiple | Fully protected | Only the excess can be taken | 25% applies from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 30 × $7.25 | $217.50 | $217.50 to $290.00 | $290.00 |
| Biweekly (every 2 weeks) | 60 × $7.25 | $435.00 | $435.00 to $580.00 | $580.00 |
| Semimonthly (twice a month) | 65 × $7.25 | $471.25 | $471.25 to $628.33 | $628.33 |
| Monthly | 130 × $7.25 | $942.50 | $942.50 to $1,256.67 | $1,256.67* |
*$942.50 ÷ 0.75 = $1,256.666…; Fact Sheet #30 truncates this to $1,256.66. Either way the limit differs by less than a cent.
Worked example: a consumer debt on a biweekly paycheck
A worker paid every two weeks earns $2,000.00 gross. Federal income tax withholding is $150.00, Social Security and Medicare take $153.00 (7.65%) and state income tax takes $70.00, so disposable earnings are $2,000 − $373 = $1,627.00. The $120.00 health insurance premium on the same stub is voluntary and is not subtracted. A credit card judgment is then tested two ways: 25% × $1,627.00 = $406.75, and $1,627.00 − $435.00 = $1,192.00. The smaller figure wins, so the employer may withhold up to $406.75 per paycheck, or $10,575.50 over 26 paychecks, and the worker takes home $1,100.25 after insurance and the garnishment. These are the calculator's default inputs.
Second worked example: a small weekly paycheck
A part-time worker paid weekly has $260.00 of disposable earnings. The percentage test gives 25% × $260.00 = $65.00, but the floor test gives $260.00 − $217.50 = $42.50, so the most an ordinary creditor can take is $42.50 a week and $217.50 stays protected. If hours drop and disposable earnings fall to $217.50 or less, the garnishment stops for that week. The Department of Labor's own example works the same way: $233.00 of disposable earnings allows a garnishment of $15.50.
Child support and alimony orders
Support orders follow a separate, higher limit with no minimum-wage floor: 50% of disposable earnings for a worker who supports another spouse or child, 60% for one who does not, and 5 more percentage points (55% or 65%) to the extent the order covers support more than 12 weeks overdue. Take $3,000.00 of monthly disposable earnings, no second family and arrears older than 12 weeks: the cap is 65%, or $1,950.00. If the order asks for $900.00 a month, the employer withholds $900.00, because a garnishment never exceeds what the order requires.
Support also squeezes other creditors. The CCPA limit covers the total withheld, so when a support order with priority already takes $150.00 from $800.00 of weekly disposable earnings, a consumer creditor can receive only $200.00 − $150.00 = $50.00. The calculator's earlier-orders field handles this case.
Student loans, other federal debts and tax levies
A defaulted federal student loan can be collected through administrative wage garnishment of up to 15% of disposable pay under the Higher Education Act, and other federal agencies may do the same for non-tax debts under the Debt Collection Improvement Act. The borrower must receive written notice at least 30 days before proceedings start and can request a hearing; a request filed by the 15th day after the notice is mailed must be heard before any order is issued. The 30 × $7.25 floor still applies, so $1,400.00 of disposable pay twice a month allows $210.00 (15%), while $240.00 a week allows only $22.50. State garnishment laws do not limit these federal orders, and whether the Education Department is actively garnishing has changed more than once in recent years, so check StudentAid.gov or your loan holder for the current status.
Debts for federal or state taxes and Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders are outside the CCPA percentage limits altogether. An IRS levy leaves an exempt amount based on filing status, the standard deduction and the number of dependents, figured from the tables in IRS Publication 1494, and sends the rest of each paycheck to the IRS until the debt is paid, other arrangements are made or the levy is released. For 2026 the exempt take-home pay is $309.62 a week ($619.23 every two weeks) for a single filer or a married person filing separately with no dependents, $619.23 a week for a joint return and $464.42 for a head of household, plus $101.92 a week for each dependent.
