Texas: Employee Wage Deduction Requirements

Requirements one by one

The Payday Act covers ordinary private employers

Labor Code § 61.001 defines an employer to include a person employing one or
more employees, while excluding independent contractors and specified close
relatives from the employee definition. Labor Code § 61.003 says, “This chapter
does not apply to the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of
this state.” The deduction rule therefore belongs to the ordinary private-
employment scheme, not to a public payroll policy.

Every deduction needs one of three sources of authority

Texas Labor Code § 61.018 starts with a prohibition: an employer may not
withhold or divert any part of an employee's wages. It then provides three
routes: a court order, authority under state or federal law, or the employee's
written authorization to deduct wages for a lawful purpose.

The agency rule makes “law” broader than a statute alone. Under 40 Texas
Administrative Code § 821.28(a), it includes statutes and codes enacted by the
Texas or federal legislature plus rules and regulations issued by a Texas or
federal agency. The same rule defines a lawful purpose as one authorized,
sanctioned, or not forbidden by law.

The writing must communicate purpose, liability, and expected amount

Section 821.28(b) requires the authorization to be specific about the lawful
purpose and the responsibility or liability the employee accepts. It must give
the employee “a reasonable expectation of the amount” that will be withheld and
clearly indicate that the deduction will come from wages.

A handbook can supply the writing, but § 821.28(c) sets a demanding test. The
signed acknowledgment must specifically inform the employee of the deduction,
meet the purpose-and-amount requirements, and state that the employee agrees to
abide by or be bound to the deduction authorization. A signature acknowledging
receipt of policies, standing alone, is not the rule the regulation describes.

Employer loans and wage advances follow different paths

Under § 821.27, an employer loan generally must comply with § 61.018. The amount
withheld from any paycheck, including a final paycheck, may not exceed the
amount stated for one paycheck in the written loan agreement or otherwise
authorized in writing. The rule also says loan repayment may count toward
applicable minimum or overtime wages owed to the employee.

Rule § 821.29 defines a wage advance as wages not yet earned or earned but not
yet due. It permits recoupment from the immediately following regular paycheck
when the employer gives notice that the amount is an advance to be recovered
from that check and the employee agrees to the amount. If recovery happens
later, the employer must return to § 61.018's ordinary requirements.

The administrative claim has a firm filing deadline

Labor Code § 61.051 requires a verified Texas Workforce Commission wage claim
within 180 days after the wages became due; the statute calls that deadline
jurisdictional. Labor Code § 61.052 authorizes an examiner to order payment of wages
found due and unpaid. If the employer acted in bad faith, § 61.053 allows an
additional administrative penalty capped at the lesser of the wages at issue or
$1,000.

What trips people up

“Lawful purpose” is only one part of the test. The written authorization must
also be specific, create a reasonable expectation of the amount, clearly say
that the deduction will come from wages, and identify the responsibility or
liability the employee accepts.

Even a properly authorized deduction can become unlawful after withholding.
Section 821.28(d) requires the employer to apply the money toward its authorized
purpose; money withheld for one stated reason but used for another is treated as
an unlawful deduction.

Texas does not place shortages, damaged equipment, or unreturned property into a
special employer-loss exception in § 61.018 or § 821.28. A payroll deduction for
one of those items still needs the specific lawful-purpose authorization the
general rule demands.

Common questions

Can a signed employee handbook authorize a deduction?

It can, but only if the signed acknowledgment specifically informs the employee
of the deduction, satisfies § 821.28(b)'s purpose-and-amount requirements, and
says the employee agrees to abide by or be bound to the authorization.

May an employer deduct a credit-card service charge from tips?

Section 821.28(e) says the employer must obtain the written authorization
required by the Payday Act before deducting credit-card service charges from an
employee's tips.

How long does an employee have to file a Texas Payday Act wage claim?

Section 61.051(c) sets a 180-day deadline measured from the date the wages became
due, and makes that deadline jurisdictional.

Statutes and sources

• Tex. Lab. Code §§ 61.001, 61.003. Covered employees, employers, wages,
  and government exclusion. Official text
  (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Tex. Lab. Code § 61.018. Three lawful sources of deduction authority.
  Official text
  (accessed July 13, 2026).
• 40 Tex. Admin. Code § 821.28. Purpose, amount, handbook, authorized-use,
  and tip-service-charge rules. Official TWC rules PDF
  (accessed July 13, 2026).
• 40 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 821.27, 821.29. Employer-loan and wage-advance
  recovery. Official TWC rules PDF
  (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Tex. Lab. Code §§ 61.051-.053. Wage-claim deadline, payment order, and
  bad-faith administrative penalty. Official text
  (accessed July 13, 2026).