Wage Garnishment Limits by State
How much of an employee's paycheck can an ordinary judgment creditor garnish in this state, and what income is protected?
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Every entry, oldest check July 5, 2026
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What this survey covers
When a creditor wins a lawsuit and gets a money judgment, the next step is often garnishing the debtor's paycheck: a court order requiring the employer to hold back part of each check and send it to the creditor instead. Federal law sets a floor on how much any judgment creditor can take, but states are free to protect more of a paycheck than federal law requires, and many do. A handful go further and bar wage garnishment for ordinary debt almost entirely.
Every state answers this differently, and the differences matter to real paychecks. Some states simply adopt the federal formula. Others cut the percentage, raise the protected minimum-wage floor, or add an entirely separate exemption for anyone supporting a family. This survey answers one question, state by state: how much can an ordinary judgment creditor actually take, and what protects the rest? Each state's page states the rule in plain English, quotes the statute it comes from, and shows the date we last verified the statutory text.
How to read the table
Each column is one feature of the state's wage garnishment rule, answered the same way for every state, with the statutory citation compressed into the cell. Where a state bars ordinary wage garnishment outright, the cell says so directly rather than leaving the percentage columns blank. Click a state for the full plain-English page: the rule dimension by dimension, the practical traps people actually hit, and the verbatim statutory text with official source links.
The patterns across the states
Four patterns emerge on the central question — how much of an ordinary paycheck a judgment creditor can take.
The federal formula is the floor almost everyone starts from, but a sizable minority beats it. Federal law (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) caps ordinary garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage. Plain adopters of that exact formula — no state-specific cut, no higher wage floor — include KY, MT, ID, KS, MS, AR, NM (on the percentage prong; NM widens the wage-floor prong instead), VT (for non-consumer debt), and WY (which restates the identical rule twice, once in its ordinary civil procedure code and again in its Consumer Credit Code). A larger group beats the federal floor on one or both prongs: CA and CO cut the percentage to 20% and raise the multiplier to 40-48x; CT, IA (for consumer debt), and DC use a 40x floor; NV uses an income-tiered percentage (18%/25%) with a 50x floor; WV and SD cut the percentage below 25% (20%) while also raising the wage multiplier; DE exempts 85% of wages outright (only 15% garnishable); ME funnels everything through a court-set installment order with its own composite cap. A few states don't fit the two-prong shape at all: HI uses a tiered dollar formula (5%/10%/20% of successive $100 bands); AK uses a CPI-escalated flat-dollar exemption tied to no minimum wage multiplier at all; DC's 2018 reform ties its 25% multiplier only to the excess above a 40x floor rather than to gross earnings, making it more protective than federal law at every income level without using the familiar "lesser of" structure.
A cluster of bar-or-near-bar states protects ordinary wages almost completely, reached through different legal mechanisms. TX (state constitution), PA, NC, and SC bar or nearly bar ordinary wage garnishment by an express list or a practical judicial gloss on a broad exemption. NH reaches the same result through a structural trick: it exempts all wages earned after the writ is served, so an ordinary creditor can only reach wages already earned but unpaid, never a continuing stream. These five are the standing exceptions to "everyone allows some ordinary garnishment" — verify independently rather than assuming a sixth state works the same way before calling it a bar state.
A head-of-household or family-support exemption is the exception, not the rule, but where it exists it varies from a modest add-on to a near-total shield. Most federal-formula and moderately-more-protective states (KY, MT, ID, WY, VA, and others) have none at all. Florida's § 222.11 is the standout: a full exemption of ALL disposable earnings for a "head of family" at or under $750/week. A second, more common shape is a COURT-DISCRETION, need-based add-on rather than a fixed dependent count: CA (§ 706.051), VT (§ 3170(b)(3)), and ME (§ 3126-A) all let a court protect more than the standard formula on a showing of actual necessity. A third shape bakes a per-dependent dollar reduction directly into the wage-floor formula instead of a separate exemption: SD and ND both reduce their minimum-wage floor by a flat amount per dependent. NE and OK instead cut the base PERCENTAGE (not the floor) for a head of family or consumer debt. Confirm which shape (if any) a state uses — "no head-of-household exemption" is common enough to be a real, correctly-reported answer, not a sign of incomplete research.
Multiple-garnishment priority splits three ways, and this is often the practical question a reader with an existing garnishment actually has. Most states use strict first-in-time priority among ordinary creditors (MT, KS, AR, and many others), sometimes formalized into a stricter "only one at a time" rule that goes further than simple ordering — WY, IA, DE, and DC all bar a second ordinary garnishment from even being served or satisfied while a first is in effect, and WY additionally caps how often a creditor can re-serve a writ (no more than one every 90 days). A second group lets courts, not filing order, divide competing claims (NV). Universally, though, a child/spousal support withholding order outranks an ordinary judgment creditor's garnishment regardless of when it was filed — this is the one point of near-total agreement across all 51 jurisdictions; some states (ND, DE, HI) go further and exclude support entirely from the ordinary chapter's mechanics rather than merely prioritizing it within them.
Anti-discharge protection for a garnished employee is close to universal, but its scope varies more than it first appears. The federal floor (15 U.S.C. § 1674) only bars firing someone over a SINGLE garnishment for one debt. Several states go further with no such limit in their own text (ND, ME, MT, DC, WY, VT), and a few pair that with real remedies beyond reinstatement: ND gives a private right of action for double back wages; VT's presumption of wrongful motive applies to any discharge within 60 days of service; WY caps recoverable back wages at 30 working days but adds attorney's fees. A handful of states (WV) narrow their own anti-discharge statute to a specific debt category (there, consumer credit) rather than garnishment generally — read the statute's own scope language rather than assuming "anti-discharge" always means "for any debt."
A structural outlier worth flagging on its own: Vermont requires a creditor to win a court hearing BEFORE any garnishment order can issue at all, rather than the self-executing writ-then-claim-of-exemption process used almost everywhere else — the single biggest procedural departure found in this survey.
State by state
Every column answered the same way for each jurisdiction. Open a state for the full page, with the statute text and the date it was checked.
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| State | Governing law | Maximum that can be garnished | State rule vs. federal floor | Minimum-wage protected floor | Support, tax & student loan debts | Head-of-household/family exemption | Multiple garnishments at once | Protection from being fired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama verified 2026-08-12 | Ala. Code § 5-19-15 (consumer credit transactions, directly restates the federal formula); § 6-10-7 (general/non-consumer debts and tort judgments, 75% wage exemption); § 30-3-67, § 30-3-70 (child support withholding priority and anti-discharge, Title 30) |
For consumer credit debt: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage, stated directly in § 5-19-15. For non-consumer debt and tort judgments: § 6-10-7 exempts 75% of wages (leaving 25% reachable), with the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act's 30x-minimum-wage floor applying independently as a nationwide baseline on top, so both tracks produce the same practical number even though only one track's own text mentions the wage floor |
Effectively identical to the federal CCPA formula on both tracks, not more protective. Section 5-19-15 restates the federal 25%/30x-minimum-wage rule directly for consumer debt; § 6-10-7's 75%-exemption for other debts matches the federal 25% prong exactly, and the federal minimum-wage floor (15 U.S.C. § 1673, which applies nationwide regardless of state law) supplies the second prong Alabama's own non-consumer-debt statute doesn't separately state |
30 times the FEDERAL minimum hourly wage ($7.25), the same figure used nationwide: $217.50/week. Section 5-19-15 states this floor directly for consumer debt; for non-consumer debt under § 6-10-7, the same floor still applies, but through the independently-operating federal Consumer Credit Protection Act rather than through Alabama's own statutory text |
Child/spousal support: withholding under Title 30, Ch. 3, Art. 3 may exceed § 6-10-7's ordinary statutory maximum, capped instead at 'the maximum statutory amounts prescribed under federal law for garnishments issued to enforce support obligations': the familiar 50-65% CCPA support tiers (§ 30-3-67). Federal tax and student-loan collection proceed under independent federal authority (IRS administrative levy; 15% of disposable pay under 20 U.S.C. § 1095a for defaulted federal student loans), outside Alabama's court-garnishment statutes entirely |
None. Neither § 5-19-15 nor § 6-10-7 gives a debtor supporting dependents any additional wage protection beyond the standard formula. Alabama's separate $7,500 personal-property exemption (§ 6-10-6) expressly excludes wages and is not an earnings add-on |
Child/spousal support withholding automatically outranks an ordinary garnishment: § 30-3-67 gives a support withholding order priority over any writ of garnishment or other state legal process against the same income 'whether the writ of garnishment or other process was served prior or subsequent to the order,' and if a debtor faces both a support order and an ordinary garnishment or more than one support order, 'the current month's support payments shall be satisfied before any arrearages are satisfied.' For competing ordinary (non-support) garnishments, Alabama runs continuing garnishments, effectively a first-in-time queue rather than a shared-percentage split among simultaneous creditors |
Matches the federal one-debt floor for ordinary garnishment (15 U.S.C. § 1674) with no independent state-law extension found for consumer or non-consumer creditor garnishment. Child support withholding gets its own, separate state anti-discharge rule: § 30-3-70 bars firing an employee or refusing to hire someone 'because of the entry of an order of withholding or service of the same,' backed by contempt-of-court liability for a violating employer: broader than the federal one-debt limit and specific to support withholding |
| Alaska verified 2026-10-07 | AS 09.38.030, .035, .040, .050, .065, .115; 8 AAC 95.030; 15 U.S.C. §§ 1673–1674. |
For an Alaska resident, AS 09.38.030 protects adjusted weekly net earnings; federal law separately caps ordinary garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or earnings above 30 times the federal minimum wage. The published regulation lists $473/week, but a proposed October 2026 adjustment lists $543; final amount unresolved (AS 09.38.030(a), .115(b); 8 AAC 95.030(d)(1); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
Alaska adds a flat, inflation-adjusted earnings exemption to the federal cap. For a nonresident debtor, AS 09.38.030(d) directs use of the federal § 1673 limits. |
Residents have an adjusted dollar exemption rather than a state minimum-wage multiplier; the federal 30-times-minimum-wage cap still applies. The the October adjustment dollar adjustment awaits final confirmation (AS 09.38.030(a), .115(b); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
AS 09.38.030(c) permits levy on otherwise exempt earnings for claims under AS 09.38.065(a)(1) or (3), including child support, specified unpaid wages, state or local taxes, and crime-victim claims, or under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy order. |
A sole-support affidavit under AS 09.38.050(b) raises the protected weekly amount. The published regulation lists $743; the proposed October 2026 figure is $853, pending final confirmation (8 AAC 95.030(e)(1)). |
A continuing lien on nonexempt wages takes priority over later garnishment liens and wage assignments; a later writ takes effect after earlier liens end, except a second writ in the same cause while one is pending has no effect (AS 09.38.035(a), .040). |
Federal law bars discharge because of garnishment for one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674). |
| Arizona verified 2026-10-07 | Wage-exemption cap in Title 33 (Property), A.R.S. § 33-1131; garnishment procedure in Title 12, §§ 12-1598 to 12-1598.17. Both rewritten by voter-approved Proposition 209 (Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act), effective December 5, 2022 |
Lesser of 10% of disposable earnings for the week, or the amount disposable earnings exceed 60x the applicable minimum hourly wage (§ 33-1131(B)) — down from a pre-2022 25%/30x formula. A court may reduce the 10% to not less than 5% on clear and convincing evidence of extreme economic hardship (§ 12-1598.10(F)) |
Arizona's 10%/60x-highest-applicable-wage formula is stricter than the federal 25%/30x-federal-wage formula (§ 33-1131(B); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) |
60x the highest applicable federal, Arizona, or local hourly minimum wage; Arizona's 2026 rate is $15.15, making the statewide weekly floor $909 before any higher local rate (§ 33-1131(B); ICA 2026 notice) |
A support order isn't subject to the ordinary cap at all — instead, 50% of disposable earnings is exempt, so up to 50% can be garnished (§ 33-1131(C)). A bankruptcy-court order and any state or federal tax debt are also carved out of the cap entirely, with no percentage limit under this section (§ 33-1131(D)). Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment (15%, 20 U.S.C. § 1095a) proceeds independently of this chapter |
The wage cap applies to a debtor's disposable earnings; a court may reduce the 10% rate to at least 5% on clear and convincing evidence of extreme hardship to the debtor or family (§§ 33-1131(B), 12-1598.10(F)) |
Generally first-in-time: conflicting garnishments and levies rank by priority in time of service (§ 12-1598.14(A)) — but a wage assignment, garnishment, or levy for the support of a person always outranks one that isn't for support, regardless of timing (§ 12-1598.14(B)). If a junior garnishment recovers nothing for two consecutive paydays because of these priority rules, that junior lien becomes invalid (§ 12-1598.14(C)) |
