Garnishment is a court-ordered process that lets a creditor collect an unpaid debt by taking money directly from your paycheck, bank account, or other assets held by a third party. Federal law caps most wage garnishments at 25% of your disposable earnings, with different rules for child support, student loans, and taxes. Knowing how the process starts, what’s protected, and how to respond puts you in a much stronger position if one ever lands on your desk.
Who Is Involved and How It Starts
Every garnishment has three parties: the creditor who is owed money, you as the debtor, and a garnishee, which is the third party actually holding your money. That third party is usually your employer or your bank. A garnishment order tells the garnishee to send some of your money to the creditor instead of to you.
For most consumer debts, a creditor has to sue you and win a court judgment first. The judgment confirms the debt and gives the creditor the legal authority to collect. The creditor then asks the court for a garnishment order, which is served on your employer or bank along with instructions on how much to withhold.
Government agencies skip the lawsuit. The IRS can levy wages or bank accounts for unpaid federal taxes without going to court. Other federal agencies can use administrative wage garnishment for non-tax debts they’re owed, again without a traditional suit. In those cases, the agency must give you at least 30 days’ written notice and a chance to request a hearing before withholding begins.1eCFR. 31 CFR 285.11 – Administrative Wage Garnishment
The Main Types of Garnishment
Wage Garnishment
This is the most common form. Your employer receives the order and starts withholding a portion of each paycheck, sending it directly to the creditor. Withholding continues until the debt is paid, the order expires, or a court changes the arrangement. Your employer is legally required to comply and has no discretion to ignore the order.
Bank Account Garnishment
Also called a bank levy. The bank freezes funds in your checking or savings account when the order arrives, holds them for a set period so you can claim exemptions, and then turns the money over to the creditor if no successful challenge is made. Unlike wage garnishment, which takes a percentage over time, a levy can sweep your entire available balance in a single move.
Tax Refund Offsets
Through the Treasury Offset Program, the federal government can intercept your tax refund to pay certain overdue debts. That includes money owed to federal agencies, past-due child support, and defaulted federal student loans.2Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Treasury Offset Program – FAQs for Debtors in the Treasury Offset Program For child support, state agencies submit information about parents behind on payments, and Treasury matches that against incoming refunds to take part or all of the money owed.3The Administration for Children and Families. How Does a Federal Tax Refund Offset Work?
Administrative Wage Garnishment
Federal agencies can garnish wages for non-tax debts you owe the government without filing suit. After the 30-day notice, you have 15 business days from the mailing of that notice to request a hearing. If you don’t, the agency sends a withholding order to your employer. The maximum under administrative garnishment is 15% of your disposable pay, or the amount exceeding 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less.1eCFR. 31 CFR 285.11 – Administrative Wage Garnishment
As of January 2026, the U.S. Department of Education has delayed involuntary collections on federal student loans, including administrative wage garnishment and Treasury offsets.4U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education Delays Involuntary Collections Amid Ongoing Student Loan Repayment Improvements If you have defaulted federal student loans, check the Department’s current guidance for the latest status of that pause.
How Much of Your Paycheck Can Be Taken
The Consumer Credit Protection Act sets the ceiling for most consumer debts. A creditor can take the lesser of:
- 25% of your disposable earnings for that pay period, or
- The amount by which your disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. With the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour as of 2026, that weekly threshold is $217.50.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
Disposable earnings means your pay after amounts your employer is legally required to withhold, like federal and state income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. Voluntary deductions such as health insurance premiums or retirement contributions are not subtracted; they still count as part of your disposable earnings for garnishment purposes.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #30: Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA)
In practice, if your weekly disposable earnings are $217.50 or less, nothing can be garnished. Between $217.50 and $290, only the amount above $217.50 can be taken. Above $290 per week, up to 25% can be taken. States sometimes set more protective limits, and a handful ban wage garnishment by private creditors entirely for consumer debts. When federal and state law conflict, your employer must follow whichever leaves you with more money.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
Higher Limits for Support, Student Loans, and Taxes
The 25% cap doesn’t apply to every debt. Congress set higher ceilings for obligations it treats as more urgent.
For child support and alimony, up to 50% of your disposable earnings can be taken if you’re supporting another spouse or dependent child, and up to 60% if you’re not. Add 5 percentage points if you’re more than 12 weeks behind, which raises the maximum to 55% or 65%.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
Administrative garnishment for defaulted federal student loans is capped at 15% of disposable pay,1eCFR. 31 CFR 285.11 – Administrative Wage Garnishment though that collection is currently paused.
