Wage Garnishment Limits in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Michigan's garnishment authority sits in the Revised Judicature Act, MCL §§ 600.4011 and 600.4012, which set out who can be garnished, how priority among multiple garnishments works, and the procedural mechanics. The day-to-day process — how a writ is served, how withholding is computed and disclosed — is spelled out in Michigan Court Rule 3.101. Child support and alimony withholding runs on an entirely separate statute, the Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, MCL 552.601 et seq., with its own cap in § 552.608 and its own priority rule in § 552.611.

Maximum that can be garnished

Neither MCL 600.4011 nor 600.4012 states a Michigan-specific percentage. Instead, MCR 3.101(B)(1)(c) points directly to federal law, describing "the maximum that could be withheld by law" for an earnings garnishment as the amount set by 15 U.S.C. § 1673: the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings, or the amount those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. In effect, Michigan simply applies the federal ceiling rather than adopting a different number of its own.

State rule vs. federal floor

For an ordinary garnishment, Michigan matches the federal floor exactly rather than raising or lowering it — there's no independent Michigan formula to compare. Where Michigan does set its own number is child support: § 552.608 caps support withholding at a flat 50% of disposable earnings, which is more protective than the federal ceiling that would otherwise allow up to 60%, or 65% if the obligor is 12 or more weeks behind.

Minimum-wage protected floor

The multiplier is 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage — the same number the federal formula itself uses, with no separate Michigan multiplier and no substitution of a (higher) state minimum wage in the calculation.

Support, tax & student loan debts

Child support and alimony withholding is capped at a flat 50% of disposable earnings under § 552.608, regardless of arrears or whether the obligor supports another family — Michigan doesn't step the percentage up to the higher figures federal law would otherwise permit. Both a support income-withholding order and a state or governmental-unit tax levy 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%, without a court judgment — reach Michigan paychecks independently of any of this, because those processes come from federal law.

Head-of-household/family exemption

Michigan doesn't have one. Its ordinary garnishment cap is exactly the federal 25%/30x formula, with no additional exemption for a debtor who supports a family or qualifies as head of household layered on top of it, the way some other states add.

Multiple garnishments at once

MCL 600.4012(2) resolves this directly: a support income-withholding order and a state or governmental-unit tax levy both outrank an ordinary garnishment no matter which arrived first. Among garnishments of the same priority level, the one the garnishee received earliest controls, and the garnishee owes nothing on a later, same-or-lower-priority garnishment until the earlier one stops being effective. There's one wrinkle for earnings specifically: MCR 3.101(B)(1)(c) requires the garnishee to still withhold under the lower-priority garnishment to the extent the higher-priority order is taking less than the full amount the federal ceiling would allow — so a support order that isn't using the whole 25%/30x cushion doesn't necessarily block a second garnishment entirely.

Protection from being fired

No Michigan-specific statute barring discharge over a garnishment turned up in the garnishment law itself, the court rule, or the state's wage-payment act. Michigan relies on the federal rule alone: 15 U.S.C. § 1674 bars firing an employee because their earnings were garnished for a single debt.

What trips people up

The 2015 overhaul (Public Act 14) changed more than the math — before it, a periodic garnishment lapsed after 182 days and had to be reissued; now it simply runs until the judgment, interest, and costs are paid off, which matters if you're trying to track when a garnishment against your pay will actually end. And the priority rule cuts both ways: a support order or tax levy doesn't just outrank a competing garnishment, it can still leave room for a lower-priority garnishment to take a partial bite if the higher-priority order isn't using the full amount the law would otherwise allow.

Common questions

Can a credit card company take more than 25% of my paycheck in Michigan? No — Michigan applies the federal cap directly: the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage.

If I'm already paying child support and a credit card company also gets a judgment against me, which garnishment wins? The child support withholding order wins automatically — MCL 600.4012(2) gives it priority over an ordinary garnishment no matter which one your employer received first.

Does my old wage garnishment expire after six months? Not anymore. Since a 2015 change to MCL 600.4012, a periodic garnishment stays in effect until the judgment, interest, and costs are fully paid, rather than expiring every 182 days.

Statutes and sources

• Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.4012 — "(1) A garnishment of periodic payments remains in effect until the balance of the judgment is satisfied. (2) A garnishee is not liable for a garnishment of periodic payments under subsection (1) to the extent that the garnishee is required to satisfy another garnishment against the same defendant having a higher priority or having the same priority but received at an earlier date. ... Both of the following have priority over a garnishment, regardless of the order in which they are received: (a) An order of income withholding ... (b) A levy of this state or a governmental unit of this state to satisfy a tax liability." — https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-4012 (accessed 2026-07-05)
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.4011 — "Subject to sections 4061 and 4061a, and the conditions in subsections (2) to (10), the court has power by garnishment to apply the following property or obligation, or both, to the satisfaction of a claim ... (5) A garnishment proceeding shall not be commenced against a person for money owing to a defendant on account of labor performed by the defendant until after the plaintiff's claim has been reduced to judgment." — https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-4011 (accessed 2026-07-05)
• 2012 Mich. Pub. Act 304 (former MCL § 600.4012(1)) — "A writ of garnishment of wages, salary, commissions, or other earnings remains in effect for 182 days." — https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/publicact/pdf/2012-PA-0304.pdf (accessed 2026-08-17)
• Michigan Court Rule 3.101(B)(1)(c) — "If a writ of periodic garnishment is served on a garnishee who is obligated to make periodic payments to the defendant while another order that has priority under MCL 600.4012(2) is in effect ... the garnishee is not obligated to withhold payments pursuant to the lower priority writ until the higher priority writ ceases to be effective ... However, in the case of garnishment of earnings, the garnishee shall withhold pursuant to the lower priority writ to the extent that the amount being withheld pursuant to the higher priority order is less than the maximum that could be withheld by law pursuant to the lower priority writ (see, e.g., 15 USC 1673)." — https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-3-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_3/Court_Rules_Chapter_3/Court_Rules_Chapter_3.htm (accessed 2026-07-05)
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 552.608 — "The total amount of income withheld under this act under all orders to withhold income for current support, past due support, fees, and health care coverage premiums effective against a payer shall not exceed 50% of the payer's disposable earnings as that term is defined in 15 USC 1672." — https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-552-608 (accessed 2026-07-05)
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 552.611 — "An order of income withholding entered under this act is binding upon a source of income 7 days after service ... The order of income withholding remains in effect until further order of the court. An order of income withholding has priority over all other legal process under state law against the same income." — https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-552-611 (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)