Wage Garnishment Limits in New York

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The main income-execution mechanism and its cap are in N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5231. Priority among competing garnishments is set by § 5234. The anti-retaliation rule for employees is § 5252. Child and spousal support income executions run through separate sections, §§ 5241-5242.

Maximum that can be garnished

New York's process has two numbers that matter. First, § 5231(b) lets a creditor issue an income execution demanding "not more than ten percent" of what the debtor is receiving — this is initially served on the debtor directly, giving them a chance to pay it themselves. If the debtor defaults and the execution is served on the employer instead, the actual amount an employer withholds is capped at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount over 30 times the greater of the federal or state minimum wage (§ 5231(b)(ii)). And under § 5231(b)(iv), none of this applies at all to a judgment arising from a medical debt lawsuit brought by a hospital or a licensed health care professional — that debt simply can't be collected by wage garnishment in New York.

State rule vs. federal floor

The percentage prong (25%) matches federal law exactly. Where New York pulls ahead is the minimum-wage floor: instead of federal law's flat 30 times the federal minimum wage, New York uses 30 times whichever is GREATER, the federal or the New York minimum wage. Since New York's state minimum wage is well above the $7.25 federal rate, this protects meaningfully more of a lower-earning worker's paycheck than the bare federal rule would.

Minimum-wage protected floor

Thirty times the greater of the federal minimum hourly wage (Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938) or the New York State minimum hourly wage set under Labor Law § 652 — whichever number is bigger at the time the wages are paid (§ 5231(b)(i)). New York's § 652 minimum wage is not a single statewide figure: as of January 1, 2026 it is $17.00/hour in New York City and in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, and $16.00/hour in the rest of the state. Because the garnishment floor is 30 times that rate, more of a downstate worker's pay is shielded (30 × $17.00 = $510 a week) than an upstate worker's (30 × $16.00 = $480 a week).

Support, tax & student loan debts

Child and spousal support/maintenance are collected through their own income execution and income deduction order mechanisms under §§ 5241 and 5242, which can reach the higher federal support percentages. If a debtor's pay is already being deducted for support, § 5231(b)(iii) reduces the room left for an ordinary judgment creditor's income execution so the two together don't exceed the 25% ceiling — support effectively gets first claim on that 25%.

Head-of-household/family exemption

New York doesn't have one. Unlike states that give an extra exemption to someone supporting a dependent, New York's protective mechanism is the minimum-wage floor itself (using whichever of the state or federal minimum wage is higher), which applies the same way to every debtor regardless of household or dependent status.

Multiple garnishments at once

When two or more executions are delivered to the same enforcement officer, § 5234(b) pays them out in the order they were delivered — first in time, first satisfied. Child support is the one exception: a child support execution automatically jumps ahead of "any other assignment, levy or process," no matter when it was delivered, and if there's more than one past-due child support order, the proceeds get split between them in proportion to each order's share of the combined debt.

Protection from being fired

New York's protection is notably broader than the federal single-debt rule. Section 5252 bars discharging, laying off, refusing to promote, disciplining, or refusing to hire someone because ONE OR MORE wage assignments or income executions have been served — the federal rule only protects against firing over a single debt, but New York's covers multiple garnishments too. If your employer fires you over an ordinary judgment garnishment, your remedy is a civil action for up to six weeks of lost wages plus reinstatement (§ 5252(2)); the same conduct can also be punished as contempt of court (Judiciary Law § 753). Section 5252 also authorizes an added civil penalty of $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each one after — but that penalty applies only when the firing was because of a child- or spousal-support income execution or income deduction order under §§ 5241 or 5242, and it is paid to the creditor, not to you.

What trips people up

The initial "10%" demand under § 5231(b) is not the same thing as the 25% ceiling that applies once the execution actually gets levied against an employer — people sometimes assume 10% is the hard cap on everything, but it's really the amount of the direct-pay demand sent to the debtor first. And the medical-debt bar is narrower than "all health-related debt": it only reaches judgments from lawsuits brought by hospitals licensed under the Public Health Law or health care professionals licensed under Title 8 of the Education Law, so a debt collector who bought a medical bill and sues in its own name may not be covered the same way — check the actual plaintiff in the underlying judgment.

