Wage Garnishment Limits in Maine
At a glance
| Governing law | 14 M.R.S. § 3126-A (installment payment order and its earnings cap); § 3127-B (order to employer or payor of earnings); § 3121 (definitions) |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | 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 |
| State rule vs. federal floor | 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 |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 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 |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | 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 |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | 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 |
| Multiple garnishments at once | 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) |
| Protection from being fired | 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) |
Requirements one by one
Court order and weekly cap
After a disclosure hearing, the court sets any installment payment owed on a judgment under 14 M.R.S. § 3126-A. The weekly ceiling is the least of 25% of disposable earnings plus defined exempt income, the amount that sum exceeds 40 times the higher state or federal minimum hourly wage, or all disposable earnings (§ 3126-A(3)). “Disposable earnings” means earnings left after legally required withholding (§ 3121(2)). The definition of exempt income in § 3126-A(1) includes specified benefits and support; those amounts enter the ceiling calculation even though the order cannot exceed total disposable earnings.
Under § 3127-B(2), an employer served with the order withholds the lesser of the ordered installment or the maximum applicable disposable earnings. Maine's 40-times-higher-wage floor differs from the federal 30-times-federal-wage formula; counting exempt income can affect the comparison in a particular case.
Support and other excluded debts
The rule in § 3126-A(6) excludes support orders, federal Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, and state or federal tax debts from the ordinary subsection (3) ceiling. Subsection (7) separately caps support garnishment at 50% or 60% of disposable earnings depending on another supported spouse or child, rising to 55% or 65% for qualifying older arrears.
Dependents, competing orders, and job protection
When setting the payment below the ceiling, a court may consider the debtor's and dependents' reasonable needs, payments on other orders, and orders or wage assignments with priority (§ 3126-A(4)). An employer may not discharge an employee because earnings are subject to a § 3127-B order (§ 3127-B(6)); federal law separately protects against discharge for garnishment over one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674).
What trips people up
The 25% prong uses disposable earnings plus defined exempt income, while the final prong prevents an installment order from exceeding disposable earnings. Reading the 25% figure alone can misstate the court's ceiling (§ 3126-A(1), (3)).
Common questions
Does an employer withhold the full statutory maximum? Section 3127-B(2) requires the lesser of the court-ordered installment or the amount available under the statutory ceiling.
Do dependents automatically change the formula? Section 3126-A(4) lets the court consider their reasonable requirements when setting the payment; subsection (3) states the ceiling.
Statutes and sources
- 14 M.R.S. § 3126-A(1)-(7) (disclosure hearing, cap, factors, exceptions, support): https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec3126-A.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- 14 M.R.S. § 3127-B(2), (6) (employer withholding and discharge): https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec3127-B.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- 14 M.R.S. § 3121(2) (disposable earnings): https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec3121.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- 14 M.R.S. § 3127 (repealed): https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec3127.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- 15 U.S.C. § 1674 (federal discharge protection): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1674.htm (accessed 2026-10-06).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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