Garnishment at common paycheck sizes
The first table shows the ordinary limit for the same disposable earnings under each pay frequency. Longer pay periods carry a larger protected floor, so $500 is fully protected on a monthly check but partly garnishable on a weekly one.
| Disposable earnings per pay period | Weekly | Biweekly | Semimonthly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250.00 | $32.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| $400.00 | $100.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| $500.00 | $125.00 | $65.00 | $28.75 | $0.00 |
| $600.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 | $128.75 | $0.00 |
| $750.00 | $187.50 | $187.50 | $187.50 | $0.00 |
| $1,000.00 | $250.00 | $250.00 | $250.00 | $57.50 |
| $1,250.00 | $312.50 | $312.50 | $312.50 | $307.50 |
| $1,500.00 | $375.00 | $375.00 | $375.00 | $375.00 |
| $2,000.00 | $500.00 | $500.00 | $500.00 | $500.00 |
| $3,000.00 | $750.00 | $750.00 | $750.00 | $750.00 |
| $4,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
The second table compares every federal limit at weekly disposable earnings. Support percentages apply to the full amount, which is why they can exceed the ordinary limit many times over on a small paycheck.
| Weekly disposable earnings | Consumer debt | Student loan 15% | Support 50% | Support 55% | Support 60% | Support 65% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $100.00 | $110.00 | $120.00 | $130.00 |
| $217.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $108.75 | $119.63 | $130.50 | $141.38 |
| $250.00 | $32.50 | $32.50 | $125.00 | $137.50 | $150.00 | $162.50 |
| $290.00 | $72.50 | $43.50 | $145.00 | $159.50 | $174.00 | $188.50 |
| $350.00 | $87.50 | $52.50 | $175.00 | $192.50 | $210.00 | $227.50 |
| $500.00 | $125.00 | $75.00 | $250.00 | $275.00 | $300.00 | $325.00 |
| $750.00 | $187.50 | $112.50 | $375.00 | $412.50 | $450.00 | $487.50 |
| $1,000.00 | $250.00 | $150.00 | $500.00 | $550.00 | $600.00 | $650.00 |
| $1,500.00 | $375.00 | $225.00 | $750.00 | $825.00 | $900.00 | $975.00 |
How to use this calculator
- Pick your pay frequency. Each button shows the protected floor for that period.
- Enter your pay. Copy gross pay and the required deductions from a pay stub, or switch to entering disposable earnings directly. The 7.65% button fills in Social Security and Medicare for typical wages.
- Choose what is being collected: a consumer debt, a support order, a federal student loan or a tax levy. For support, say whether you support another family and whether payments are more than 12 weeks behind.
- Add other orders. Enter anything already withheld under an earlier order, and the amount the new order asks for if you know it.
- Read the result. The headline is the limit per paycheck, the steps show which test decided it, and the last table lists every federal limit at your earnings.
Employees use it to check a garnishment notice, payroll staff to apply an order correctly, and attorneys and financial counselors to show a client what a judgment will cost each month.
Your rights and stricter state laws
Federal law bars an employer from firing an employee because pay has been garnished for any one debt, however many orders are issued to collect it, and a willful violation can be punished by a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, or both. The CCPA does not override state laws that prohibit garnishment, allow a smaller one or forbid firing over two or more debts, and when a state law results in less being garnished, the employer must follow it. Some states protect more of each paycheck or rule out garnishment for ordinary consumer debts, so check your state's law or ask the court that issued the order. Questions about which order is paid first go to the court or agency behind the order, because the CCPA sets limits but not priorities. A voluntary wage assignment that you signed is not a garnishment at all.
Key terms
- Garnishment: any legal or equitable procedure that requires an employer to withhold earnings for payment of a debt.
- Disposable earnings: earnings left after deductions required by law.
- Ordinary garnishment: a garnishment for a debt other than support, bankruptcy or taxes, such as a credit card or medical judgment.
