When more than one garnishment hits the same paycheck, the garnishment priority order is set mostly by state law and a few federal statutes rather than a single unified rule, but the ranking almost every jurisdiction follows is the same: child support and alimony first, then federal and state tax levies, then federal student loans and ordinary consumer judgments last. On top of that ranking, the Consumer Credit Protection Act caps the total that can leave your paycheck in any workweek.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
Child Support and Alimony Are Paid First
Domestic support orders sit at the top of the hierarchy in virtually every jurisdiction, and they operate under their own, higher withholding limits. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b), up to 50 percent of disposable earnings can be withheld for support if you are currently supporting another spouse or child, and up to 60 percent if you are not. When support payments are more than 12 weeks overdue, an additional 5 percent can be added, pushing the ceiling to 65 percent of disposable pay.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act
Because support orders carry the highest legal weight, they must be satisfied before any funds go to tax levies or commercial creditors. They stay the primary deduction until the underlying obligation is paid in full or a court modifies the order. Even an IRS levy cannot displace a support order that was already in effect before the levy was served.
Tax Levies Come Next
Government claims for unpaid taxes take the next slot. Internal Revenue Code § 6331 authorizes the IRS to levy wages for delinquent tax debts, and the levy calculation is not the same as the CCPA cap.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6331 – Levy and Distraint Under 26 U.S.C. § 6334, only a specific exempt amount is protected, based on the taxpayer’s standard deduction and number of dependents divided by the number of pay periods.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6334 – Property Exempt from Levy Everything above that exempt amount can be seized. The IRS publishes updated exempt amounts annually in Publication 1494.
The practical result: an IRS levy can take a larger share of a paycheck than an ordinary creditor garnishment, sometimes leaving only a few hundred dollars per week depending on filing status. State tax levies follow similar principles and often compete with federal claims based on timing. In most cases, once domestic support is handled, the tax levy consumes whatever remains of the available disposable earnings.
Student Loans and Consumer Judgments Come Last
Consumer judgments for credit card balances and medical bills, and administrative garnishments for defaulted federal student loans, sit at the bottom of the order. They can only reach whatever room is left under the applicable cap after higher-priority claims are satisfied.
Federal agencies can garnish up to 15 percent of disposable earnings for defaulted federal student loans without a court order.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 3720D – Garnishment That 15 percent rate applies to borrowers in default.6Federal Student Aid. Collections on Defaulted Loans If 25 percent of your disposable earnings is already going to a higher-priority non-support debt, there may be nothing left for a commercial creditor in that pay period. The employer keeps the lower-priority order on file and starts withholding when the superior debts clear or shrink enough to leave room. Private creditors can wait a long time when someone carries substantial government or family-related debts.
When Two Orders Sit at the Same Priority Level
If two or more garnishments occupy the same tier, the tie-breaker depends on the jurisdiction. The most common method is “first in time”: the creditor whose order was served on the employer first gets paid before any funds go to the second creditor of the same class. Exact date and time of receipt is what determines the sequence.
Some jurisdictions use pro-rata distribution instead. The available withholding amount is divided proportionally among all creditors with valid orders at the same level. Two creditors owed roughly equal amounts each receive roughly half of what’s available. The CCPA itself does not choose between these methods; state and other federal law does.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act Whichever method applies, the total withheld cannot exceed the federal caps.
The Overall Cap on What Can Be Taken
The ranking only matters within a fixed ceiling. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1673, the most that can be withheld for ordinary debts in any workweek is the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment “Disposable earnings” means what’s left after amounts required by law to be withheld are subtracted, including federal, state, and local income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1672 – Definitions Voluntary deductions like health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and union dues do not reduce disposable earnings for garnishment purposes.
With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour, 30 times that amount is $217.50 per week.8U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws If your weekly disposable earnings are $217.50 or less, nothing can be taken under standard garnishment rules. Between $217.50 and $290.00, only the amount above $217.50 can be withheld. Above $290.00, the 25 percent cap produces the smaller figure and controls. Support orders and IRS levies use their own math, described above, and can push the total taken well past 25 percent.
State Law Can Tighten the Rules
The federal 25 percent cap is a floor for employee protection, not a ceiling. Many states set more generous limits. Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania exempt all wages from garnishment for most types of consumer debt. Others protect 80 to 90 percent of disposable earnings, or peg the exempt amount to a multiple of the state minimum wage that runs higher than 30 times the federal rate. Where state law is stronger, state law applies. Check the rules for the state where you work: the same credit card judgment can be uncollectible against a paycheck in one state and enforceable in another.
Income the Priority Order Cannot Reach
Some income is protected regardless of where a creditor sits in the hierarchy. Social Security benefits can be garnished for child support, alimony, and restitution under 42 U.S.C. § 659, and the IRS can levy up to 15 percent of each Social Security payment for overdue federal taxes. The Treasury Department can also withhold benefits to collect other delinquent federal debts.9Social Security Administration. Can My Social Security Benefits Be Garnished or Levied Private creditors holding ordinary court judgments generally cannot reach Social Security or VA disability payments through standard garnishment.
When federal benefits are direct-deposited and a creditor tries to garnish the account, the bank must review whether protected federal payments were deposited within the prior two months. Two months’ worth of those benefits are automatically shielded and must remain available to the account holder.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can a Debt Collector Take My Federal Benefits Like Social Security or VA Payments The protection covers Social Security, VA benefits, federal employee retirement payments, and certain other federal benefit payments.11Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments Frequently Asked Questions If you receive benefits by paper check and deposit them manually, the automatic lookback does not apply, and you would have to go to court to prove the funds are protected.
How Bankruptcy Changes the Order
Filing for bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362, which halts most collection actions, including active wage garnishments, once the employer or creditor learns of the filing.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay The debtor or their attorney typically provides the employer and the garnishing creditor with the case number and filing date to make sure withholding stops quickly.
The stay has limits. Child support and alimony continue through bankruptcy because these are priority debts that cannot be discharged. Tax debts and student loans may pause temporarily, but creditors for those obligations can resume collection after the case concludes if the debts survive discharge. Credit card balances, medical bills, and personal loans that are discharged are gone for good, and creditors cannot resume garnishing for them. If the case is dismissed without a discharge, the stay lifts and all creditors can resume. It may also be possible to recover wages garnished within 90 days before the filing date if the total exceeds $600 and the amount can be protected by a bankruptcy exemption.