Wage Garnishment Limits in Ohio
At a glance
| Governing law | Ohio Rev. Code § 2329.66(A)(13) sets the earnings exemption; §§ 2716.041 and 2716.05 govern continuous orders, priority, and discharge; § 3121.03 governs support withholding. |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30× the federal minimum hourly wage per week (§ 2329.66(A)(13); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
| State rule vs. federal floor | Ohio states the same 25%-of-disposable/30×-federal-wage limit as the federal CCPA, but frames it as the greater amount exempt rather than the smaller amount garnishable (§ 2329.66(A)(13)). |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 30× the federal minimum hourly wage for weekly pay; 60× biweekly, 65× semimonthly, and 130× monthly (§ 2329.66(A)(13)(a)). |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | A support order or IRS levy may be a higher priority order when state or federal law gives it priority (§ 2716.041(C)(1)(e)); support withholding is capped by federal CCPA support limits (§ 3121.03(A)(1)). Pension exemptions under § 2329.66(A)(10) have conditions. |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | No additional family-status amount in the ordinary § 2329.66(A)(13) earnings formula. |
| Multiple garnishments at once | Court issues ordinary orders in affidavit receipt order (§ 2716.05); an earlier continuous order ordinarily retains priority through the pay period containing its 182nd processing day (§ 2716.041(D)(1)). A legally higher priority order follows § 2716.041(D)(2). |
| Protection from being fired | § 2716.05 bars discharge solely because one judgment creditor successfully garnished earnings within 12 months; § 3121.39 separately bars discharge, discipline, or refusal to hire because of support withholding. |
Requirements one by one
Maximum garnishment amount
Section 2329.66(A)(13) protects the greater of 75% of disposable earnings or 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage each week. The amount available to an ordinary creditor is therefore the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess above the 30-times floor. Federal 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a) states that same maximum directly.
Minimum-wage protected floor
Ohio uses the federal hourly wage in § 2329.66(A)(13)(a), including pay-period multiples of 60 for biweekly, 65 for semimonthly, and 130 for monthly pay. It does not substitute the Ohio minimum wage for this calculation.
Support and pension exceptions
Section 3121.03(A)(1) limits support withholding and payor fees together to the federal support maximum. That federal maximum ranges from 50% to 65% of disposable earnings depending on other dependents and older arrears (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(2)). Pension interests have separate, qualified exemptions under § 2329.66(A)(10), including an amount reasonably necessary for support under division (b).
Multiple garnishments at once
Section 2716.05 directs the court to issue ordinary wage orders in the order it received the affidavits. Under § 2716.041(D)(1), a prior continuous order remains the higher priority order through the full pay period containing its 182nd processing day. A later order with a higher priority under state or federal law follows § 2716.041(D)(2); division (C)(1)(e) lists support orders and IRS levies as possible examples.
Protection from being fired
Section 2716.05 prohibits discharge solely because one creditor successfully garnished the employee's earnings in a 12-month period. A separate support statute, § 3121.39, prohibits discharge, discipline, or refusal to hire because of support withholding.
What trips people up
A support order or IRS levy is a higher priority order only when the governing state or federal law grants that priority. The example list in § 2716.041(C)(1)(e) does not by itself rank every order. Also, the 182-day period is measured from when the garnishee began processing the earlier order, through the full pay period containing day 182.
Common questions
Does Ohio use its own minimum wage for the garnishment floor? No. Section 2329.66(A)(13)(a) specifically uses the federal minimum hourly wage.
Can an employer fire me for a support withholding notice? Section 3121.39 separately prohibits discharge, discipline, and refusal to hire because of that notice.
Statutes and sources
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2329.66(A)(13) — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2329.66 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2716.041(C)(1)(e) — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.041 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2716.05 — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.05 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3121.03(A)(1) — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3121.03 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3121.39 — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3121.39 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673.htm (accessed 2026-10-07)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1674 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1674.htm (accessed 2026-10-07)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2716.041(D)(1) — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.041 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2716.041(D)(2) — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2716.041 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2329.66(A)(10)(b) — https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2329.66 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(2) — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673.htm (accessed 2026-10-07)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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