Federal law bars discharge because of garnishment for any one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674(a)) |
| Arkansas verified 2026-07-05 | No independent state percentage cap for ordinary garnishment — the federal formula, 15 U.S.C. § 1673, applies directly; laborer/mechanic wage exemption, Ark. Code § 16-66-208; garnishment procedure chapter, Ark. Code §§ 16-110-401 et seq., with a first-in-time priority rule at § 16-110-109 |
The plain federal cap applies (Arkansas hasn't enacted a lower one): lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which earnings exceed 30x the federal minimum hourly wage. Laborers and mechanics may instead claim the first $25/week of net wages as absolutely exempt, plus up to 60 days' wages if that total doesn't exceed Arkansas's $500 (married/head of family) or $200 (single) constitutional exemption (Ark. Code § 16-66-208) |
Adopts the federal formula by default — Arkansas has no separate, stricter state percentage for ordinary judgment creditors. Laborers and mechanics have an alternative state-law exemption (§ 16-66-208) they can invoke instead of the federal test if it protects more of their pay, though most debtors still do better under the federal formula |
30x the federal minimum hourly wage — $217.50/week at $7.25/hour — the plain federal multiplier; Arkansas has not adopted its own higher multiplier or its own minimum wage for this calculation |
Child and spousal support income withholding is capped at the federal support tiers (50-65% of disposable earnings depending on arrears and other dependents) and by statute outranks every other legal process against the same income (Ark. Code § 9-14-219); state or federal tax debt and bankruptcy proceedings are collected through their own separate processes outside this chapter |
No wage-specific head-of-household exemption. 'Head of family' status instead raises the constitutional PERSONAL PROPERTY exemption used to cap the § 16-66-208 laborer/mechanic wage exemption — $500 for a married person or head of family versus $200 for a single person (Ark. Code § 16-66-218(b)) |
Strict first-in-time: competing orders of attachment or garnishment against the same debtor are executed in the order the sheriff or other officer received them (Ark. Code § 16-110-109), except that a child-support income-withholding order always takes priority over every other legal process regardless of when it arrived (§ 9-14-219) |
No independent Arkansas statute protects an employee from discharge over an ordinary judgment garnishment — only the federal rule applies (bars discharge for a single garnishment, 15 U.S.C. § 1674). Arkansas separately fines an employer up to $50/day for firing a parent because of a child-support income-withholding order (Ark. Code § 9-14-222(d)(6)), but that specific protection doesn't extend to ordinary creditor garnishments |
| California verified 2026-10-07 | Wage Garnishment Law, Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §§ 706.010–706.154; cap § 706.050; firing protection Lab. Code § 2929. |
Lesser of 20% of disposable weekly earnings or 40% of the excess above 48× applicable minimum wage (§ 706.050(a)). |
California’s 20% / 40%-over-48× formula is more protective than federal 25% / excess-over-30× (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
48× the state hourly minimum wage, or the higher local wage where the debtor works (§ 706.050(a)(2)). |
Support orders have priority; state tax orders use Article 4; federal taxes and student loans have separate federal rules (§§ 706.030, 706.051(c); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b); 20 U.S.C. § 1095a). |
Earnings proven necessary for the debtor’s or family’s support are exempt, subject to four statutory exceptions (§ 706.051(b)–(c)). |
First order served controls ordinary orders; support and tax orders, then elder-abuse orders, have stated priority (§§ 706.023, 706.030). |
No discharge for threatened garnishment or wages garnished for one judgment; up to 30 days’ wages after wrongful discharge (Lab. Code § 2929). |
| Colorado verified 2026-10-07 | C.R.S. § 13-54-104 sets the cap and exceptions; §§ 13-54.5-104, -110 govern competing writs and discharge. |
Least of 20% of weekly disposable earnings, earnings over 40 times the federal minimum wage, or earnings over 40 times the Colorado minimum wage; a hardship hearing may protect more (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a)(I)). |
More protective than the federal 25%/30-times formula on both prongs (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a)(I); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
40 times the higher of the state and federal hourly rates. Colorado’s 2026 state rate is $15.16/hour, yielding a $606.40 weekly floor (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a)(I); 7 CCR 1103-14, r. 1.2.1(A)). |
Support, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, and state or federal taxes are excluded from the ordinary cap; separate support tiers and a fraudulently obtained public assistance formula apply (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a)(II), (3)). |
A debtor may object and seek a hearing to protect more earnings if household income after garnishment cannot cover actual necessary living expenses (C.R.S. § 13-54-104(2)(a)(I)(D)). |
One continuing writ paid at a time, by service order; child support first, then fraudulently obtained public or child care assistance, then ordinary writs (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-104(1)). |
Employer may not discharge an employee because a creditor subjected or tried to subject earnings to garnishment; suit within 91 days for reinstatement and up to six weeks’ lost wages, costs, and fees (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-110). |
| Connecticut verified 2026-08-17 | Wage execution: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-361a (cap and priority: subsection (f); anti-discharge: subsection (j)); support income withholding: § 52-362; Connecticut minimum wage definition: § 31-58(i) |
Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40x the higher of the federal minimum hourly wage or Connecticut's own minimum fair wage (§ 52-361a(f)) |
Matches the federal 25% ceiling, but is more protective on the second prong: a 40x-minimum-wage cushion instead of the federal 30x, using whichever of the federal or Connecticut minimum wage is higher (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) |
40x the higher of the federal minimum hourly wage or Connecticut's own minimum fair wage under § 31-58(i), which is adjusted periodically and typically exceeds the federal rate — a bigger protected floor than most states' 30x-federal formula |
Child support and alimony income withholding under § 52-362 follows the federal CCPA percentages (up to 50-65% of disposable earnings, § 52-362(c)(1)(F)), but guarantees an extra floor: 85% of the first $145 of weekly disposable income is exempt even from a support withholding (§ 52-362(c)(1)(E)); federal tax levies and federal student loans use their own separate federal process |
No dedicated head-of-household or family-size exemption; a debtor can move under § 52-361a(h) for a court-ordered modification of the execution 'as is reasonable,' a general discretionary route rather than a defined family-support standard |
Strict first-in-time — 'Only one execution under this section shall be satisfied at one time,' with priority set by the order the executions were presented to the employer (§ 52-361a(f)) |
Unusually protective: § 52-361a(j) bars discipline, suspension, or discharge over a wage execution unless the employer is served with MORE THAN SEVEN wage executions against the employee in a calendar year — far beyond the federal single-garnishment rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674) |
| Delaware verified 2026-10-07 | 10 Del. C. § 4913 sets the 85% exemption and one-attachment rule; 13 Del. C. § 513(a)(7) governs support priority. |
85% of resident wages exempt; court worksheet attaches the lesser of 15% of disposable earnings or earnings above 30 times the applicable minimum wage (10 Del. C. § 4913(a); J.P. Civil Form No. 34). |
The state 15% cap is below the federal 25% cap; the court worksheet applies a 30-times-minimum-wage floor (10 Del. C. § 4913(a); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
Court worksheet uses 30 times the applicable minimum wage; Delaware’s $15.00 hourly rate supplies the 2026 state figure (19 Del. C. § 902(a)(5); J.P. Civil Form No. 34). |
State fines, costs, and taxes are outside § 4913(a); support attachments are excluded by 13 Del. C. § 513(a)(7) and subject to federal § 1673(b) limits. |
10 Del. C. § 4903 separately exempts $500 of selected personal property for a head of family; § 4913 states no extra status-based wage percentage. |
Only one wage attachment at a time; the existing creditor has priority until judgment and costs are paid. Support attachments take priority except against federal tax liens (10 Del. C. § 4913(b); 13 Del. C. § 513(a)(7)). |
Federal law bars discharge because earnings were garnished for one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674). |
| District of Columbia verified 2026-07-06 | D.C. Code § 16-572 (cap and priority); § 16-572.01 (hardship exemption motion); § 16-573 (employer withholding duty); § 16-584 (anti-discharge) |
25% of the amount by which weekly disposable wages exceed 40 times the applicable minimum hourly wage (D.C. Code § 16-572(1)(A)); no withholding at all if disposable wages don't exceed that 40x floor (§ 16-573(d)) |
More protective than the federal 25%/30x formula (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) — D.C. only takes 25% of the excess above a bigger, 40x floor, rather than up to the full excess above 30x |
40 times the D.C. minimum hourly wage set under D.C. Code § 32-1003, in effect when wages are payable |
Support judgments are exempt from § 16-572's percentage cap and instead limited to 50% of gross wages, with IV-D child support withholding orders (Title 46, Ch. 2) taking priority over other process and following the federal CCPA support cap, 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b) (D.C. Code § 16-577); federal tax levies and federal student loan administrative wage garnishment operate under separate federal authority outside this chapter |
No automatic head-of-household dollar exemption; instead a judgment debtor may file a motion claiming undue financial hardship (D.C. Code § 16-572.01), with a presumption of hardship if the debtor receives listed public-assistance benefits |
Only one attachment on a debtor's wages may be satisfied at a time; where more than one is issued, the one first delivered to the marshal has priority and the rest wait in that order (D.C. Code §§ 16-572(3)-(4), 16-507(b)) |
D.C. Code § 16-584 bars firing an employee because a creditor has garnished or attempted to garnish wages for a judgment, with no cap limiting the protection to a single garnishment — broader than the federal rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674) |
| Florida verified 2026-10-06 | Wage garnishment exemption: Fla. Stat. § 222.11; support income-deduction system: Fla. Stat. §§ 61.12, 61.1301 |
For most earners: the federal cap adopted by reference (lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount over 30x federal minimum wage, Fla. Stat. § 222.11(2)(c)); a head of family is fully exempt up to $750/week and needs a written waiver to be garnished above that |
Adopts the federal cap as-is for most earners, but layers a far more protective head-of-family exemption on top for anyone supporting a dependent |
Same as the federal formula it adopts: 30x the federal minimum hourly wage, with no separate Florida multiplier |
Alimony and child support use separate income-deduction orders (§§ 61.12, 61.1301); the federal support cap is 50%-65% depending on other dependents and arrears (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)); an order can require additional withholding for arrears (§ 61.1301(1)(b)) |
All disposable earnings of a head of family at or under $750/week are exempt; above that, a written waiver meeting statutory form rules is needed (§ 222.11(2)); traceable deposited earnings remain exempt for 6 months (§ 222.11(3)) |
For multiple support income deduction notices, Fla. Stat. § 61.1301(4) prorates available income among obligee families when combined demands exceed the available amount and gives current support priority over arrears |
Beyond the federal single-garnishment rule, Florida makes disciplining an employee over a continuing alimony/child-support garnishment a contempt of court (Fla. Stat. § 61.12(2)) and separately imposes a $250-$500 civil penalty plus a private right to sue for reinstatement and lost wages for firing over a support income deduction order (§ 61.1301(2)(j)) — protections not limited to a single garnishment |
| Georgia verified 2026-08-16 | O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5 sets the substantive cap and the anti-discharge rule; § 18-4-6 covers exempt property (including retirement funds); § 18-4-4 sets the garnishment periods (1,095 days for a continuing wage garnishment); § 18-4-18 resolves competing claims to the same garnished fund; support garnishment runs through a separate track, Article 3 of the same chapter (§§ 18-4-50 et seq.) |
The lesser of 25% of the defendant's disposable earnings for the week (15% if the underlying judgment arose from a private student loan) or the amount by which disposable earnings for the week exceed $217.50 (O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5(a)) |
Essentially matches the federal floor rather than exceeding it — same 25%/30x-minimum-wage shape as 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — with one added protection the federal statute doesn't have: a separate, lower 15% cap specifically for judgments arising from private (non-federally-guaranteed) student loans |
A fixed $217.50 per week, written directly into the statute rather than as thirty times the current federal minimum hourly wage the way many other states phrase it; § 18-4-5(a)(3) confirms this figure is calculated at 30 hours per week at $7.25 per hour and prorated for other pay periods, but the dollar amount itself doesn't move automatically if the federal minimum wage changes — it would take a further amendment to this statute to update it |
Georgia caps a continuing garnishment for support at 50% of disposable earnings under O.C.G.A. § 18-4-53(b), on a separate procedural track from the ordinary 25%/$217.50 cap; retirement and pension funds are exempt from garnishment until actually distributed to the member, and even then are only exempt to the same extent as ordinary disposable earnings (O.C.G.A. § 18-4-6(a)(2)); federal tax levies and federal student loan administrative garnishment reach Georgia wages under separate federal authority |
None as a distinct dimension — Georgia's ordinary cap in § 18-4-5 applies the same way regardless of dependents or household status, with no additional family-support exemption layered on top of it |
The ordinary 25%/$217.50 cap applies in the aggregate even if the garnishee is served with more than one ordinary garnishment naming the same defendant — it isn't multiplied per creditor (O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5(b)) — but that combined-cap rule doesn't apply to a continuing garnishment for support, which runs on its own track; where competing garnishment claims reach the same deposited money or property, the claimant with the OLDEST ENTERED JUDGMENT has priority to it, not whoever filed the garnishment first (O.C.G.A. § 18-4-18) |