- Protected floor: 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, $217.50, which ordinary creditors cannot touch.
- Administrative wage garnishment: withholding ordered by a federal agency or a student loan guaranty agency without a court judgment, capped at 15%.
- Arrears: overdue support; arrears older than 12 weeks raise the support limit by 5 points.
- Levy: the IRS or a state tax agency's seizure of wages for unpaid taxes, outside the CCPA percentage limits.
Limitations
The calculator applies federal limits only. It does not know your state's garnishment rules, which may protect more pay; it does not compute IRS levy exemptions, state tax levies or Chapter 13 plan payments; and it does not decide which of several orders comes first. It uses the $7.25 federal minimum wage that the CCPA refers to, not a state minimum wage. Results are estimates for planning and checking, not legal advice, and the order itself and the issuing court have the final word.
Related calculators
- For take-home pay before and after a garnishment, use the Paycheck Calculator.
- For the minimum wage behind the $217.50 floor and your state's rate, use the Minimum Wage Calculator.
- Overtime raises disposable earnings and with them the limit; the Overtime Calculator shows by how much.
- To turn an annual salary into per-paycheck pay, use the Salary to Hourly Calculator, or go the other way with the Hourly to Salary Calculator.
- To plan paying the debt off and ending the garnishment, use the Debt Payoff Calculator.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #30: Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (December 2024).
- U.S. Code via GovInfo, 15 U.S.C. 1672-1677 (definitions, garnishment limits, discharge protection, state laws).
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 29 CFR Part 870, Restriction on Garnishment (multiples for longer pay periods, support limits, multiple orders).
- U.S. Code via GovInfo, 20 U.S.C. 1095a (student loan wage garnishment, 15%) and 31 U.S.C. 3720D (federal agency garnishment, 15%).
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR Part 34, Administrative Wage Garnishment (amounts withheld under one or several orders).
- Internal Revenue Service, Information about wage levies and Publication 1494 (2026 exempt amounts).
- U.S. Department of Labor, Minimum Wage ($7.25 federal rate used for the protected floor).
⚠️ Common mistakes & edge cases
Subtracting voluntary deductions
Health insurance and 401(k) contributions do not reduce disposable earnings. In the biweekly example, taking the $120.00 premium off first would give $1,507.00 and a limit of $376.75 instead of the correct $406.75.
Taking 25% of gross pay
The percentage applies to disposable earnings, not gross pay. On the same $2,000.00 check, 25% of gross would be $500.00, which is $93.25 more than the law allows.
Using the weekly floor on a longer pay period
A biweekly check protects $435.00, not $217.50. With $500.00 of biweekly disposable earnings the limit is $65.00; applying the weekly floor by mistake would allow $125.00.
Applying the 25% cap to each creditor
The limit covers all ordinary garnishments together, regardless of the number of orders. A second creditor gets only what is left under the cap after earlier orders, which may be nothing.
Assuming support is capped at 25%
Support orders can take 50% to 65% of disposable earnings and have no minimum-wage floor, so they can reach pay that is fully protected from other creditors.
Ignoring a stricter state law
Federal limits are a ceiling. If your state allows a smaller garnishment or none for the type of debt involved, the employer must follow the state rule, except for federal student loan and agency garnishments.
❓ Frequently asked questions
How much of my paycheck can be garnished?
For most debts, federal law allows the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed $217.50, which is 30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage. Nothing can be taken from $217.50 a week or less, and the full 25% applies from $290 a week. Child support can take 50% to 65%, defaulted federal student loans up to 15%, and IRS levies follow their own table. On $1,627 of disposable earnings every two weeks, the ordinary limit is $406.75.
What are disposable earnings for wage garnishment?
Disposable earnings are what is left of gross pay after deductions required by law: federal, state and local income tax, your share of Social Security and Medicare, state unemployment insurance tax and any retirement contribution the law requires. Voluntary deductions such as health insurance, union dues, 401(k) contributions and charitable gifts are not subtracted, so they do not lower the garnishment limit.
