Georgia: Wage Garnishment Limits
The short answer
In Georgia, an ordinary judgment creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings for the week or the amount above a fixed $217.50 weekly floor — the same shape as the federal formula, but written as a flat dollar figure rather than an automatically updating minimum-wage multiple. Private student loan judgments are capped lower, at 15%. Support garnishments can take up to 50% and effectively run alongside an ordinary garnishment rather than sharing its cap, and firing an employee over a garnishment of a single debt is against the law even if more than one summons is served on it.
| Governing law | 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 (179 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.) |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | 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)) |
| State rule vs. federal floor | 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 |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 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 |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | Support garnishments run through a separate procedural track (continuing garnishment for support, Article 3) and can reach up to 50% of disposable earnings under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act's support tiers (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)), well above 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 |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | 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 |
| Multiple garnishments at once | 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) |
| Protection from being fired | 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) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
The short answer
Georgia's ordinary wage garnishment rule is, in substance, the federal
formula: a judgment creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your
disposable earnings for the week or the amount above a protected floor.
The difference is in the wording — Georgia writes that floor as a fixed
$217.50 rather than an automatically updating multiple of the federal
minimum wage. A judgment based on a private (non-federally-guaranteed)
student loan gets a lower cap, 15% instead of 25%. Support garnishments
run on a separate, more aggressive track that can reach up to 50% of
disposable earnings, and an employer can't fire you over garnishment of
a single debt even if the creditor has to serve more than one summons to
collect it.
Requirements one by one
Governing law
The substantive cap and the anti-discharge rule are both in O.C.G.A.
§ 18-4-5, inside the general-provisions article of Georgia's garnishment
chapter. Exempt property, including retirement funds, is covered
separately in § 18-4-6. The garnishment periods themselves (179 days for
a continuing wage garnishment) are set by § 18-4-4, and competing claims
to the same garnished money are resolved by § 18-4-18. Support
garnishment is a distinct procedural track under Article 3 of the same
chapter.
Maximum that can be garnished
Section 18-4-5(a) caps an ordinary garnishment at the lesser of 25% of
disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings
exceed $217.50. If the underlying judgment arose from a private student
loan specifically, the percentage prong drops to 15% instead of 25% —
Georgia is one of the few states with a percentage carve-out just for
that kind of debt.
State rule vs. federal floor
The shape of Georgia's rule matches the federal CCPA formula almost
exactly rather than exceeding it. The one place Georgia adds protection
beyond the federal floor is the private-student-loan carve-out, which
lowers the percentage prong to 15% for that specific kind of debt — a
protection federal law doesn't provide.
Minimum-wage protected floor
Georgia writes this floor as a flat dollar figure, $217.50 per week,
rather than as "thirty times the current federal minimum hourly wage"
the way several neighboring states do. The statute itself explains where
the number comes from — 30 hours a week at $7.25 an hour — but because
it's fixed in the code as a dollar amount, it won't rise automatically
if the federal minimum wage increases; that would take a further
amendment to this specific statute.
Support, tax & student loan debts
Support obligations don't run through the ordinary 25%/$217.50 cap at
all — they're handled by a separate continuing-garnishment-for-support
track that can reach up to 50% of disposable earnings under the federal
Consumer Credit Protection Act's support tiers. Retirement and pension
funds are exempt from garnishment while still held in the plan, and even
once distributed to the member or beneficiary, they're only exempt to
the same extent as ordinary disposable earnings — not automatically
fully protected. Federal tax levies and federal student loan
administrative garnishment reach Georgia wages under their own federal
authority, separate from this chapter.
Head-of-household/family exemption
Georgia has none. The ordinary cap in § 18-4-5 applies the same way no
matter how many dependents a debtor supports — there's no separate
dollar amount or percentage protected on top of it for a head of
household.
Multiple garnishments at once
Two different rules can apply. Among ordinary garnishments, § 18-4-5(b)
makes the 25%/$217.50 cap a combined ceiling — being served with more
than one ordinary garnishment against the same employee doesn't multiply
what can be taken. That combined-cap rule specifically doesn't extend to
a support garnishment, which runs on its own track and its own,
different cap. And where competing claims land on the same deposited
money or property, § 18-4-18 resolves the fight not by who filed first
but by whoever holds the OLDEST entered judgment.