O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5(c) bars discharging an employee because earnings were garnished 'for any one obligation, even though more than one summons of garnishment may be served upon such employer with respect to the obligation' — protecting against firing over repeated summonses tied to the SAME debt, though still limited to a single underlying obligation like the federal rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674) |
| Hawaii verified 2026-10-07 | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 652-1(a)(4), (b) sets the tiered postjudgment rate; § 576E-16(c) gives support priority; § 378-32(a)(1) bars specified retaliation. |
5% of first $100 monthly wages after required deductions, 10% of next $100, 20% above $200, or weekly equivalent; compare with federal cap and use the more protective result (§ 652-1(a)(4), (b); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
Hawaii’s tiered rate and federal 25%/30-times-minimum-wage cap both apply; the official court form directs the calculation more favorable to the employee (§ 652-1; 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
State formula uses $100/$200 monthly tiers, without a wage multiplier. Federal alternative protects earnings below 30 times the federal hourly minimum wage (§ 652-1(a)(4); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
Support income withholding takes priority and is outside ordinary chapter 652 restrictions; federal support limits still apply (§ 576E-16(c); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)). |
No family-status add-on appears in § 652-1’s wage tiers; separate §§ 651-91 and 651-92 address a head-of-family real-property exemption. |
Support withholding has express priority over other orders (§ 576E-16(c)); § 652-5 permits a judgment creditor to continue garnishment through a new employer at the original percentage. |
Employer may not suspend, discharge, or discriminate solely because summoned as garnishee for the employee (§ 378-32(a)(1)). |
| Idaho verified 2026-08-17 | Idaho Code § 11-712 (2017 Garnishments chapter) and § 11-207 (older execution-exemptions chapter) — near-identical restatements of the wage cap; § 11-704 (continuing-garnishment priority) |
Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the workweek, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (§ 11-712(1)) — the plain federal CCPA formula, restated verbatim rather than cut further |
Adopts the federal 25%/30x-federal-min-wage test exactly, with no lower percentage or higher floor of its own; the support-order percentages (50/55/60/65%) also match the federal CCPA support tiers verbatim |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C.A. § 206(a)(1); Idaho does not raise the multiplier or tie it to a separate state wage |
Support orders, bankruptcy Chapter XIII orders, and state or federal tax debt are all excepted from the ordinary cap entirely (§ 11-712(2)(a)); a support order instead caps at 50% of disposable earnings (55% with 12+ weeks of arrears) if supporting another spouse or child, or 60% (65% with arrears) if not (§ 11-712(2)(b)) |
None. Idaho's wage-garnishment statutes apply the same 25%/30x-min-wage formula regardless of whether the debtor supports a family |
First-in-time, enforced through a continuing-garnishment mechanism: an employer-garnishee pays a continuing garnishment until it's satisfied; if it's already withholding the statutory maximum, any additional garnishment can't be served until the continuing one is satisfied or drops below the cap, and additional garnishments are served in the order presented (§ 11-704) |
No independent Idaho statute bars firing an employee over an ordinary wage garnishment; only the federal rule applies, barring discharge for a single garnishment for one debt (15 U.S.C. § 1674) |
| Illinois verified 2026-10-06 | 735 ILCS 5/12-803 sets the ordinary wage deduction limit; §§ 12-804, 12-808, and 12-818 cover retirement exemptions, lien priority, and discharge protection. |
Lesser of 15% of gross weekly wages or disposable earnings above 45× the higher federal/Illinois minimum hourly wage (§ 12-803), subject also to the federal 25%-of-disposable ceiling (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
The 45× higher-wage floor protects more than the federal 30× federal-wage floor. The 15%-of-gross and 25%-of-disposable percentage prongs use different bases; the creditor must obey both ceilings (§ 12-803; 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
45× the greater of the federal or Illinois minimum hourly wage for summonses served since January 1, 2006 (§ 12-803). |
Support withholding uses the federal CCPA maximum under 750 ILCS 28/20(c)(6), with federal 50%–65% support tiers (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(2)); federal law separately excepts tax debt and Chapter 13 orders from the ordinary limit. |
No separate family-status exemption in the ordinary wage deduction provisions; all workers receive the § 12-803 formula. |
Earlier wage deduction liens and summonses take priority; spouse or dependent-child support liens outrank them (735 ILCS 5/12-808(c)). |
An employer may not discharge or suspend a worker because wages were subjected to a deduction order for one indebtedness; violation is a Class A misdemeanor (§ 12-818). |
| Indiana verified 2026-10-07 | Judgment prerequisite, cap, and support priority: IC 24-4.5-5-104, -105; anti-discharge: IC 24-4.5-5-106 |
Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or earnings above 30× the federal minimum wage; court may reduce percentage to 10% on good cause (IC 24-4.5-5-105(2)) |
Matches federal 25%/30× baseline; state court may lower percentage to at least 10% on good cause (IC 24-4.5-5-105(2)(a)) |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage for a workweek (IC 24-4.5-5-105(2)(b)) |
Support: 50%–65% tiers and priority over ordinary writs (§ 105(3), (8)); state/federal tax debts outside ordinary federal cap (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(1)(C)); qualifying federal student loans: separate 15% administrative cap (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)) |
No dependent-specific reduction in IC 24-4.5-5-105(2); its good-cause reduction is available to any qualifying debtor |
The statutory ceiling applies to aggregate earnings withheld for one or more judgments (IC 24-4.5-5-105(2)); that clause does not allocate payments among ordinary creditors. Support withholding outranks an ordinary garnishment regardless of order date (§ 105(8)) |
IC 24-4.5-5-106 bars discharge over attempted or actual garnishment by a creditor or creditors for a judgment or judgments; text is broader than federal § 1674's one-indebtedness protection |
| Iowa verified 2026-10-07 | Iowa Code § 642.21 sets the annual cap and employer rule; § 537.5105 adds the consumer debt floor and hardship process; §§ 626.3, 642.24 govern executions and support priority. |
Federal 25%/30-times weekly cap for ordinary debt; consumer credit judgments use 25%/40-times. Annual per-creditor cap runs from $250 to 10% of expected earnings by income tier (Iowa Code §§ 642.21(1), 537.5105(2)(a)). |
Ordinary weekly cap incorporates federal law; consumer credit floor is 40 rather than 30 times the federal hourly wage, plus a separate annual per-creditor ceiling (Iowa Code §§ 642.21(1), 537.5105(2)(a)). |
30 times the federal hourly wage for ordinary debt; 40 times for a consumer credit judgment (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a); Iowa Code § 537.5105(2)(a)). |
§ 642.21(1) excepts specified support remedies from the annual ceiling; § 642.24 pays support first from garnished funds. |
For a consumer credit judgment, a debtor may seek an additional exemption through a verified application showing family maintenance needs; hearing in five to ten days (Iowa Code § 537.5105(4)). |
Only one execution may exist at one time (Iowa Code § 626.3); support amounts are paid first from garnished funds (§ 642.24). |
Employer may not discharge an individual because earnings were subject to garnishment for indebtedness (Iowa Code § 642.21(2)(c)). |
| Kansas verified 2026-10-06 | K.S.A. § 60-2310(b) (ordinary cap), § 60-2310(g) (support-order cap), § 60-2311 (anti-discharge) |
Least of 25% of weekly disposable earnings, earnings above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or the amount of the creditor’s claim (K.S.A. § 60-2310(b)). |
Adopts the federal 25%/30x-federal-minimum-wage test exactly, with no lower percentage or higher floor of its own; the support-order percentages in § 60-2310(g) also restate the federal CCPA support tiers (50/55/60/65%) verbatim |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (defined in § 60-2310(a)(4) by reference to FLSA § 6(a)(1)) — $217.50/week at $7.25/hour; the statute uses the federal wage, not any Kansas state minimum wage |
Support, Chapter XIII bankruptcy orders, and state or federal tax debts fall outside the ordinary cap; support orders instead use 50%, 55%, 60%, or 65% of disposable earnings depending on other dependents and arrears (K.S.A. § 60-2310(e), (g)). Federal student-loan administrative garnishment has a separate 15% rule (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)). |
No separate household-head percentage in § 60-2310. If illness of the debtor or a family member prevents the debtor from working at the regular trade for more than two weeks, the debtor’s affidavit can bar use of this section until two months after recovery (§ 60-2310(c)). |
One creditor may issue only one earnings garnishment in any 30-day period (§ 60-2310(b)). A garnishment remains in effect behind a wage lien that has legal priority, but withholding waits until the priority liens are released, satisfied, or leave room above the exempt amount (§ 60-737(c)). |
K.S.A. § 60-2311 bars an employer from discharging an employee because the employee's earnings were subjected to wage garnishment, with no limit to a single garnishment written into the state text — broader on its face than the federal floor, which only bars discharge for one garnishment for one debt (15 U.S.C. § 1674) |
| Kentucky verified 2026-10-06 | KRS § 427.010(2)-(3) (the garnishment cap and its carve-outs); § 427.140 (anti-discharge for a single garnishment); § 425.506 (priority among successive garnishment orders served on the same employer) |
The lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (§ 427.010(2)): a direct restatement of the federal CCPA formula, applied uniformly to every kind of ordinary debt with no separate track for consumer credit transactions |
Matches the federal CCPA formula exactly; Kentucky is one of the states that simply adopts the federal rule as its own rather than imposing anything stricter or more protective |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage for a weekly pay period, with the equivalent federal multiple used for other pay periods: no Kentucky-specific wage rate or multiplier is substituted (§ 427.010(2)(b)) |
Section 427.010(3) expressly exempts three categories from the ordinary 25%/30x-minimum-wage cap: any court order for support of any person, any Chapter 13 bankruptcy court order, and any debt due for state or federal tax: meaning support garnishment instead follows the federal CCPA's own higher tiers (50-65% of disposable earnings, 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)), and tax debt is collected through the taxing authority's own separate levy process. Federal student loans follow their own independent federal mechanism (15% of disposable pay, 20 U.S.C. § 1095a), outside this statute entirely |
KRS § 427.010(2) applies the same ordinary percentage and federal-wage floor without a separate household-head adjustment; subsection (3) lists support, bankruptcy, and tax exceptions. |
Orders take priority by date of service on the employer. An inferior order starts in the next succeeding pay period not subject to a prior order; a creditor cannot serve two orders against the same employee in one pay period (KRS § 425.506(2)). |
Matches the federal floor exactly with no independent state extension: § 427.140 bars discharging an employee 'by reason of the fact that his earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one (1) indebtedness': the same single-debt limit as 15 U.S.C. § 1674, not broadened to cover a second or third garnishment the way some states' statutes do |
| Louisiana verified 2026-10-07 | La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1) sets ordinary and support wage exemptions; § 13:3925 treats qualifying employee-to-employer debt as a prior garnishment; § 46:236.3 governs support priority; § 23:731(C) governs job protection. |
At most 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30× the federal minimum hourly wage per week, whichever is less (La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(a)). |
The ordinary 75%-exempt/30×-federal-wage floor matches the federal CCPA’s 25%/30× formula (La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(a); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
At least 30× the federal minimum hourly wage for weekly pay, scaled for a longer or shorter pay period (§ 13:3881(A)(1)(a)). |
Child-support obligations have a 50%-of-disposable-earnings exemption and spousal-support obligations a 60% exemption under § 13:3881(A)(1)(a); support orders take preference over other garnishments (§ 46:236.3(H)). |
No dependent-based increment in the ordinary § 13:3881(A)(1)(a) formula; support obligations have separate percentages. |
A liquidated employee debt to the employer may be treated as a prior garnishment, without preference over child support (§ 13:3925). Support orders outrank other garnishment (§ 46:236.3(H)); simultaneous support orders are prorated, with current support prioritized (§ 46:236.3(E)(5)). |
§ 23:731(C) protects against discharge or refusal to hire over a voluntary assignment or one garnishment; discharge may follow three or more unrelated garnishments in two years, excluding specified accident/illness garnishments. § 46:236.3(J) separately bars support-withholding retaliation. |
| Maine verified 2026-10-06 | 14 M.R.S. § 3126-A (installment payment order and its earnings cap); § 3127-B (order to employer or payor of earnings); § 3121 (definitions) |
Maine has no direct wage-garnishment order for ordinary debt; instead a court sets a periodic installment payment after a disclosure hearing. Under § 3126-A(3), the maximum any workweek's installment order can reach is the LEAST of: (A) 25% of the sum of the debtor's disposable earnings and certain exempt income (Social Security, unemployment, veterans' and disability benefits, support received, and some retirement-plan payments); (B) the amount by which that same sum exceeds 40 times the higher of the federal or Maine minimum hourly wage; or (C) the debtor's total disposable earnings. An employer then withholds under § 3127-B the lesser of the court-ordered installment amount or the maximum the formula allows |
Maine uses 40 times the higher state or federal minimum wage instead of the federal 30-times-federal-wage floor, but counts defined exempt income with disposable earnings in its 25% and floor calculations (§ 3126-A(1), (3)); compare the actual calculations rather than assuming one always yields a lower amount |