How much can be garnished for child support?
Up to 50% of disposable earnings if you support another spouse or child, and up to 60% if you do not. Each limit rises by 5 percentage points, to 55% or 65%, for support that is more than 12 weeks overdue. Support orders have no minimum-wage floor. On $3,000 of monthly disposable earnings the limit ranges from $1,500 to $1,950, although the employer withholds only what the order requires if that is less.
How much can be garnished for federal student loans?
Administrative wage garnishment for a defaulted federal student loan can take up to 15% of disposable pay, and never more than the amount by which disposable pay exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage. The borrower must get written notice at least 30 days before it starts and can request a hearing. On $1,400 of disposable pay twice a month, the limit is $210 per paycheck.
Can my wages be garnished if I earn minimum wage?
For ordinary debts, only partly or not at all. A full-time job at $7.25 pays $290 a week before taxes, so disposable earnings usually land between $217.50 and $290, and only the amount above $217.50 can be taken. With $260 of disposable earnings the limit is $42.50 a week, and at $217.50 or less it is zero. Child support orders have no such floor and can still be collected.
Can I be fired because my wages are garnished?
Not for a single debt. Federal law bars an employer from firing an employee because earnings have been garnished for any one debt, no matter how many orders are served to collect it, and a willful violation can bring a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, or both. The federal protection does not cover garnishments for two or more separate debts, but some state laws do.
Can more than one creditor garnish my wages at the same time?
Yes, but the federal limit applies to the total, not to each creditor. If a child support order already takes $140 from $370 of weekly disposable earnings, a consumer creditor gets nothing, because $140 is more than the $92.50 that 25% would allow. Which order is paid first is decided by state law or other federal law, not by the CCPA.
How is an IRS wage levy different from a garnishment?
The CCPA percentage limits do not apply to federal or state tax debts. Under an IRS levy you keep an exempt amount based on your filing status, the standard deduction and your dependents, figured with the tables in IRS Publication 1494, and the rest of each paycheck goes to the IRS until the debt is paid, other arrangements are made or the levy is released. If you do not return the statement of dependents within three days, the exempt amount is figured as married filing separately with no dependents. Under the 2026 tables, a single filer paid weekly with no dependents keeps $309.62 a week, and each dependent adds $101.92.
Does my state limit wage garnishment more than federal law?
Possibly. Federal law sets the maximum, and when a state law allows a smaller garnishment or prohibits it, the employer must follow the state law. Some states protect a larger share of pay or bar garnishment for ordinary consumer debts. Garnishments for federal student loans and other federal debts are an exception: they are not subject to state garnishment laws, although the federal CCPA limits still apply.
Can bonuses, commissions and severance pay be garnished?
Yes. The CCPA counts wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses and periodic pension payments as earnings, and the Department of Labor also lists severance pay, final pay with accrued benefits, back pay and wage replacement from workers' compensation. Each payment is subject to the same limits. Tips above the tip credit an employer claims are not earnings under the CCPA and are left out of the calculation.
💡 Good to know
The floor moves only with the federal minimum wage
The CCPA ties the protected amount to the federal rate, so $217.50 a week has been the floor since $7.25 took effect on July 24, 2009. A higher state minimum wage does not change the federal floor, although some state garnishment laws protect more.
Each paycheck is tested on its own
A weekly draw and a monthly commission check are separate payments, and each one faces its own limit. In the Department of Labor's example, $300 of weekly draw allows $75 a week and an $1,800 commission check allows another $450.
A higher paycheck raises the limit
Overtime, bonuses and raises all add to disposable earnings. Once weekly disposable earnings pass $290, each extra dollar adds 25 cents to an ordinary garnishment; between $217.50 and $290, each extra dollar can go to the creditor in full.
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