Wage Garnishment Limits in Idaho
At a glance
| Governing law | 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) |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | 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 |
| State rule vs. federal floor | 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 |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 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, tax & student loan debts | 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)) |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | None. Idaho's wage-garnishment statutes apply the same 25%/30x-min-wage formula regardless of whether the debtor supports a family |
| Multiple garnishments at once | 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) |
| Protection from being fired | 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) |
Requirements one by one
Maximum garnishment amount
Idaho Code § 11-712(1) says the maximum "shall not exceed" either 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, "whichever is less." Section 11-207(1) separately states the same two-part test. Federal law uses the same percentage and multiplier in 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a), while 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) supplies the federal hourly rate used in the calculation.
Priority debt exceptions
Section 11-712(2) expressly removes support orders, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, and state or federal tax debts from the ordinary cap. Its support tiers turn on whether the worker supports another spouse or dependent child and whether the support debt reaches back beyond the statutory twelve-week period.
Multiple garnishments priority
Section 11-704 makes the first continuing garnishment run until the judgment is satisfied. When it is already taking the maximum allowed by § 11-712, an additional garnishment "cannot be served" until the first is satisfied or drops below the cap; later garnishments are then served in presentation order.
Employee termination protection
The federal rule is the operative protection recorded here: 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) says, "No employer may discharge any employee" because the employee's earnings were garnished for one indebtedness. The current Idaho sections quoted here do not add a broader discharge rule.
What trips people up
The same cap appears in two current sections, § 11-207 and § 11-712. That is not a choice between two formulas: both use the same 25%/30-times test. The separate § 11-704 rule controls how a continuing garnishment and later orders line up.
Common questions
How is the cap converted for a pay period other than one week? Section 11-712(1) directs the Idaho commissioner of labor to prescribe an equivalent federal-minimum-wage multiple for other pay periods.
Does a continuing garnishment end after one paycheck? No. Section 11-704 says it continues until the judgment is satisfied, subject to the creditor's responsibility not to collect more than the judgment.
Statutes and sources
- Idaho Code § 11-712 — The ordinary maximum "shall not exceed" twenty-five percent of disposable earnings or the amount above thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage, "whichever is less." The section separately states the support tiers and the tax and bankruptcy exceptions. — https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title11/T11CH7/SECT11-712/ (accessed 2026-08-17)
- Idaho Code § 11-207 — The ordinary maximum "shall not exceed" twenty-five percent of disposable earnings or the amount above thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage, "whichever is less." — https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title11/T11CH2/SECT11-207/ (accessed 2026-08-17)
- Idaho Code § 11-704 — "This continuing garnishment shall continue in force and effect until the judgment is satisfied"; later garnishments at the maximum "cannot be served" until the first is satisfied or drops below the cap. — https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title11/T11CH7/SECT11-704/ (accessed 2026-08-17)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — The federal maximum "may not exceed" twenty-five percent of disposable earnings or the amount above thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage, "whichever is less." — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673.htm (accessed 2026-08-17)
- 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 2026-08-17)
- 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) — The current rate schedule ends with "(C) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day." — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title29/html/USCODE-2024-title29-chap8-sec206.htm (accessed 2026-08-17)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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