40 times the minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) (federal) or by 26 M.R.S. § 664 (Maine's own minimum wage), whichever is higher at the time the earnings are payable (§ 3126-A(3)(B)) — a bigger protected floor than the federal 30x multiplier whenever Maine's minimum wage (higher than the federal minimum) applies |
Child and spousal support orders are excluded from the ordinary § 3126-A(3) cap entirely (§ 3126-A(6)(A)) and instead follow their own, higher ceiling in § 3126-A(7): 50% of disposable earnings if the debtor is supporting another spouse or child, or 60% if not, rising to 55%/65% if the support arrears predate the current 12-week period — matching the federal CCPA support ceilings exactly. Bankruptcy Chapter 13 trustee orders and state or federal tax debts are also excluded from the ordinary cap (§ 3126-A(6)(B)-(C)) and proceed under their own separate mechanisms. Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment likewise runs outside this chapter |
The court may consider the reasonable requirements of the debtor and dependents when setting the installment payment (§ 3126-A(4)(A)); the statutory cap itself has no family-status percentage |
When setting an installment order, the court may consider payments due on other judgment orders or wage assignments and any orders or assignments with priority (§ 3126-A(4)(B)-(C)); support orders follow § 3126-A(7) |
Maine's own statute protects an employee whose earnings are withheld under a § 3127-B order: 'No employer may discharge any employee because his earnings are subject to an order under this section' (§ 3127-B(6)), with no stated limit to a single garnishment the way the federal rule has. This is on top of, and broader than, the federal floor (15 U.S.C. § 1674, which only bars discharge for a first garnishment on one debt) |
| Maryland verified 2026-10-06 | Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 15-601 to 15-607 (definitions, the exemption formula, lien effect, priority among writs, and anti-discharge); child/spousal support withholding runs through Family Law §§ 10-120 to 10-128 instead; a state income-tax wage lien runs through Tax-Gen. § 13-811, which borrows the same § 15-601.1 exemption |
Exempts the greater of 75% of disposable wages or 30 times the State minimum hourly wage for each week earned, plus employer-deducted medical insurance payments; compute per pay period (Com. Law § 15-601.1). |
Uses the State $15 hourly wage for its floor, compared with federal law’s $7.25 wage; both use a 25% branch (Com. Law § 15-601.1; 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a); 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)(C)). |
30 × the State minimum hourly wage, currently $15 under Lab. & Empl. § 3-413(c)(1)(ii), for each week the wages were earned: $450 for one week (Com. Law § 15-601.1). |
Child and spousal support withholding follows the federal CCPA's own higher tiers, Family Law § 10-122(c) directs the withholding agency to allocate available amounts 'giving priority to current support, up to the limits imposed by the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act', so support garnishment can reach 50-65% of disposable earnings depending on arrears and second-family status, with no separate Maryland percentage. A Comptroller income-tax wage lien (Tax-Gen. § 13-811) is a notable exception to the usual pattern where tax debt cuts deeper: it excludes only 'the amount exempt from attachment provided in § 15-601.1', the SAME formula as an ordinary judgment creditor, not a bigger bite. Federal IRS levies and federal student-loan administrative wage garnishment (15% of disposable pay, 20 U.S.C. § 1095a) proceed under independent federal authority, unconstrained by Maryland's cap |
None. Section 15-601.1's exemption formula applies uniformly no matter how many dependents a debtor supports: there's no per-dependent add-on or deeper cut like Missouri's 10% head-of-family rule or Florida's near-total exemption. Maryland's general personal-property exemptions, including the $6,000 'wildcard' (Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-504(b)(6)), don't fill the gap either: § 11-504(e) expressly provides that 'the exemptions in this section do not apply to wage attachments,' so a debtor supporting a family gets no extra wage-specific protection beyond the same formula everyone else gets |
Strictly first-in-time by the date of SERVICE on the employer, not the filing or judgment date: Com. Law § 15-603(b) requires that attachments 'be satisfied in the order in which they were served,' and 'each prior attachment must be satisfied before any effect can be given to a subsequent attachment': a fully sequential system, not a combined-percentage split among simultaneous creditors |
Matches the federal floor, no discharge over garnishment for a single indebtedness, under Com. Law § 15-606(a), which tracks 15 U.S.C. § 1674's one-debt limit rather than extending it. Maryland backs this with its own criminal penalty: a willful violator 'is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both' (§ 15-606(b)), a real state enforcement layer federal law doesn't add on its own |
| Massachusetts verified 2026-10-07 | M.G.L. c. 246, §§ 28 and 32 govern ordinary wage exemptions and restrict wage trustee process to a judgment action with advance judicial permission; c. 208, § 36A separately governs support-order trustee process. |
At most the lesser of 15% of gross weekly wages or gross weekly wages above 50× the higher federal/Massachusetts minimum wage (c. 246, § 28), subject also to the federal disposable-earnings ceiling. |
Massachusetts's 50× higher-wage floor exceeds the federal 30× federal-wage floor. State 15%-of-gross and federal 25%-of-disposable prongs use different bases; both ceilings apply (§ 28; 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
50× the higher federal/Massachusetts minimum hourly wage (§ 28); the current Massachusetts $15 rate (c. 151, § 1) makes the weekly gross-wage floor $750. |
Support orders use federal support limits instead of § 28, through c. 208, § 36A. State-tax levy uses c. 62C, §§ 53, 55A (a separate $75 weekly exemption plus $25 per qualifying dependent); federal student-loan administrative garnishment has a separate 15%-of-disposable-pay ceiling. |
No family-status addition to the ordinary § 28 formula. The separate state-tax levy exemption includes $25 for each qualifying dependent (c. 62C, § 55A(d)(1)). |
C. 246, § 8 permits renewed service on a trustee; it does not rank competing wage claims. C. 223, § 125 ranks bond proceeds from attached personal property, not wages. Support trustee process follows c. 208, § 36A. |
Federal 15 U.S.C. § 1674 bars discharge over garnishment for one debt. Massachusetts c. 208, § 36A(5) separately bars discharge, suspension, or discipline because of support-order trustee process. |
| Michigan verified 2026-07-05 | Garnishment authorization, priority, and procedure: Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 600.4011-600.4012 (Revised Judicature Act) and Michigan Court Rule 3.101; child support and alimony withholding: the Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, MCL 552.601 et seq. (cap in § 552.608, priority in § 552.611) |
No independent Michigan percentage — MCR 3.101(B)(1)(c) applies the federal ceiling directly: the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (15 U.S.C. § 1673) |
Adopts the federal floor as-is for an ordinary garnishment, rather than raising or lowering it (MCR 3.101(B)(1)(c) cites 15 U.S.C. § 1673 by name as the governing ceiling); Michigan's OWN independent cap for child support, 50% flat (MCL 552.608), is more protective than the federal support ceiling, which allows up to 60% (or 65% if 12+ weeks in arrears) |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage — the same multiplier and wage floor as the federal formula, with no separate Michigan multiplier or state-minimum-wage substitute |
Child support and alimony withholding is capped at a flat 50% of disposable earnings under MCL 552.608, regardless of arrears or other dependents — narrower than the federal ceiling, which would let support withholding reach 60% (or 65% with 12+ weeks of arrears); an income-withholding order for support and a state or governmental-unit tax levy both outrank an ordinary garnishment 'regardless of the order in which they are received' (MCL 600.4012(2)); federal tax levies and federal student loan administrative wage garnishment (up to 15%) reach Michigan wages independently of state law |
None — Michigan's ordinary cap is exactly the federal 25%/30x formula with no additional state-law exemption layered on top for dependents or head-of-household status |
MCL 600.4012(2) sets it directly: a support income-withholding order and a state/governmental-unit tax levy both outrank an ordinary garnishment no matter which was received first; among garnishments of the same priority tier, the one received earliest controls, and a garnishee owes nothing on a later-received, same-or-lower-priority garnishment until the earlier one stops being effective — except that, per MCR 3.101(B)(1)(c), a garnishee must still withhold under a lower-priority earnings garnishment to the extent a higher-priority order takes less than the full federal ceiling |
No Michigan-specific anti-discharge statute was found in the garnishment statutes (MCL 600.4011-600.4012), Michigan Court Rule 3.101, or the state's wage-payment law; Michigan relies on the federal floor alone, 15 U.S.C. § 1674, which bars discharge over garnishment of a single debt |
| Minnesota verified 2026-10-07 | Minn. Stat. §§ 571.921–571.927 govern wage limits, order priority, and retaliation; § 550.37, subds. 13–14 confirms the earnings and public-assistance exemptions. |
Lesser of 10% of disposable earnings when weekly income is over 40× and up to 60× the applicable hourly wage; 15% above 60× and up to 80×; or 25% above 80×; and disposable earnings above the 40× floor (§ 571.922(a)–(b)). |
State tiers of 10%/15%/25% and a 40× higher-of-state-or-federal wage floor generally protect more than the federal 25%/30×-federal-wage formula (§ 571.922; 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
40× the higher statewide Minnesota or federal hourly minimum wage. The 2026 Minnesota rate is $11.41, making the weekly floor $456.40; the announced $11.87 rate will raise it to $474.80 on January 1, 2027 (§§ 571.922(b), 177.24, subd. 1). |
Child-support judgments use separate 50%/55%/60%/65% disposable-income limits (§ 571.922(c)); federal student-loan administrative garnishment has a separate 15% ceiling (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)). |
No per-dependent increment; § 550.37, subd. 14 instead exempts earnings of eligible need-based-assistance recipients and, for six months after return to work, former recipients and recent correctional inmates. |
Summons service order controls; same-time service is resolved by earlier judgment date, then employer selection for a tie (§ 571.923). Later writs reach only unclaimed nonexempt pay (§ 550.37, subd. 13). |
§ 571.927 prohibits discharge or discipline of employees or independent contractors because of earnings garnishment; a civil claim must be brought within 90 days and can recover twice lost earnings. |
| Mississippi verified 2026-10-07 | Wage garnishment cap and 30-day grace period, Miss. Code § 85-3-4; multiple-garnishment priority, § 11-35-24; garnishment procedure chapter, §§ 11-35-1 et seq. |
After an initial 30-day period in which wages are fully exempt from the date of service (§ 85-3-4(1)), the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which earnings exceed 30x the federal minimum hourly wage (§ 85-3-4(2)) — the plain federal formula, restated directly in Mississippi's own statute |
Section 85-3-4(2) uses the same 25%/30-times formula as 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a); § 85-3-4(1) separately exempts wages for 30 days after service |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, currently $217.50 a week at $7.25 an hour (Miss. Code § 85-3-4(2)(a)(ii); 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)(C)) |
Support orders and state or local tax debt fall entirely outside the ordinary cap and the 30-day grace period (§ 85-3-4(3)(a)); support garnishments instead follow the federal support tiers — 50% (55% with 12+ weeks of arrears) if supporting another spouse or child, 60% (65% with arrears) if not |
Section 85-3-4 states no separate head-of-household wage tier; § 85-3-1(a)'s $10,000 tangible-property exemption addresses listed property, not a distinct wage percentage |
First-in-time, with two refinements: a garnishee served with more than one garnishment on the same employee satisfies them in the order served; if two arrive the same day, the smaller amount is paid first; a child-support garnishment always has first priority regardless of when it arrived or whether an earlier garnishment is already in effect (Miss. Code § 11-35-24) |
Federal law bars discharge because of garnishment for one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674(a)); Mississippi also bars discharge, discipline, and refusal to hire because of a child-support withholding duty, with a fine of up to $50 (Miss. Code §§ 93-11-111(9), 93-11-117(2)) |
| Missouri verified 2026-10-06 | RSMo § 525.030 (the cap itself, the head-of-family reduction, the support/tax/bankruptcy carve-out, and the anti-discharge rule) and § 525.040 (priority among multiple writs by date of service). The head-of-family reduction cross-references the personal-property exemption statute, § 513.440 |
The least of 25% of disposable weekly earnings, the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or, for a Missouri-resident head of family, 10% of disposable earnings (RSMo § 525.030.2(1)). The wage floor may protect more than the 10% test on a low paycheck. |
The 25% and 30-times-federal-wage branches match federal law; Missouri adds a 10% branch for a resident head of family, subject to whichever branch protects more (RSMo § 525.030.2(1); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
30 times the FEDERAL minimum hourly wage ($7.25) = $217.50 of weekly earnings protected: the statute ties this multiplier specifically to the federal rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act, not to Missouri's own (currently higher, voter-approved) state minimum wage, so the $217.50 floor doesn't move even though Missouri workers must legally be paid more per hour |
Support orders, bankruptcy-court orders under Chapter XIII, and any debt for state or federal tax are excluded from these caps entirely: 'The restrictions on the maximum earnings subjected to garnishment do not apply' to any of the three (§ 525.030.2(2)). Missouri's statute doesn't set its own separate percentage for support garnishment, so federal law's own support tiers (up to 50-65% of disposable earnings, 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(2)) control by default. Federal student loan default collection proceeds independently at 15% of disposable pay without a court order (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)) |