Common questions

Can a hospital garnish my wages if I don't pay a medical bill? No, not through a court judgment obtained by the hospital or a licensed health care professional — New York barred wage garnishment for that kind of judgment starting in November 2022.

If I already have child support taken out of my paycheck, can a credit card company also garnish my wages? Only for whatever room is left under the 25% cap after the support deduction — the two together can't exceed that ceiling, and support gets first claim on it.

Can my employer fire me if I have wage garnishments from two different creditors? No. Unlike the federal rule, which only protects a single garnishment, New York's § 5252 protects an employee against discharge for one or more wage assignments or income executions.

Statutes and sources

• N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5231 — "(b) Issuance. Where a judgment debtor is receiving or will receive money from any source, an income execution for installments therefrom of not more than ten percent thereof may be issued and delivered to the sheriff ...; provided, however, that (i) no amount shall be withheld from the judgment debtor's earnings pursuant to an income execution for any week unless the disposable earnings of the judgment debtor for that week exceed the greater of thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or thirty times the state minimum hourly wage prescribed in section six hundred fifty-two of the labor law as in effect at the time the earnings are payable; (ii) the amount withheld from the judgment debtor's earnings pursuant to an income execution for any week shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the disposable earnings of the judgment debtor for that week, or, the amount by which the disposable earnings of the judgment debtor for that week exceed the greater of thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage ... or thirty times the state minimum hourly wage ..., whichever is less; (iii) if the earnings of the judgment debtor are also subject to deductions for alimony, support or maintenance for family members or former spouses pursuant to section five thousand two hundred forty-one or section five thousand two hundred forty-two of this article, the amount withheld from the judgment debtor's earnings pursuant to this section shall not exceed the amount by which twenty-five percent of the disposable earnings of the judgment debtor for that week exceeds the amount deducted from the judgment debtor's earnings in accordance with section five thousand two hundred forty-one or section five thousand two hundred forty-two of this article; and (iv) no amount shall be imposed in judgments arising from a medical debt action brought by a hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of the public health law or a health care professional authorized under title eight of the education law." — https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/5231 (accessed 2026-07-05)
• N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5234 — "(b) Priority among execution creditors. Where two or more executions or orders of attachment are issued against the same judgment debtor or obligor and delivered to the same enforcement officer ..., they shall be satisfied out of the proceeds of personal property or debt levied upon by the officer ... in the order in which they were delivered, such executions for child support shall have priority over any other assignment, levy or process. ... Where there is more than one past-due child support order, the proceeds shall be applied to the orders in proportion to the amount each order's claim bears to the combined total." — https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/5234 (accessed 2026-07-05)
• N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5252 — "No employer shall discharge, lay off, refuse to promote, or discipline an employee, or refuse to hire a prospective employee, because one or more wage assignments or income executions have been served upon such employer or a former employer against the employee's or prospective employee's wages or because of the pendency of any action or judgment against such employee or prospective employee for nonpayment of any alleged contractual obligation." For support orders, "the court may direct the payment of a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars for the first instance and one thousand dollars per instance for the second and subsequent instances of employer or income payor discrimination. The penalty shall be paid to the creditor." The section also states: "Damages recoverable shall not exceed lost wages for six weeks and in such action the court also may order the reinstatement of such discharged employee or the hiring of such prospective employee." It further provides: "A violation of this section may also be punished as a contempt of court pursuant to the provisions of section seven hundred fifty-three of the judiciary law." — https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/5252 (accessed 2026-08-16)
• N.Y. Labor Law § 652 — the state minimum wage that CPLR § 5231(b)(i) incorporates; regional as of Jan. 1, 2026: "$17.00 on and after January 1, 2026" in New York City and in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, and "$16.00 on and after January 1, 2026" in the "[r]emainder of state." — https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/LAB/652 (accessed 2026-07-23)