Florida: Wage Garnishment Limits

The short answer

For most Florida workers, an ordinary judgment creditor can take the same
amount federal law allows everywhere: the lesser of 25% of disposable
earnings, or the amount those earnings exceed 30 times the federal
minimum wage. But Florida adds one of the strongest wage protections in
the country on top of that: if you're a "head of family" — providing more
than half the support for a child or other dependent — your paycheck is
completely off-limits up to $750 a week, and even above that a creditor
generally can't touch it unless you signed a specific written waiver.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The general garnishment exemption, including the head-of-family rule,
lives in Fla. Stat. § 222.11. Child support and alimony run through a
separate income-deduction-order system in chapter 61, primarily §§ 61.12
and 61.1301.

Maximum that can be garnished

Section 222.11(2)(c) says disposable earnings of anyone who isn't a head
of family "may not be attached or garnished in excess of the amount
allowed under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 1673" —
Florida doesn't set its own percentage, it just adopts the federal cap by
reference. A head of family gets much stronger protection: full
exemption up to $750/week, and above that, exemption unless waived in
writing (§ 222.11(2)(a)-(b)).

State rule vs. federal floor

For a non-head-of-family earner, Florida's rule and the federal floor are
identical — Florida simply incorporates 15 U.S.C. § 1673 rather than
writing its own formula. Where Florida becomes far more protective than
federal law is the head-of-family exemption, which has no federal
counterpart at all.

Minimum-wage protected floor

Because § 222.11(2)(c) adopts the federal formula directly, the protected
floor is the same one used nationwide: 30 times the federal minimum
hourly wage. Florida doesn't set its own, higher state-minimum-wage-based
multiplier the way some states do.

Support, tax & student loan debts

Alimony and child support use income-deduction orders under §§ 61.12 and
61.1301, not the ordinary garnishment process, and can reach the higher
federal support percentages (50-65% of disposable earnings under 15
U.S.C. § 1673(b)). If a delinquency accrues, § 61.1301(3)(c) directs an
extra 20% of the current support obligation toward the arrearage. A
public officer's state or county salary can be attached for alimony or
child support the same way a private paycheck can (§ 61.12(1)).

Head-of-household/family exemption

This is Florida's signature protection. Under § 222.11(1)(c), "head of
family" means any natural person providing more than half the support for
a child or other dependent — it doesn't require being the primary earner
or head of a traditional household. If your disposable earnings are
$750/week or less, all of them are exempt, full stop. Above $750/week,
you're still exempt unless you signed a waiver that meets specific
formatting requirements (separate document, matching language, 14-point
type, and a statutorily prescribed warning). Even after your paycheck is
deposited, it stays exempt for up to 6 months if you can trace it back to
earnings (§ 222.11(3)).

Multiple garnishments at once

Florida's chapter 61 has an explicit rule for stacking MULTIPLE support
obligations: when the combined support demands on one paycheck exceed
what's available under the cap, § 61.1301(4) prorates the available
income among the different families by each family's share of the total
current support owed, giving current support priority over any arrears.
For ordinary (non-support) garnishments, this chapter doesn't set an
explicit priority rule.

Protection from being fired

Florida goes beyond the federal single-garnishment rule in the support
context specifically. Firing or disciplining an employee because a
continuing alimony/child-support writ is in effect is treated as contempt
of court (§ 61.12(2)), and separately, violating the anti-retaliation rule
in an income deduction order exposes an employer to a $250-$500 civil
penalty plus the employee's right to sue for reinstatement and lost wages
(§ 61.1301(2)(j)) — and unlike the federal rule, these protections aren't
limited to just one garnishment.

What trips people up

Being a head of family isn't automatic just because you have kids — you
have to actually be providing more than half of a dependent's support,
and Florida courts have drawn a hard line between employees (protected)
and independent contractors (generally not protected, because their
compensation isn't tied to personal labor the same way). The exemption
also isn't self-executing: a creditor doesn't automatically know you
qualify, so you typically have to assert the head-of-family exemption
after a garnishment starts, not before.

Common questions

If I make more than $750 a week, am I automatically exposed to full
garnishment?
No. Above $750/week, a head of family is still exempt unless they signed
a specific written waiver meeting the statute's formatting requirements —
simply earning more doesn't waive the protection.

Does the head-of-family exemption apply to child support I owe?
No. Child support and alimony obligations go through the separate income
deduction system in chapter 61, which isn't limited by § 222.11's
head-of-family exemption.

What happens to garnished-but-exempt wages if I deposit my paycheck?
They generally keep their exempt status for up to 6 months, as long as
you can trace the funds back to earnings and they haven't been hopelessly
commingled with other money.

Statutes and sources

• Fla. Stat. § 222.11 — "(2)(a) All of the disposable earnings of a head
  of family whose disposable earnings are less than or equal to $750 a
  week are exempt from attachment or garnishment. (b) Disposable earnings
  of a head of a family, which are greater than $750 a week, may not be
  attached or garnished unless such person has agreed otherwise in
  writing. ... (c) Disposable earnings of a person other than a head of
  family may not be attached or garnished in excess of the amount allowed
  under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 1673. (3)
  Earnings that are exempt under subsection (2) and are credited or
  deposited in any financial institution are exempt from attachment or
  garnishment for 6 months after the earnings are received by the
  financial institution if the funds can be traced and properly
  identified as earnings." —
  https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0200-0299/0222/Sections/0222.11.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.12 — "(2) The provisions of chapter 77 or any other
  provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the court may issue a
  continuing writ of garnishment to an employer to enforce the order of
  the court for periodic payment of alimony or child support or both. ...
  Any disciplinary action against the employee by an employer to whom a
  writ is issued pursuant to this section solely because such writ is in
  effect constitutes a contempt of court, and the court may enter such
  order as it deems just and proper." —
  https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.12.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.1301 — "(2)(j)1. A person may not discharge, refuse to
  employ, or take disciplinary action against an employee because of the
  enforcement of an income deduction order. An employer who violates this
  subsection is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $250 for the
  first violation or $500 for any subsequent violation. ... (4) When
  there is more than one income deduction notice against the same
  obligor, the amounts available for income deduction must be allocated
  among all obligee families as follows: ... (c) If the total monthly
  support obligation to all families is greater than the amount of income
  available for deduction, the amount of the deduction must be prorated,
  giving priority to current support, so that each family is allocated a
  percentage of the amount deducted." —
  https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.1301.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — "Except as provided in subsection (b) and in section
  1675 of this title, the maximum part of the aggregate disposable
  earnings of an individual for any workweek which is subjected to
  garnishment may not exceed (1) 25 per centum of his disposable earnings
  for that week, or (2) the amount by which his disposable earnings for
  that week exceed thirty times the Federal minimum hourly wage prescribed
  by section 206(a)(1) of title 29 in effect at the time the earnings are
  payable, whichever is less." —
  https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title15/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1674 — "No employer may discharge any employee by reason of
  the fact that his earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any
  one indebtedness." —
  https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1674.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05)