A Missouri-resident head of family gets a 10% test for ordinary wage garnishment (RSMo § 525.030.2(1)(c)). The court’s Form CV96 instructs a claimant to file the affidavit with the issuing court, serve the employer, and mail the garnisher. |
Only writs that would otherwise have equal priority are ranked by service date on the employer; the employer must identify senior writs to an inferior garnisher (RSMo § 525.040.2). |
Same one-indebtedness scope as federal law: no discharge because earnings were garnished (§ 525.030.5). A willful state violation is a misdemeanor (§ 525.030.6); federal § 1674 has its own fine/imprisonment penalty |
| Montana verified 2026-10-06 | Mont. Code Ann. § 25-13-614 (the substantive earnings-garnishment cap); § 25-13-402(6) (mechanics and priority of a levy on earnings); § 39-2-302 (anti-discharge) |
The lesser of: (1) the amount by which the debtor's disposable earnings for the week exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or (2) 25% of the debtor's disposable earnings for that week (§ 25-13-614(1)-(2)) — the plain federal Consumer Credit Protection Act formula, adopted without any state-specific reduction or extension |
Simply adopts the federal CCPA formula as its own state rule, with identical numbers (25% / 30x federal minimum wage) and no independent state cut or extension. Montana is not more protective, less protective, or a bar state — it restates the federal floor directly in its own code |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage under 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) (§ 25-13-614(2)(a)) — the same multiplier as federal law, and tied specifically to the FEDERAL minimum wage rather than Montana's own (higher) state minimum wage, unlike states that use whichever minimum wage is higher |
Child and spousal support orders are excluded from the ordinary cap (§ 25-13-614(3)); § 25-13-614(4) instead caps support garnishment at 50% or 60% of disposable earnings, rising to 55% or 65% for qualifying arrears |
The ordinary 25%/30-times-federal-wage cap in § 25-13-614(2) applies without a family-status adjustment |
Strict first-in-time priority: 'multiple levies served under this subsection have priority according to the date and time of service upon the employer' (§ 25-13-402(6)(c)), so an earlier-served levy is paid first out of the capped amount before a later one, subject to any superior state or federal priority rule for a specific type of levy (§ 25-13-402(8)) — support orders, for instance, are not limited by an earlier ordinary garnishment |
Montana has its own state statute, broader than the federal floor: 'No employer shall discharge or lay off an employee because of attachment or garnishment served on the employer against the wages of the employee' (§ 39-2-302), with no limit to a first garnishment on a single debt — unlike the federal rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674), which only protects against discharge for one garnishment on one debt |
| Nebraska verified 2026-10-06 | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558 (wage exemption and anti-discharge rule); § 25-1056(4)-(5) (multiple-garnishment priority and continuing-lien procedure) |
Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the workweek, the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 15% of disposable earnings if the debtor is a head of a family (§ 25-1558(1)) — the head-of-family cut is Nebraska's real addition on top of the federal formula |
Matches the federal 25%/30x-federal-min-wage test for a debtor who isn't a head of family, but cuts the cap to 15% for anyone who is — one of the lower head-of-household percentages found in this survey, since it replaces rather than adds to the ordinary cap |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) — $217.50/week at $7.25/hour — the plain federal multiplier, not increased by Nebraska's own statute |
Court support orders, bankruptcy Chapter XIII orders, and state or federal tax debt are all excepted from the ordinary cap entirely (§ 25-1558(2)); wage assignments and garnishments for support of a person outrank ordinary (non-support) garnishments and liens regardless of filing order (§ 25-1056(4)(b)) |
A debtor who qualifies as "head of a family" — someone who actually supports and maintains a dependent connected by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship, based on a moral or legal obligation (§ 25-1558(4)(d)) — has the ordinary cap cut from 25% to 15% of disposable earnings (§ 25-1558(1)(c)), rather than gaining a separate add-on exemption |
Time-of-service priority, with support outranking non-support claims regardless of order (§ 25-1056(4)). Only one continuing lien against a debtor's earnings can be in effect at a time; a continuing lien, once obtained, outranks any later garnishment or wage assignment except a support order (§ 25-1056(5)) |
Matches the federal rule exactly: no employer may discharge an employee because the employee's earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any ONE indebtedness (§ 25-1558(6)) — a second garnishment for a different debt isn't protected by Nebraska or federal law |
| Nevada verified 2026-10-07 | NRS §§ 31.295 and 31.2955 set the earnings cap and the gross-weekly-wage tier calculation; § 21.090(1)(g) mirrors the exemption; §§ 31.249(5), 31.298 cover priority and discharge. |
Lesser of 18% of disposable earnings at gross weekly wage $770 or below, 25% above $770, or disposable earnings above 50× the federal minimum wage (§ 31.295(2)); § 31.2955 determines the tier wage. |
Nevada’s 18% lower-income tier and 50× federal-wage floor protect more than the federal 25%/30× cap (NRS § 31.295(2); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
50× the federal minimum hourly wage, rather than Nevada’s state rate (NRS §§ 31.295(2)(c), 21.090(1)(g)). |
NRS § 31.295(3) excludes court support orders, bankruptcy orders, and state or federal tax debts from the ordinary limit; support orders use the separate 50%–65% tiers in subsection (4). |
No extra family-status amount in the ordinary § 31.295(2) formula; family support affects the separate support-order tiers in subsection (4). |
The court determines priority and satisfaction method for multiple writs against the same defendant, but child-support judgment writs get first priority (NRS § 31.249(5)). |
NRS § 31.298 prohibits discharge or discipline exclusively because an employer must withhold earnings under a garnishment writ. |
| New Hampshire verified 2026-10-07 | RSA 512:21 governs ordinary trustee-process wage exemptions; RSA 458-B:4 and :6 govern support income-assignment limits and priority. |
Future wages earned after service are exempt (RSA 512:21(I)). Already earned, unpaid wages may be reached in an action on a New Hampshire judgment, above a 50× federal-hourly-wage weekly exemption (paragraph II); paragraphs IX–X address certain RSA 399-A loans. |
The post-service future-wages exemption is more protective than the federal 25%/30× formula; the already-earned wage exemption uses 50× the federal minimum hourly wage (RSA 512:21(I)–(II); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
50× the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum hourly wage per week for already-earned wages in the judgment-action route (RSA 512:21(II)); post-service wages are exempt altogether. |
Support income assignment is capped by federal 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b) (RSA 458-B:4(IV)) and takes priority over other state-law process against the same income (RSA 458-B:6(VI)). |
RSA 512:21(I)–(II) makes no dependent-status distinction in its ordinary wage exemption; paragraph III separately protects wages of a debtor’s wife and minor children. |
RSA 458-B:6(VI) prioritizes support assignment over other state-law process. Among support obligations, RSA 458-B:4(VI) orders current support, health insurance or current medical support, arrears, then other child support unless an order directs otherwise. |
Federal 15 U.S.C. § 1674 bars discharge over garnishment for one debt; RSA 458-B:6(VIII) separately penalizes discharge, refusal to hire, or discipline because of support withholding. |
| New Jersey verified 2026-07-05 | Wage execution authorization, priority, and cap: N.J.S.A. 2A:17-50 (authorization), 2A:17-52 (priority among multiple executions), 2A:17-54 (employer liability), 2A:17-56 (percentage cap); child support and alimony income withholding runs on a separate statute, the Support Enforcement Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.7 to 2A:17-56.15 (cap in § 56.9, anti-discharge protection in § 56.12); a bill introduced in the Legislature would replace the cap formula — see pending legislation |
The least of three figures, per N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56(a) and the New Jersey Courts' own wage-execution form (Appendix XI-J): (a) 10% of gross weekly pay; (b) 25% of disposable earnings; or (c) the amount disposable earnings exceed $217.50/week (30x the federal minimum hourly wage) — and in no event may more than 10% of gross salary be withheld, unless the debtor's income exceeds 250% of the federal poverty level for their family size, in which case a court may order a larger percentage |
More protective than the federal 25%/30x-minimum-wage floor in the ordinary case: New Jersey layers its own flat 10%-of-gross-pay ceiling (N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56(a)) on top of the two federal tests, and since the smallest of the three numbers controls, the 10%-of-gross figure is almost always the one that actually limits the garnishment |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage ($217.50/week) — the same multiplier and wage floor the federal formula itself uses; this test mainly matters for very low earners, since New Jersey's separate 10%-of-gross cap otherwise controls for most debtors |
Child support and alimony income withholding is capped at whatever the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act allows (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)) — 50-65% of disposable earnings depending on arrears and whether the obligor supports another family — because N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.9 adopts that federal ceiling directly rather than setting its own lower number; a wage execution the State files for its own debts (taxes, agency debts) can reach up to 25% of gross earnings under N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56(b), well above the ordinary 10% cap, so long as the debtor's income stays above 250% of the poverty level; federal tax levies and federal student loan administrative wage garnishment (up to 15%) reach New Jersey wages independently of state law |
No separate percentage add-on for dependents or head-of-household status; instead, N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56(a) works in the opposite direction from most states' exemptions — a court can order MORE than the ordinary 10% cap if the debtor's income exceeds 250% of the federal poverty level for their family size, rather than protecting additional income for family support |
Strict first-in-time priority under N.J.S.A. 2A:17-52(a): only one wage execution may be satisfied at a time, and multiple executions against the same debtor are paid in the order presented to the employer, regardless of which court issued them — except that a support execution presented on the same day as another execution is paid first. Since a 2005 amendment, a wage execution the State files for its own debts (N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56(b)) outranks any other wage execution filed on or after that amendment's effective date, but still yields to a support execution (§ 2A:17-52(b)) |
For a child-support income-withholding obligor, New Jersey's own statute (N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.12, as referenced in § 56.11) bars an employer from discharging, refusing to employ, or disciplining the obligor because of the withholding, backed by a court-ordered fine and civil damages. No comparably specific New Jersey statute for an ORDINARY wage execution turned up in this research, though the state's own official wage-execution court form states as a matter of law that no employer may terminate an employee because of a garnishment; absent a distinct statute for that category, ordinary wage executions fall back on the federal floor, 15 U.S.C. § 1674, which bars discharge over garnishment of a single debt |
| New Mexico verified 2026-08-17 | NMSA 1978 § 35-12-7 (wage exemption formula and support cap), § 35-12-9(B) (multiple-garnishment priority) |
Exempt from garnishment is the GREATER of (1) 75% of the debtor's disposable earnings for the pay period, or (2) an amount each week equal to 40 times the highest applicable minimum hourly wage rate where the wages were earned (§ 35-12-7(A)) — so at most 25% of disposable earnings can ever be taken, and often less |
Matches the federal 25% ordinary cap in percentage terms (75% exempt = 25% garnishable, the same fraction as federal law), but is more protective on the minimum-wage floor: 40 times the HIGHEST applicable federal, state, or local minimum hourly wage, versus federal law's 30 times the federal minimum wage alone. A 2023 amendment also added bank-deposit traceability protection for exempt wages, closing a gap federal law doesn't address |
40 times the highest applicable minimum hourly wage rate — federal, state, or local, whichever is highest at the place the wages were earned (§ 35-12-7(A)(2), (B)(2)) — a bigger multiplier than the federal 30x, and one that can rise further in a city with its own higher minimum wage |
Support orders are capped separately and more simply than federal law: a flat 50% of the debtor's disposable earnings for any pay period, with no higher tier for arrears or fewer dependents (§ 35-12-7(A), (C)) — actually lower than the federal support ceiling, which can reach 65%. State or federal tax debt and federal student loan collection operate through their own separate administrative processes outside this statute entirely |
None built into the wage-garnishment formula itself — the flat 75%/40x-wage-floor test already applies to every debtor regardless of household status. (New Mexico's separate personal-property exemption statutes have their own head-of-family provisions, but those protect property, not wages, and are outside this survey's scope) |
First-in-time. If a debtor's wages are subject to more than one judgment lien, the liens are satisfied in the order the garnishment was served on the garnishee (§ 35-12-9(B)) |
No independent New Mexico statute bars firing an employee over an ordinary wage garnishment; only the federal rule applies, barring discharge for a single garnishment for one debt (15 U.S.C. § 1674) |
| New York verified 2026-07-23 | Income execution: N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5231; priority among execution creditors: § 5234; anti-retaliation: § 5252; child/spousal support income executions: §§ 5241-5242 |
An income execution itself may only demand up to 10% of what the debtor is receiving; the amount an employer can actually be ordered to withhold is capped at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount over 30x the greater of the federal or state minimum wage (CPLR § 5231(b)); barred entirely for a judgment arising from a medical debt lawsuit |
