Nebraska: Wage Garnishment Limits
The short answer
Nebraska caps ordinary garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings, the amount over 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or just 15% of disposable earnings if the debtor is a head of family — a genuinely more protective cut than the plain federal formula for anyone supporting dependents. Support orders, bankruptcy orders, and tax debt fall outside this cap entirely. Only one continuing garnishment lien can be in effect at a time; competing claims rank by time of service, except support wage assignments always outrank ordinary garnishments. Nebraska's anti-discharge rule matches the federal one exactly: an employer can't fire an employee over a single garnishment for one debt, but a second garnishment isn't protected.
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This is the general rule in Nebraska. Ezel applies current Nebraska law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558 (wage exemption and anti-discharge rule); § 25-1056(4)-(5) (multiple-garnishment priority and continuing-lien procedure) |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the workweek, the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 15% of disposable earnings if the debtor is a head of a family (§ 25-1558(1)) — the head-of-family cut is Nebraska's real addition on top of the federal formula |
| State rule vs. federal floor | Matches the federal 25%/30x-federal-min-wage test for a debtor who isn't a head of family, but cuts the cap to 15% for anyone who is — one of the lower head-of-household percentages found in this survey, since it replaces rather than adds to the ordinary cap |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) — $217.50/week at $7.25/hour — the plain federal multiplier, not increased by Nebraska's own statute |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | Court support orders, bankruptcy Chapter XIII orders, and state or federal tax debt are all excepted from the ordinary cap entirely (§ 25-1558(2)); wage assignments and garnishments for support of a person outrank ordinary (non-support) garnishments and liens regardless of filing order (§ 25-1056(4)(b)) |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | A debtor who qualifies as "head of a family" — someone who actually supports and maintains a dependent connected by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship, based on a moral or legal obligation (§ 25-1558(4)(d)) — has the ordinary cap cut from 25% to 15% of disposable earnings (§ 25-1558(1)(c)), rather than gaining a separate add-on exemption |
| Multiple garnishments at once | Time-of-service priority, with support outranking non-support claims regardless of order (§ 25-1056(4)). Only one continuing lien against a debtor's earnings can be in effect at a time; a continuing lien, once obtained, outranks any later garnishment or wage assignment except a support order (§ 25-1056(5)) |
| Protection from being fired | Matches the federal rule exactly: no employer may discharge an employee because the employee's earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any ONE indebtedness (§ 25-1558(6)) — a second garnishment for a different debt isn't protected by Nebraska or federal law |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Nebraska's wage-garnishment exemption, its head-of-family cut, and its
anti-discharge rule all live in one section, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558. The
rule for resolving multiple garnishments against the same paycheck and the
continuing-lien mechanism are in a separate procedural section, § 25-1056(4)
and (5).
Maximum garnishment amount
The cap is the lesser of three figures: 25% of disposable earnings for the
workweek, the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the
federal minimum hourly wage, or 15% of disposable earnings if the debtor
qualifies as a head of a family (§ 25-1558(1)). For most single debtors
without dependents, this is the plain federal formula. For a head of family,
Nebraska cuts it further.
Federal floor comparison
Without the head-of-family cut, Nebraska's formula is identical to the
federal CCPA test. With it, Nebraska is more protective than federal law for
anyone supporting dependents — a straight 15% cap instead of 25%, which is
lower than most other states' head-of-household protections in this survey
(several use a partial exemption or dollar floor rather than cutting the base
percentage itself).
Minimum wage protection floor
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)
— $217.50 a week at the current $7.25 federal rate (§ 25-1558(1)(b)).
Nebraska hasn't raised this multiplier or tied it to its own, higher state
minimum wage.
Priority debt exceptions
Court-ordered support, Chapter XIII bankruptcy orders, and state or federal
tax debt are all excepted from the ordinary cap entirely (§ 25-1558(2)). On
top of that, wage assignments and garnishments for the support of a person
outrank ordinary, non-support garnishments and liens regardless of when each
was filed (§ 25-1056(4)(b)) — support doesn't just get a higher percentage,
it jumps the line.
Head-of-household exemption
Nebraska's head-of-family protection works by lowering the base cap itself,
not by adding a separate exemption on top of it. Anyone who actually supports
and maintains a dependent connected by blood, marriage, adoption, or
guardianship, based on a moral or legal obligation, gets a 15% cap instead of
25% (§ 25-1558(1)(c), (4)(d)).
Multiple garnishments priority
Garnishments and liens rank by time of service, except that support wage
assignments always outrank ordinary garnishments (§ 25-1056(4)). Nebraska
also limits a debtor to one continuing garnishment lien at a time: once a
creditor gets a continuing lien, it outranks any later garnishment or wage
assignment except one for support (§ 25-1056(5)).
Employee termination protection
Nebraska's anti-discharge rule tracks the federal one word for word: no
employer may fire an employee because the employee's earnings have been
garnished for any one indebtedness (§ 25-1558(6)). As under federal law, a
second garnishment for a different debt isn't covered by this protection.
What trips people up
Don't assume the 15% head-of-family rate stacks with the 25% figure — it
replaces it. A head-of-family debtor's cap is 15%, full stop, not "25% minus
something." And don't assume a single continuing garnishment locks a
creditor in forever without oversight: Nebraska requires the lien to be
renewed, and it becomes invalid if the debtor leaves the garnishee's employ
for more than 60 days or hasn't earned nonexempt wages for 60 days, among
other listed events (§ 25-1056(3)).
Common questions
Am I automatically treated as a head of family if I have kids?
No — you have to actually support and maintain the dependent, and the
obligation has to be moral or legal, not just that you live together. If a
creditor assumes you're not a head of family, you can request a hearing to
prove otherwise.
Does Nebraska protect more of my paycheck than federal law?
Only if you're a head of family — then yes, 15% instead of 25%. Otherwise the
formula matches the federal 25%/30x-minimum-wage test exactly.
I already have a garnishment — can a support order jump ahead of it?
Yes. Wage assignments and garnishments for support of a person outrank
ordinary garnishments regardless of which was filed first (§ 25-1056(4)(b)).
Statutes and sources
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558 — https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-1558 (accessed 2026-07-05)
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1056 — https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-1056 (accessed 2026-07-05)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title15/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673 (accessed 2026-07-05)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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