The IRS is not bound by the CCPA’s garnishment limits at all.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment Instead, it calculates an exempt amount based on your filing status and number of dependents, updated annually, and can take everything above that amount.7Internal Revenue Service. Information About Wage Levies
Income That Cannot Be Touched
Federal law shields certain income from most garnishments so people don’t lose access to money meant for basic survival. Protected sources include Social Security benefits (including SSI), veterans benefits, federal disability and survivor benefits, and railroad retirement benefits. Most states add protections for unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, public assistance, and pension income.
These exemptions generally hold even when the money sits in a bank account, but for wage garnishments and some bank levies you may have to actively claim the exemption by filing paperwork with the court within a short window, sometimes as little as 10 business days.
The protections have limits. Federal benefits can still be reached for unpaid federal taxes, child support, and certain other government debts. Mixing exempt funds with non-exempt money in the same account also makes separating the protected portion harder and can require court intervention.
The Automatic Two-Month Lookback for Bank Accounts
A federal regulation provides an automatic safeguard when your bank account is garnished. Under 31 CFR Part 212, if you receive federal benefit payments by direct deposit, your bank must review the account when a garnishment order arrives and automatically protect an amount equal to the federal benefits deposited during the prior two months.8eCFR. 31 CFR Part 212 – Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments You keep access to either that sum or your current balance, whichever is lower. The bank is supposed to apply it without you filing anything, but the protection only covers federal benefits received by direct deposit. Paper checks you deposit yourself may not trigger it, and you’d need to claim the exemption in court.
What to Do When You Get a Garnishment Notice
The written notice explains the debt, the creditor, the case number, the amount to be withheld, and how to claim exemptions if your income or assets are protected. That last part matters most, because wage exemptions often don’t apply automatically. You have to assert them.
Read every deadline in the notice. Courts give you a limited window to respond, usually measured in days rather than weeks, and missing it can cost you exemptions you were entitled to. If any of your income is protected, file the claim of exemption form included with the notice before the deadline runs out.
Once a bank levy takes effect, money deposited afterward, including future paychecks, can also be frozen until the debt is satisfied. For wage garnishment, withholding continues every pay period. Acting quickly gives you the best chance to protect exempt funds.
Grounds to Contest or Reduce a Garnishment
Claim an Exemption
If the garnished funds come from a protected source, file a claim of exemption with the court. You’ll usually need bank statements showing the direct deposits or other documentation proving the income type. The court then decides whether to release some or all of the money.
Show Financial Hardship
For federal administrative garnishments, you can object on the ground that the withholding would cause hardship to you and your dependents. The burden is on you to document basic living expenses and available income, which are compared against IRS National Standards for families of similar size and income.9eCFR. 34 CFR 34.24 – Claim of Financial Hardship by Debtor Subject to Garnishment For a garnishment already in place, agencies typically wait at least six months before considering a hardship objection unless circumstances have changed dramatically, such as serious illness or divorce.
Challenge the Underlying Debt
If the debt was already paid, discharged in bankruptcy, or the amount is wrong, those are valid grounds to object. You can also challenge whether proper procedures were followed in getting the judgment. A garnishment hearing is generally not the place to relitigate the original lawsuit, though. The court is deciding whether the garnishment should proceed, not whether the judgment was correct.
Negotiate With the Creditor
Creditors sometimes prefer a voluntary arrangement to the hassle of enforcement. A lump sum or a realistic monthly payment plan may get the creditor to suspend or reduce the garnishment. Put any agreement in writing, and if the creditor agrees to stop, make sure the court is notified so the order is formally modified or withdrawn.
Can You Be Fired Over a Garnishment
Federal law prohibits your employer from firing you because your wages are being garnished for a single debt. An employer who violates that protection faces a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in jail, or both.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1674 – Restriction on Discharge From Employment by Reason of Garnishment
The federal shield only covers one debt, though. If your employer receives orders for two or more separate debts, that protection no longer applies. Some states extend stronger rules covering multiple garnishments, but federal law does not.
Stopping Garnishment Through Bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay that immediately halts most collection efforts, including garnishment. The moment your petition is filed, creditors are legally prohibited from continuing to collect on debts that existed before the filing.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
The stay does not cover everything. Collection of child support and alimony can continue. If the case is dismissed or the stay is lifted, garnishment can resume. Bankruptcy also doesn’t erase every debt: student loans, most tax debts, and support obligations typically survive, so garnishment for those can restart after the case closes. For people buried in consumer debt collection, though, bankruptcy is often the most effective way to stop the withholding and start over.