Limits on amounts that can be garnished

If your employee has voluntarily signed a contract or wage assignment with a creditor to pay a specific amount as a payroll deduction, then the deduction is not a garnishment for purposes of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and the garnishment limits do not apply. State law may limit wage agreements.

Federal and state laws place limits on the amount of an employee’s disposable income that employers can garnish in a work week. State laws take precedence if they have stricter garnishment limitations.

The Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act limits garnishments to:

• 25% of disposable income, or the amount by which the disposable income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less
• A greater amount of an employee’s wages for child/spousal support, bankruptcy, and federal or state tax levies
• Up to 50% of an employee’s disposable earnings for child support if the employee is supporting a current spouse or child who is not the subject of the support order, and up to 60% if the employee isn't supporting a current spouse or child
• An additional 5% for support payments over 12 weeks in arrears

See U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet about the federal wage garnishment law for more info about garnishment limits.

See also

• About garnishment orders
• Set up a garnishment
• Stop a wage garnishment
• Handle multiple wage garnishments
• Payroll topics

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