More protective than the federal floor on the minimum-wage prong: New York uses 30x the GREATER of the state or federal minimum wage, and New York's minimum wage is well above the federal one, so more of a lower-paid worker's earnings are shielded; the percentage prong matches the federal 25% |
30x the greater of the federal minimum hourly wage or the applicable New York State minimum hourly wage under Labor Law § 652 (CPLR § 5231(b)(i)). New York's § 652 minimum wage is REGIONAL, as of Jan. 1, 2026 it is $17.00/hour in New York City and in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, and $16.00/hour in the rest of the state, so the shielded floor (30x that rate) is higher for a debtor working downstate than upstate |
Support runs through separate income executions/deduction orders (CPLR §§ 5241, 5242) reaching the higher federal support percentages; when an ordinary execution and a support deduction both apply, the ordinary execution is capped at whatever room is left under the 25% ceiling after the support deduction (CPLR § 5231(b)(iii)); a judgment from a medical debt lawsuit brought by a hospital or licensed health care professional cannot be enforced by wage garnishment at all, a 2022 carve-out (CPLR § 5231(b)(iv)) |
None — New York has no separate head-of-family/head-of-household wage exemption; its main protective feature (the greater-of-state-or-federal minimum wage floor) applies uniformly regardless of dependents |
Strict first-in-time priority among ordinary execution creditors delivered to the same enforcement officer, but a child-support execution automatically outranks 'any other assignment, levy or process' no matter when it was delivered, and multiple past-due child support orders share proceeds proportionally to their claims (CPLR § 5234(b)) |
Broader than the federal floor: CPLR § 5252 bars discharging, laying off, refusing to promote, disciplining, or refusing to hire someone because ONE OR MORE wage assignments or income executions have been served — not limited to a single debt. For an ordinary judgment garnishment the remedy is the employee's own civil action for up to six weeks' lost wages plus reinstatement (§ 5252(2)), and the violation may also be punished as contempt (Judiciary Law § 753). The extra $500/$1,000 civil penalty applies ONLY where the discrimination is because of a SUPPORT income execution or income deduction order under §§ 5241/5242, and that penalty is paid to the creditor, not the employee |
| North Carolina verified 2026-10-07 | Supplemental proceedings and family earnings exemption: G.S. § 1-362; special withholding routes: §§ 110-136, 110-136.6, 50-16.7, 105-242, 105-368, 105B-3, 44-51.4 |
No continuing ordinary private-debt wage withholding ordered by an NC court; in supplemental proceedings, the preceding 60 days' personal-service earnings are exempt when necessary for a supported family (G.S. § 1-362) |
NC courts cannot order continuing withholding for ordinary private debt; this is more protective than the federal 25%/30× ceiling |
No wage multiple for ordinary NC-court garnishment; § 1-362 instead exempts recent earnings needed by a supported family |
Support: 40% for one order, 45%–50% for multiple (§ 110-136.6); state/local tax and covered ambulance: 10% (§§ 105-242, 105-368); state education loan: 10%, with sworn family-income test (§ 105B-3); federal tax exception (§ 1673(b)(1)(C)) and federal student-loan 15% route (§ 1095a(a)(1)) |
G.S. § 1-362 exempts personal-service earnings from the preceding 60 days when evidence shows they are necessary for a family the debtor supports wholly or partly |
No ordinary NC-court wage writ to rank; multiple support withholdings share one 45% or 50% cap depending on other dependents (G.S. § 110-136.6(b)) |
Federal § 1674 bars discharge over garnishment of one debt; G.S. § 105B-4(b) separately bars discharge, refusal to employ, and discipline because of state student-loan withholding |
| North Dakota verified 2026-08-11 | N.D.C.C. § 32-09.1-03 (the ordinary garnishment cap, per-dependent reduction, and support/bankruptcy/tax exceptions); § 32-09.1-18 (anti-discharge, with a private right of action); § 32-09.1-21 (continuing lien on wages); § 32-09.1-01 (definitions) |
The lesser of: (1) 25% of disposable earnings for the week, or (2) the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage (or an equivalent multiple for a longer pay period), reduced by $20 per week for each dependent family member residing with the debtor (§ 32-09.1-03(1)-(2)). A plaintiff may instead obtain a continuing 270-day lien on wages (§ 32-09.1-21), under which the garnishee keeps withholding the nonexempt portion of earnings as they accrue rather than a one-time attachment. Any wage assignment or debt to the garnishee that the debtor incurs within 10 days before the first garnishment notice is void, closing an obvious evasion route |
More protective than the federal floor on the minimum-wage-multiplier prong (40x instead of 30x) and adds a genuine extra feature the federal test lacks: a $20-per-week reduction for each dependent living with the debtor. The base percentage (25%) matches the federal rate exactly rather than cutting it further. North Dakota is not a bar state; a creditor can still reach 25% of earnings above the protected floor |
40 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) (or the Secretary of Labor's equivalent multiple for a pay period other than a week) — a bigger multiplier than the federal 30x, though tied only to the federal minimum wage, not to North Dakota's own state minimum wage |
Support orders, bankruptcy court orders, and any debt for state or federal tax are all excluded from the ordinary § 32-09.1-03(1) cap (§ 32-09.1-03(3)) — North Dakota's exception list explicitly names tax debt, unlike some neighboring states' versions of this same statute. Support garnishment instead follows its own ceiling (§ 32-09.1-03(4)): 50% of disposable earnings if the debtor is supporting another spouse or child, 60% if not, rising to 55%/65% for older arrears — matching the federal CCPA support percentages exactly. Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment runs through its own separate channel |
North Dakota builds a per-dependent dollar reduction directly into the ordinary cap's minimum-wage-floor prong rather than using a separate head-of-household statute: § 32-09.1-03(2) reduces the maximum garnishable amount by $20 per week for each dependent family member residing with the debtor, once the debtor files a sworn list of dependents with the employer within 10 days of the garnishee summons. Failure to timely provide the list is treated as a conclusive claim of no dependents, though the debtor can still submit the list later for garnishments going forward |
No statute in this chapter sets a first-in-time or combined-cap rule for multiple ordinary garnishments running at the same time; the chapter's only related anti-evasion rule voids any wage assignment or debt the debtor incurs to the garnishee within 10 days before the first garnishment notice (§ 32-09.1-07(1)(f)). A plaintiff may secure a continuing 270-day lien (§ 32-09.1-21), but the statute doesn't address how a second creditor's garnishment interacts with an existing continuing lien |
North Dakota has its own explicit anti-discharge statute with a real remedy, broader than the federal floor: 'No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that earnings have been subjected to garnishment or execution' (§ 32-09.1-18), with no stated limit to a single garnishment. An employee fired in violation may sue within 90 days of discharge to recover TWICE the wages lost and for an order requiring reinstatement — one of the more concrete anti-discharge remedies found in this topic, going beyond simply barring the discharge |
| Ohio verified 2026-10-07 | Ohio Rev. Code § 2329.66(A)(13) sets the earnings exemption; §§ 2716.041 and 2716.05 govern continuous orders, priority, and discharge; § 3121.03 governs support withholding. |
Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30× the federal minimum hourly wage per week (§ 2329.66(A)(13); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
Ohio states the same 25%-of-disposable/30×-federal-wage limit as the federal CCPA, but frames it as the greater amount exempt rather than the smaller amount garnishable (§ 2329.66(A)(13)). |
30× the federal minimum hourly wage for weekly pay; 60× biweekly, 65× semimonthly, and 130× monthly (§ 2329.66(A)(13)(a)). |
A support order or IRS levy may be a higher priority order when state or federal law gives it priority (§ 2716.041(C)(1)(e)); support withholding is capped by federal CCPA support limits (§ 3121.03(A)(1)). Pension exemptions under § 2329.66(A)(10) have conditions. |
No additional family-status amount in the ordinary § 2329.66(A)(13) earnings formula. |
Court issues ordinary orders in affidavit receipt order (§ 2716.05); an earlier continuous order ordinarily retains priority through the pay period containing its 182nd processing day (§ 2716.041(D)(1)). A legally higher priority order follows § 2716.041(D)(2). |
§ 2716.05 bars discharge solely because one judgment creditor successfully garnished earnings within 12 months; § 3121.39 separately bars discharge, discipline, or refusal to hire because of support withholding. |
| Oklahoma verified 2026-10-07 | 31 O.S. § 1(A)(18) and 12 O.S. § 1171.1(B) exempt 75% of recent earnings; 14A O.S. § 5-105 caps consumer credit judgments; 15 U.S.C. § 1673 adds the federal ceiling; procedural chapter: 12 O.S. §§ 1170–1180 |
State exemption leaves at most 25% of wages earned in the last 90 days; federal cap further limits aggregate withholding to the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or earnings above 30× the federal minimum hourly wage (31 O.S. § 1(A)(18); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) |
State’s 75% exemption measures wages or earnings; the federal disposable earnings and 30× wage floor cap still applies. Consumer credit judgments have the same two part federal formula in 14A O.S. § 5-105 |
30× the federal minimum hourly wage under 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a), repeated for consumer credit judgments in 14A O.S. § 5-105(2)(b) |
Child support: 50% or 60% of disposable earnings, rising to 55% or 65% for qualifying older arrears (12 O.S. § 1171.2(B)); tax debts are outside the ordinary federal cap (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(1)(C)); qualifying federal student loans may use a separate 15% route (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)) |
No fixed family percentage; a debtor supporting family or dependents may seek a court ordered undue hardship exemption, unavailable without dependents or against child support (31 O.S. § 1.1) |
An earlier continuing earnings lien has priority; a later writ takes effect when the prior garnishment concludes (12 O.S. § 1173.4(H), (K)). Support withholding and other statutorily prior process reduce what an ordinary writ may withhold (§ 1173.4(I)) |
Consumer credit judgment: discharge prohibited unless garnishment process has been served more than twice in one year (14A O.S. § 5-106); federal law protects one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674(a)) |
| Oregon verified 2026-10-06 | ORS §§ 18.375, 18.385, 18.627: earnings definitions, exemption and discharge protection, and priority among writs. |
Ordinary creditor: lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above the pay-period floor. For wages payable July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027: $400 weekly, $832 every two weeks, $912 half-monthly, $1,792 monthly (ORS § 18.385(1)-(2)). |
Oregon's $400 weekly floor exceeds the federal 30-times-$7.25 ($217.50) floor; both formulas limit ordinary garnishment to 25% of disposable earnings (ORS § 18.385; 15 U.S.C. § 1673; 29 U.S.C. § 206). |
Until July 1, 2027, fixed dollar amounts apply; then the weekly floor becomes 30 times the Oregon minimum wage, with statutory multipliers for other pay periods and annual calculation by the State Court Administrator (ORS § 18.385(2)-(3)). |
Qualified support or restitution writs use separate $254 weekly, $509 biweekly, $545 half-monthly and $1,090 monthly floors; support withholding reduces the amount available to an ordinary writ first. Bankruptcy and federal tax debts bypass § 18.385(1)-(6); state tax debts bypass § 18.385(2)-(6), and a special state-tax notice also displaces subsection (1). Federal student-loan withholding has a separate 15% cap (ORS §§ 18.385(5)-(8), 18.855(6); 20 U.S.C. § 1095a). |
ORS § 18.385 provides the same earnings formula without a separate dependent or head-of-household amount. |
First writ delivered has priority; a later writ may receive any nonexempt wages the first does not garnish (ORS § 18.627(1)-(2)). |
Oregon bars discharge because an individual has had earnings garnished, without the federal statute's one-indebtedness limit (ORS § 18.385(11); 15 U.S.C. § 1674). |
| Pennsylvania verified 2026-10-07 | 42 Pa.C.S. § 8127(a) exempts wages in the employer’s hands and lists the permitted proceedings; subsections (b), (c), (e), and (f) address priority, lease attachments, retaliation, and an abuse-related lease exception. |
Zero for an ordinary private judgment creditor outside § 8127(a)’s named exceptions. A final residential-lease judgment has a separate cap of the lesser of 10% of net pay or the amount above federal poverty guidelines (§ 8127(a)(3.1)). |
The ordinary wage-attachment bar protects more than the federal 25%/30× cap (42 Pa.C.S. § 8127(a); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
No ordinary wage-multiple calculation: § 8127(a) exempts the entire paycheck outside named exceptions. The residential-lease exception uses a 10%-of-net-pay and poverty-guideline limit. |
Support attachments rank first, criminal restitution/costs/fines/bail second (§ 8127(b)); divorce, short-term board, lease, and PHEAA proceedings are named exceptions. Federal student-loan garnishment and tax levy use 20 U.S.C. § 1095a and 26 U.S.C. § 6331. |
No separate family-status test is needed for the ordinary wage bar; § 8127(a) exempts wages without asking about dependents. |
Support first, criminal restitution/costs/fines/bail second (§ 8127(b)); multiple residential-lease attachments are satisfied one at a time in service order (§ 8127(c)(1)). |
§ 8127(e) bars any adverse employer action solely because wages have been attached, without the federal one-debt wording of 15 U.S.C. § 1674. |
| Rhode Island verified 2026-10-07 | R.I. Gen. Laws § 10-5-8 attaches only wages exceeding applicable exemptions and gives support priority; § 9-26-4(8) states Rhode Island’s wage exemptions; federal 15 U.S.C. § 1673 imposes the operative ordinary cap. |
Federal lesser-of formula: 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30× the federal minimum hourly wage (§ 1673(a)). Rhode Island § 9-26-4(8)(iii) itself exempts just $50 for other debtors. |
Rhode Island’s ordinary $50 wage exemption is less protective than the federal cap, which courts cannot violate (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a), (c)); the federal lesser-of formula controls. |
30× the federal minimum hourly wage under 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a), which references 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), rather than a Rhode Island wage-based floor. |
Child-support garnishment and support wage assignments outrank ordinary § 10-5-8 garnishment regardless of service order (§ 10-5-8(b)); support withholding under § 15-5-24(g) is subject to federal limits instead of ordinary state exemptions. |