Protection from being fired
Section 18-4-5(c) bars firing 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." That closes a gap the plain federal rule doesn't
address explicitly: a creditor can sometimes need to serve a new summons
periodically to keep collecting the same debt, and Georgia's statute
makes clear that repeated summonses for the SAME obligation still count
as garnishment "for any one obligation" for purposes of the protection.
It remains limited, like the federal rule, to a single underlying debt.
What trips people up
Because Georgia's protected floor is written as a fixed $217.50 rather
than a self-updating multiple of the minimum wage, it's easy to assume
the number moves with minimum-wage changes the way it does in states
that spell out "30 times the current federal minimum hourly wage." It
doesn't — in Georgia, that dollar figure only changes if the legislature
amends the statute itself. People sometimes also assume garnishment
priority goes to whichever creditor filed first; in Georgia, competing
claims to the same garnished fund are instead resolved by whoever holds
the oldest judgment.
Common questions
Does my minimum-wage protection go up if the federal minimum wage
increases?
Not automatically. Georgia's floor is written into the statute as a flat
$217.50 per week, not as a multiple of the current federal minimum wage,
so it would take a legislative amendment to raise it.
If two creditors both garnish my paycheck, do they each get 25%?
No, for ordinary judgment debts the 25%/$217.50 cap is a combined
ceiling regardless of how many garnishments are pending against you at
once. A support garnishment is the exception — it runs on its own,
separate track.
Is my student loan garnished at the same rate as a credit card debt?
It depends on the lender. A judgment from a private student loan is
capped at 15% of disposable earnings, lower than the 25% cap for most
other ordinary debts; federally-guaranteed student loans are handled
through federal administrative wage garnishment instead of this state
process.
Statutes and sources
- O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5(a) — "(1) For purposes of this subsection, a
\"private student loan\" shall be defined as an educational or student
loan for postsecondary educational expenses but not a loan guaranteed
under 20 U.S.C. Section 1070, et seq. (2) Subject to the limitations
set forth in Code Sections 18-4-6 and 18-4-53, the maximum part of
disposable earnings for any work week which is subject to garnishment
shall not exceed the lesser of: (A) Twenty-five percent of the
defendant's disposable earnings for that week or, if the judgment upon
which the garnishment is based arose from a private student loan, then
15 percent of the defendant's disposable earnings for that week; or
(B) The amount by which the defendant's disposable earnings for that
week exceed $217.50. (3) In case of earnings for a period other than a
week, the proportionate fraction or multiple of 30 hours per week at
$7.25 per hour shall be used." —
https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-18-debtor-and-creditor/ga-code-sect-18-4-5/
(accessed 2026-07-05) - O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5(b) — "The limitation on garnishment set forth in
subsection (a) of this Code section shall apply although the garnishee
may receive a summons of garnishment in more than one garnishment case
naming the same defendant unless the garnishee has received a summons
of continuing garnishment for support as provided in Article 3 of this
chapter." —
https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-18-debtor-and-creditor/ga-code-sect-18-4-5/
(accessed 2026-07-05) - O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5(c) — "No employer shall discharge an employee by
reason of the fact that such employee's earnings have been subjected to
garnishment for any one obligation, even though more than one summons
of garnishment may be served upon such employer with respect to the
obligation." —
https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-18-debtor-and-creditor/ga-code-sect-18-4-5/
(accessed 2026-07-05) - O.C.G.A. § 18-4-6(a)(2) — "Funds or benefits from an individual
retirement account or from a pension or retirement program shall be
exempt from the process of garnishment until paid or otherwise
distributed to a member of such program or beneficiary thereof. Such
funds or benefits, when paid or otherwise distributed to such member or
beneficiary, shall be exempt from the process of garnishment only to
the extent of the limitations provided in Code Section 18-4-5 for other
disposable earnings, unless a greater exemption is otherwise provided
by law." —
https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-18-debtor-and-creditor/ga-code-sect-18-4-6/
(accessed 2026-07-05) - O.C.G.A. § 18-4-18 — "When money or other property in court is subject
to a third-party claim or to more than one garnishment case, the party
with the oldest entered judgment shall have priority to such money or
other property and any interested party to any one of the garnishment
cases may make a motion to the court where such money or other property
has been deposited for the distribution of such money or other
property." —
https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-18-debtor-and-creditor/ga-code-sect-18-4-18/
(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)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.