An IRS wage garnishment takes every dollar of your paycheck above a small protected floor. How much the IRS garnishes from your wages depends on three things: your filing status, the number of dependents you claim, and how often you are paid. For 2026, that floor starts as low as $123.06 per week for a single filer with no dependents, which means a worker earning $1,000 in weekly take-home pay would keep only $123.06 and see the remaining $876.94 sent to the IRS.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1494 – Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income
Why the IRS Isn’t Capped at 25 Percent
Private debt collectors operate under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, which generally limits garnishment to 25 percent of disposable earnings. The IRS is not bound by that cap. Under 26 USC 6334, the agency can seize every dollar of your paycheck that exceeds an exempt amount built from the standard deduction and a per-dependent allowance.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6334 – Property Exempt from Levy For workers without dependents, the effective garnishment rate routinely lands at 70 to 80 percent of take-home pay.
The calculation starts with your pay after mandatory deductions: federal income tax, state income tax, and Social Security. Voluntary deductions do not shrink what the IRS can take. A 401(k) contribution, a charitable payroll deduction, or a private health insurance premium is not subtracted before the exempt amount is applied. Everything above the exemption goes to the IRS.
2026 Weekly Exempt Amounts
IRS Publication 1494 sets the dollar amount you keep each pay period, and your employer uses those tables to calculate withholding.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1494 – Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income The 2026 weekly figures for the two most common filing statuses:
Single Filers, Paid Weekly
- 0 dependents: $123.06
- 1 dependent: $184.99
- 2 dependents: $245.91
- 3 dependents: $306.83
- 4 dependents: $367.75
- 5 dependents: $428.67
Married Filing Jointly, Paid Weekly
- 0 dependents: $163.82
- 1 dependent: $225.75
- 2 dependents: $287.67
- 3 dependents: $349.59
- 4 dependents: $411.51
- 5 dependents: $473.43
Each additional dependent adds roughly $61 per week to the protected amount under either status. Head of Household filers keep somewhat more than single filers with the same number of dependents. Married Filing Separately produces the lowest exempt amount of any filing status, and that matters more than it looks — it is the default the IRS uses when a worker fails to return the dependents form on time.
How Pay Frequency Changes the Number
The exempt amount scales with your pay cycle so that the annual protected total stays roughly constant. A monthly paycheck carries a bigger per-check exemption than a weekly one, but the exemption arrives only once instead of four times.3Internal Revenue Service. Information About Wage Levies Publication 1494 contains separate tables for weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay periods. Pay schedules that don’t fit any of those categories are prorated from the annual figure.
The Three-Day Form That Controls Your Paycheck
When the IRS issues Form 668-W to your employer, your employer must hand you a Statement of Dependents and Filing Status. You have three days to complete it and return it.4Internal Revenue Service. What if I Get a Levy Against One of My Employees, Vendors, Customers or Other Third Parties
Miss the deadline and your employer is required to calculate your exemption as Married Filing Separately with zero dependents — the most restrictive figure in the tables. There is no grace period. If your family situation changes while a levy is running, tell your employer right away so the exemption can be recalculated on the next check.
Child Support Comes Out First — If the Order Came First
A court-ordered child support obligation is protected from an IRS levy, but only when the support order was entered before the date of the levy. In that case, your employer subtracts the support amount first, and the IRS levy applies only to what remains above your exempt amount.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6334 – Property Exempt from Levy If the levy was already in place when the support order was later entered, the levy takes priority.5Administration for Children and Families. Processing an Income Withholding Order or Notice A significant pre-existing support obligation can shrink the IRS take dramatically, and in some cases leave nothing for the levy to reach.
How to Reduce the Amount Being Taken
Federal law requires the IRS to release a wage levy in several situations, so the amount coming out of your check is not fixed once collection starts.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6343 – Authority to Release Levy and Return Property
Enter an Installment Agreement
An accepted installment agreement generally forces the IRS to release the levy, replacing the paycheck seizure with a fixed monthly payment you choose. You can apply online if you owe $50,000 or less for a long-term plan, or under $100,000 for a short-term plan of 180 days or less. Setup fees run from $22 for an online direct-debit plan to $178 for non-direct-debit plans applied for by phone or mail, and low-income taxpayers may qualify for reduced or waived fees.7Internal Revenue Service. Payment Plans – Installment Agreements Even a pending request generally blocks new levy action while the IRS reviews it.
Claim Economic Hardship
If the garnishment prevents you from paying for basic living expenses such as rent, utilities, and food, the IRS is required to release it. You document the hardship using Form 433-F or Form 433-A, showing income, expenses, and assets.8Internal Revenue Service. Temporarily Delay the Collection Process If the IRS agrees you cannot pay, your account may go into Currently Not Collectible status. The underlying debt still accrues penalties and interest, but active collection stops.
Submit an Offer in Compromise
An Offer in Compromise settles the debt for less than the full amount. While the offer is under review, the IRS suspends other collection activity.9Internal Revenue Service. Offer in Compromise Note the limit here: the IRS is not required to release a levy that was already active when you submitted the offer, though it may choose to do so.10Internal Revenue Service. Offer in Compromise FAQs The application requires a $205 fee plus an initial payment, and you must be current on all required tax filings.
Wait Out the 10-Year Clock
The IRS has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect a tax debt. Once that period expires the debt is unenforceable and any active levy must be released.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6502 – Collection After Assessment Certain events, including installment agreements and bankruptcy filings, can pause or extend that clock, so the actual expiration date on any given account can be later than a simple ten-year count would suggest.
Absent one of these outcomes, the levy runs every pay period until the debt is paid in full or the IRS issues Form 668-D to your employer releasing it.4Internal Revenue Service. What if I Get a Levy Against One of My Employees, Vendors, Customers or Other Third Parties For most workers the fastest way to raise the amount coming home each week is to get on an installment agreement and end the levy.