No extra wage amount for the debtor based on dependents in § 9-26-4(8); subsection (9) separately protects wages of a debtor’s wife and minor children. |
§ 10-5-8(b) gives child-support garnishment and wage assignments priority over an ordinary writ regardless of service order. The quoted subsection addresses support priority. |
Federal § 1674 bars discharge over garnishment for one debt; R.I. § 15-5-24(e) separately bars discharge or discipline because of support withholding. |
| South Carolina verified 2026-10-06 | S.C. Code § 15-39-410 bars applying personal-service earnings to a judgment; § 37-5-104 separately bars garnishment for consumer credit debt; § 15-39-420 addresses foreign garnishment. |
Barred entirely for ordinary private judgment creditors: personal-service earnings cannot be applied to satisfy any judgment through execution (§ 15-39-410), reinforced for consumer-credit debt specifically by § 37-5-104. Reserved exceptions: court-ordered support, SCDOR/GEAR government-debt collection, and federal student-loan administrative garnishment |
More protective than the federal CCPA by definition: South Carolina bars ordinary wage garnishment outright rather than capping a percentage, so the federal 25%/30x-minimum-wage formula never comes into play for a private judgment creditor's attempt to garnish South Carolina wages |
No ordinary percentage or wage-multiple calculation: § 15-39-410 protects personal-service earnings from application to an ordinary judgment. |
Support withholding follows § 63-17-1460 and federal support limits; government liabilities may be collected by the Department of Revenue under § 12-4-580; federal student-loan administrative garnishment has its own 15% limit (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)). |
Not applicable: since ordinary wage garnishment is already barred entirely for private judgment creditors, there's no separate head-of-household layer to add on top of a percentage cap the way other states use one; the earnings are already fully protected regardless of dependents |
For support withholding, § 63-17-1460(D), (H) prioritizes current support among support notices and gives support withholding priority over other state-law process against the same wages. |
Two independent state protections layer on top of the federal one-debt rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674): § 37-5-106 bars firing an employee merely because a creditor 'subjected or attempted to subject' wages to garnishment for a consumer-credit debt, a broader trigger than actual withholding, and § 63-17-1460(I) separately bars discharging, refusing to hire, or otherwise penalizing an employee because of the duty to withhold child support, with no numeric limit on the number of orders |
| South Dakota verified 2026-08-11 | SDCL § 21-18-51 (the ordinary garnishment cap and per-dependent reduction); § 21-18-52 (support garnishment ceiling); § 21-18-53 (confirms earnings are exempt only to the extent §§ 21-18-51/-52 allow); § 21-18-2.1 (definition of earnings); § 21-18-14.1 (120-day continuing lien mechanism) |
The lesser of: (1) 20% of disposable earnings for the week, or (2) the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage or the applicable South Dakota minimum wage if greater, LESS $25 per week for each dependent family member (other than the debtor) residing with the debtor (§ 21-18-51). These restrictions don't apply to a court support order or a bankruptcy order under Title 11 of the U.S. Code, which follow § 21-18-52 instead. A creditor may also obtain a continuing 120-day lien on wages (§ 21-18-14.1) rather than a one-time attachment |
More protective than the federal floor on multiple fronts at once: a lower percentage (20% vs. the federal 25%), a bigger minimum-wage multiplier (40x vs. the federal 30x) tied to whichever of the federal or South Dakota minimum wage is higher, and — unlike the plain federal test — a built-in dollar reduction for each dependent living with the debtor. South Dakota is not a bar state; a creditor can still reach 20% of earnings above the protected floor |
40 times the federal minimum hourly wage (29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)) or the applicable South Dakota minimum wage, whichever is greater, at the time earnings are payable (§ 21-18-51(2)) — a bigger multiplier than the federal 30x, and pegged to whichever minimum wage protects the debtor more |
Child and spousal support orders are excluded from the ordinary § 21-18-51 cap entirely and instead follow § 21-18-52's own ceiling: 50% of disposable earnings if the debtor is supporting another spouse or child, or 60% if not, rising to 55%/65% for arrears predating the current 12-week period — matching the federal CCPA support percentages exactly. Bankruptcy Title 11 court orders are likewise excluded from the ordinary cap. Unlike the federal statute and many other states' versions of this exception, § 21-18-51's own exception list names only support orders and bankruptcy orders — it does not separately name state or federal tax debt, which typically proceeds through its own administrative levy process outside this garnishment chapter. Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment likewise runs outside this chapter |
South Dakota builds a per-dependent dollar reduction directly into the ordinary cap's second prong rather than using a separate head-of-household provision: the minimum-wage-floor calculation in § 21-18-51(2) is reduced by $25 per week for every dependent family member (other than the debtor) who resides with the debtor. This is a real, additional protection for a debtor supporting a family, but it only affects the second (minimum-wage) prong of the two-part test, not the flat 20% figure in the first prong |
No statute in this chapter was found setting a first-in-time or combined-cap rule for multiple ordinary garnishments running at once. A plaintiff may secure a 120-day continuing lien on the debtor's wages (§ 21-18-14.1), under which the garnishee withholds the nonexempt portion of earnings as they accrue until the lien amount is satisfied, 120 days pass, or employment ends — but the statute doesn't itself say how a second creditor's garnishment is treated while an existing continuing lien is in effect |
No South Dakota statute specific to ordinary wage garnishment protecting against discharge was found in either the garnishment chapter (SDCL ch. 21-18) or the labor and employment title (SDCL Title 60); only the federal floor applies (15 U.S.C. § 1674, barring discharge for a first garnishment on one debt) |
| Tennessee verified 2026-10-07 | Ordinary earnings cap: Tenn. Code §§ 26-2-106–107; lien and later-writ rules: §§ 26-2-214, 26-2-224; support withholding: § 36-5-501 |
Lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or earnings above 30 times the federal hourly minimum, reduced by the qualifying dependent-child allowance (§§ 26-2-106(a), 26-2-107(a)) |
The base 25% / 30-times formula matches 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a); Tennessee adds a $2.50 weekly dependent-child allowance (§ 26-2-107(a)) |
30 × the current $7.25 federal hourly minimum = $217.50 weekly, with another $2.50 protected per qualifying child (§§ 26-2-106(a), 26-2-107(a)) |
Child and spousal support withholding: up to 50% of income after named deductions and priority over ordinary wage garnishment (§ 36-5-501(a)(1), (h), (j)(1)); tax-judgment notice says no earnings exempt (§ 26-2-216(b)(2)); federal student-loan withholding has a separate 15% limit (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)) |
$2.50 more exempt weekly for each dependent child under 16 residing in Tennessee, if the debtor tells the employer (§ 26-2-107(a)–(c)) |
Earlier lien outranks later liens (§ 26-2-214(b)(2)); a later writ that deducts the lawful maximum waits to run until the first judgment is satisfied, the first writ expires, or it is stayed (§ 26-2-224(a)) |
Federal law bars discharge for garnishment of one debt (15 U.S.C. § 1674(a)); Tennessee expressly bars adverse employment action because of a support income assignment (§ 36-5-501(i)) |
| Texas verified 2026-10-06 | Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28 (the bar itself); codified in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 63.004 and Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001(b)(1); support exceptions run through Tex. Fam. Code chs. 8 and 158 |
Zero for an ordinary judgment creditor — current wages for personal service can't be garnished at all except for child support or spousal maintenance |
Far more protective than the federal floor: Texas bars ordinary wage garnishment entirely, where federal law alone would allow up to 25% |
Not applicable — there's no percentage/minimum-wage formula, because ordinary wages can't be garnished for a private debt in the first place |
Court-ordered child support and spousal maintenance are constitutional exceptions (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28); combined withholding cannot exceed 50% (§§ 158.009, 8.106). Federal tax levy and eligible federal student-loan garnishment arise under 26 U.S.C. § 6331 and 20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a), the latter capped at 15% without written consent |
Current wages for personal service are protected from ordinary creditors regardless of family status (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28; Prop. Code § 42.001(b)(1)) |
For the debts Texas does allow: a combined support withholding order pays current child support first, then current spousal maintenance, then child support arrears, then spousal maintenance arrears (Fam. Code § 8.101(d)); multiple child-support orders split available withholding capacity up to the 50% cap (Fam. Code § 158.207) |
For support orders, an employer may not discipline, discharge, or refuse to hire because of withholding; intentional discharge carries wage, benefit, fee, cost, and expense liability (Fam. Code § 158.209). Federal law bars discharge for garnishment over one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674) |
| Utah verified 2026-10-07 | Ordinary-judgment cap and priority: Utah R. Civ. P. 64D(a), (f); consumer-credit-specific cap (adds a reduced rate for education loans): Utah Code § 70C-7-103; anti-discharge: § 70C-7-104; child-support income withholding, priority, and anti-discharge: §§ 26B-9-306, -310, -311 |
Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount by which they exceed 30 hours/week times the federal minimum hourly wage, for an ordinary judgment (Utah R. Civ. P. 64D(a)); cut to 15% of disposable earnings instead of 25% if the judgment is on a consumer-credit-agreement education loan (§ 70C-7-103(2)(c)) |
Matches the federal formula exactly on both prongs (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) for an ordinary judgment; more protective specifically for education-loan consumer-credit debt, where the percentage prong drops to 15% instead of 25% |
30 hours per week multiplied by the federal minimum hourly wage — the same multiplier federal law uses, with no separate, higher Utah-specific minimum-wage figure written into the formula |
Child support collected through automatic income withholding is capped at the federal CCPA maximum (up to 50-65% of disposable earnings, § 26B-9-306(2), citing 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)); if pursued instead as an ordinary garnishment writ, Utah R. Civ. P. 64D(a)(1) sets a 50% cap; federal tax debts are outside the ordinary CCPA cap (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(1)(C)); qualifying federal student loans have a separate administrative 15% cap (20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)) |
No separate head-of-household carve-out for ordinary garnishment. Section 78B-5-505(1)(p) separately protects a household-size amount of unpaid earnings as of a bankruptcy filing; that is not an added family-status percentage under Rule 64D |
Ordinary writs rank by service order (Utah R. Civ. P. 64D(f)); support withholding outranks state-law collection processes (§ 26B-9-311); designated state overpayment continuing writs outrank other continuing writs and toll an earlier continuing writ during their term (Rule 64D(l)(5)) |
§ 70C-7-104 bars discharge over garnishment 'in connection with any one judgment' — matching, not exceeding, the federal single-garnishment floor (15 U.S.C. § 1674); a separate, standalone protection under § 26B-9-310 bars an employer from discharging, refusing to hire, or disciplining an obligor because of a child-support income-withholding notice, regardless of how many notices are received |
| Vermont verified 2026-08-12 | 12 V.S.A. §§ 3167-3172 (trustee process against earnings); § 3170 (exemption formula); § 3172 (anti-discharge) |
Garnishable amount is whatever remains after exempting the greater of 75% of weekly disposable earnings or 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (12 V.S.A. § 3170(b)(1)) — mathematically the same test as the federal CCPA formula, just stated as an exemption instead of a cap; a court order approving trustee process is required before any withholding begins at all |
Adopts the federal 25%/30x formula exactly for ordinary debt (§ 3170(b)(1) exempts the same amount the federal formula would exempt); more protective than federal law specifically for consumer credit debt, which is exempt up to 85% of disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is greater (§ 3170(b)(2)) |
30 times the FEDERAL minimum hourly wage for ordinary debt, or 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage for debt from a consumer credit transaction (12 V.S.A. § 3170(b)(1)-(2)) — tied to the federal wage, not Vermont's own higher state minimum wage |
Child support wage withholding is entirely exempt from Chapter 121's court-hearing procedure (15 V.S.A. § 789(a)), runs through its own expedited administrative process (§ 782), outranks any other legal process against the same wages, and follows only the federal CCPA support cap (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)); arrearage-only withholding added on top of current support is capped at 25% of the current support obligation (§ 789(d)). Unpaid state tax debt is collected through a separate administrative wage garnishment (32 V.S.A. § 3208) with its own 80%/40x exemption, bypassing the ordinary court-motion process entirely |
No fixed head-of-household category; instead a court may exempt a greater amount than the standard formula if it finds the debtor's reasonable weekly expenses for their own and their dependents' maintenance exceed it (12 V.S.A. § 3170(b)(3)); separately, no trustee-process order may issue at all against a debtor who received Vermont public assistance (DCF or Dept. of Vermont Health Access) in the two months before the hearing (§ 3170(a)) |
No dedicated statute for ranking multiple ordinary trustee-process orders against the same debtor — each creditor must separately move for and obtain its own court order after a hearing (§§ 3168-3169), at which the court itself finds the debtor's current weekly disposable earnings, rather than an automatic first-in-time or combined-cap rule applying across creditors |
12 V.S.A. § 3172 bars discharging an employee over trustee process, creates a rebuttable presumption that a discharge within 60 days of the trustee summons being served was because of it, and lets a wrongfully discharged employee sue for reinstatement, back wages, damages, costs, and attorney's fees — broader than the federal rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674), which only bars discharge for a single garnishment |
| Virginia verified 2026-08-08 | Wages Exempt chapter, Va. Code § 34-29 (the cap itself); garnishment procedure in Title 8.01, Ch. 18, Art. 7, §§ 8.01-511 to -525 |
Lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings, or the amount disposable earnings exceed 40x the higher of the federal or Virginia minimum hourly wage (§ 34-29(A)) |
Matches the federal 25% cap exactly on the percentage prong, but is more protective on the wage-floor prong: 40x the higher of the federal or Virginia minimum wage, versus federal law's flat 30x the federal minimum wage alone — because Virginia's own minimum wage ($12.77/hour) is well above the $7.25 federal rate, more of a Virginia paycheck is fully protected than the federal formula alone would protect |
40 times the greater of the federal minimum hourly wage ($7.25) or Virginia's own minimum hourly wage, currently $12.77/hour through December 31, 2026 — so $510.80 of weekly disposable earnings is fully protected right now. Virginia's minimum wage is scheduled to keep rising ($13.75 on January 1, 2027, $15.00 on January 1, 2028), which will keep raising this dollar floor even though the 40x multiplier itself doesn't change |
A support order isn't subject to the ordinary cap at all — it instead takes 50% to 65% of disposable earnings depending on arrears and other dependents (§ 34-29(C)); a state or federal tax debt is also completely exempt from the ordinary cap today, reaching up to 100% of disposable earnings (§ 34-29(B)(3)) — though an already-enacted 2026 amendment will cap STATE tax garnishments at the same 25%/40x formula as ordinary debt starting July 1, 2027 (federal tax debt stays uncapped; see pending_legislation); federal student loan administrative wage garnishment (15%, 20 U.S.C. § 1095a) proceeds independently of this chapter |
None specific to wage garnishment. Virginia doesn't add any extra percentage or dollar protection to § 34-29's formula for supporting a family; a separate homestead exemption for dependents exists elsewhere in Title 34 (§ 34-4), but it protects a debtor's separately-claimed property and money generally, not an ongoing wage garnishment, and is outside this survey's scope |
Support withholding is deducted first from disposable earnings; ordinary garnishments are then honored strictly in the order the writ of fieri facias was delivered to the sheriff, per the official Garnishee Information Sheet (Va. Courts form DC-455) implementing § 34-29 — a later ordinary garnishment simply waits until an earlier one is satisfied |
§ 34-29(G) bars discharging an employee because his earnings 'have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness' — the same protection the federal floor (15 U.S.C. § 1674) provides, with no additional Virginia-specific protection beyond it |
| Washington verified 2026-08-11 | Garnishment chapter, RCW 6.27 (the cap itself in § 6.27.150; definitions in § 6.27.010) |
For CONSUMER debt (most ordinary judgment-creditor claims): lesser of 20% of disposable earnings, or the amount disposable earnings exceed 35x the Washington state minimum hourly wage (§ 6.27.150(4)). For OTHER, non-consumer/non-student-loan debt (e.g., a business debt or a tort judgment not for personal/family/household purposes): lesser of 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount disposable earnings exceed 35x the FEDERAL minimum hourly wage (§ 6.27.150(1)) |
More protective than the federal 25%/30x formula in every category. For consumer debt specifically, Washington cuts the percentage to 20% and multiplies by Washington's own, much higher minimum wage instead of the federal rate — a materially bigger protected floor. Even the residual 'other debt' category, which keeps the federal 25% figure, still uses 35x instead of the federal 30x multiplier |
For consumer debt: 35x Washington's own state minimum hourly wage ($17.13/hour as of January 1, 2026) = $599.55/week fully protected. For the residual 'other debt' category: 35x the FEDERAL minimum hourly wage ($7.25) = $253.75/week. Which wage applies depends entirely on which debt category the garnishment falls into |
Child support cannot be collected through an ordinary wage garnishment under this chapter at all — Washington's own statutory Notice of Garnishment (§ 6.27.140) states plainly that 'a garnishment against wages or other earnings for child support may not be issued under chapter 6.27 RCW'; it's instead handled through a separate mandatory wage assignment / income-withholding process (chapters 26.18 and 74.20A). A spousal-maintenance claim pursued as an ordinary garnishment (not a ch. 26.18 mandatory wage assignment) is capped at 50% of disposable earnings instead (§ 6.27.150(2)). Private student loan debt gets an even narrower cap than ordinary consumer debt — at most 15% of disposable earnings can be taken (§ 6.27.150(3)). Federal tax levies and federal student loan administrative wage garnishment proceed independently of this chapter |
None tied to dependents or family support specifically for wage garnishment, beyond the separate consumer-debt and spousal-maintenance categories above. Washington's personal-property exemption schedule (RCW 6.15.010) is a distinct, non-wage exemption a debtor claims separately and is outside this survey's scope |
A continuing wage-garnishment lien generally has first-in-time priority over a later garnishment lien or wage assignment (§ 6.27.360(1)) — but a child-support payroll-deduction notice or wage assignment (chs. 26.18/74.20A) and certain criminal legal-financial-obligation assignments always outrank an ordinary garnishment lien regardless of which was served first (§ 6.27.360(2)-(3)); only the nonexempt wages left after those support/LFO amounts are then available to the earlier-filed ordinary lien |
More protective than the federal floor. RCW 6.27.170 bars discharging an employee over a garnishment, and loses that protection only once garnishments on THREE OR MORE separate debts have been served on the employer within any 12 consecutive months — federal law (15 U.S.C. § 1674) protects only a single garnishment |
| West Virginia verified 2026-10-07 | W. Va. Code §§ 38-5A-3 (private-employment suggestee execution), 38-8-1(c) (wage exemption), 46A-2-131 (consumer-credit discharge protection), and 48-14-417 (support priority) |
Up to 20% of wages after state and federal taxes, while leaving at least 50x the federal hourly minimum wage per week; continuing lien on wages due within one year (§ 38-5A-3(a)) |
State text uses 20% and a 50x federal-minimum-wage floor; federal ordinary cap uses 25% of disposable earnings or excess over 30x federal minimum. Compare withholding using each law’s earnings base (§ 38-5A-3(a); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) |
50 times the federal hourly minimum wage; $362.50 per week at the $7.25 federal rate (§ 38-5A-3(a); 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)(C)) |
Support collection outranks other legal process against the same income and operates despite otherwise applicable exemptions (§ 48-14-417) |
The personal-property exemption statute permits no wage exemption above the § 38-5A-3 amount (§ 38-8-1(c)) |
Only one execution satisfied at a time; if its satisfaction leaves garnishable wages in the same pay period, the balance passes to junior executions in service-priority order (§ 38-5A-3(a)) |
State law bars discharge or other reprisal over garnishment of a consumer-credit sale, lease, or loan judgment; federal law bars discharge for garnishment of any one indebtedness (§ 46A-2-131; 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a)) |
| Wisconsin verified 2026-08-12 | Wis. Stat. ch. 812, subch. II (Earnings Garnishment), §§ 812.30 to 812.44, definitions, the exemption, the judicial-relief process, payment and priority rules, and the anti-retaliation rule. Court-ordered support withholding runs separately through ch. 767 (Wis. Stat. § 767.75). A DIFFERENT statute, Wis. Stat. § 815.18(3)(h) (the general "Property Exempt from Execution" chapter, used mainly in bankruptcy and non-earnings-garnishment execution), sets its own, separate net-income exemption, distinct from, and not the source of, ch. 812's earnings-garnishment rule |
Wis. Stat. § 812.34(2)(a): 80% of the debtor's disposable earnings are exempt, so 20% is the most an ordinary judgment creditor can reach, unless the debtor's earnings are totally exempt under par. (b) (poverty-line household income, or need-based public assistance) or further reduced under par. (c) (if 20% would push household income below the poverty line). Chapter 812's own text sets no separate dollar-floor or minimum-wage-multiple prong at all; the exemption is a flat percentage, adjusted only by the poverty-line/public-assistance provisions |
Wisconsin's flat 20% cap is already more protective than the federal CCPA's 25% (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)), so Wisconsin's own rule never needs to fall back on the federal minimum-wage-based prong to beat the federal floor. But because ch. 812 doesn't independently restate the federal 30x-minimum-wage floor the way most states' statutes do, that federal floor still operates in the background, as a backstop federal law itself guarantees, rather than as a rule written into Wisconsin's own text |
Chapter 812 sets no minimum-wage-tied floor of its own, only the 80%/20% split and the poverty-line/public-assistance provisions. The federal CCPA's 30x-the-federal-minimum-wage floor (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)(2)) still applies underneath Wisconsin's rule as a backstop by operation of federal law. A SEPARATE Wisconsin statute, § 815.18(3)(h) (part of the general execution-exemption chapter, not the earnings-garnishment subchapter), does set its own floor, 75% of net income exempt, but never less than 30 times the greater of the state or federal minimum hourly wage, and because Wisconsin's own minimum wage equals the federal $7.25 rate, that alternate floor also computes to $217.50/week. Several secondary sources describe that 30x-minimum-wage figure as if it were written into § 812.34 itself; it isn't, it comes from a different chapter |
Section 812.34(1) excludes debts under a state or federal chapter 13 debt-adjustment plan, support debts, and unpaid taxes from the 80%/20% exemption entirely. Support withholding instead runs under ch. 767 (§ 767.75), following the federal CCPA's own support tiers (50-65% of disposable earnings depending on second-family and arrears status) rather than any separate Wisconsin percentage. Section 812.39(2) sets the interaction precisely: a support assignment always outranks an ordinary earnings garnishment regardless of which was served first, and if 25% or more of disposable earnings is already assigned for support, the ordinary creditor gets nothing; if less than 25%, the ordinary creditor's share is cut so the combined total never exceeds 25%. Federal student loan administrative garnishment (15% of disposable pay, 20 U.S.C. § 1095a) and IRS tax levies proceed under independent federal authority, unconstrained by Wisconsin's cap |
Not a per-dependent dollar add-on, but a broad income-based version of the same idea: § 812.34(2)(b) makes earnings COMPLETELY exempt if the debtor's household income (the debtor's and dependents' earnings and other income together, as defined in § 812.30(8)) falls below the federal poverty line, or if the debtor receives, recently received, or has been found eligible for need-based public assistance; § 812.34(2)(c) separately trims even the ordinary 20% garnishment if it would push household income below the poverty line. Because "dependent" and "household income" are both defined around who the debtor actually supports, this functions as Wisconsin's version of a family-support exemption: structured as a means test tied to the poverty line rather than a fixed dollar figure per dependent |
Only one earnings garnishment runs against a debtor's pay at a time. Under § 812.35(6), if the garnishee is already subject to one or more unterminated earnings garnishments when a new one is served, the garnishee retains the new form and puts it into effect only in the pay period after the last pending garnishment ends: a strict serial queue, not a shared percentage. Section 812.40 reinforces this: even a written extension of an existing garnishment is automatically voided if a different creditor's garnishment is served on the garnishee before that extension takes effect. A ch. 767 support assignment always outranks this ordinary-creditor queue regardless of timing (§ 812.39(2)) |
Wisconsin's anti-retaliation rule, § 812.43, is broader on its face than the federal rule and most peer states: it bars a garnishee from imposing any fee or taking any "adverse action against a debtor by reason of the garnishment of the debtor's earnings," full stop, with no limitation to a first or single garnishment, unlike the federal one-debt rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674) or states that just copy it. A violation gives the debtor a private right of action for reinstatement, back wages and benefits, restoration of seniority, other relief allowed by law, and reasonable attorney fees, a civil remedy, not the criminal penalty some other states attach to their anti-discharge rule |
| Wyoming verified 2026-10-07 | W.S. §§ 1-15-408, 1-15-501 to -511; parallel consumer-credit rules in §§ 40-14-505 to -506 |
Lesser of 25% of the debtor's disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (W.S. 1-15-408(b); the continuing-garnishment article states the identical formula in § 1-15-511(a)) |
Wyoming uses the federal 25%/30x-federal-minimum-wage formula (§§ 1-15-408(b), 1-15-511(a); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) |
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect when earnings are payable (§§ 1-15-408(b), 1-15-511(a)) |
A child support income withholding order obtained under W.S. 20-6-201 through 20-6-222 has priority over any other garnishment, ordinary or continuing (W.S. 1-15-408(a), 1-15-504(c)); debt from a consumer credit sale, lease, or loan instead follows a parallel cap and anti-discharge rule under the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code (W.S. 40-14-505, 40-14-506) rather than the ordinary civil procedure code, though the numeric formula is the same |
The percentage formula uses disposable earnings; recently deposited wages keep the same exemption for the statutory time windows (§ 1-15-408(a), (b)) |
One continuing writ paid at a time, in service order; one writ per creditor/garnishee per 90 days; support withholding takes priority and tolls the earlier writ (§ 1-15-504) |
W.S. 1-15-509 bars discharging an employee over any continuing garnishment (no textual single-garnishment limit) and lets a wrongfully discharged employee sue within 120 days for reinstatement, lost wages up to 30 working days, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees; the parallel W.S. 40-14-506 separately bars discharge for a garnishment tied to a consumer credit sale, lease, or loan |
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