Wage Garnishment in Colorado: What the Law Says and What Bankruptcy Changes

How much of your pay can be garnished in Colorado?

For ordinary judgment debts, Colorado caps a workweek's garnishment at the least of 20 percent of disposable earnings; the excess over 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage; and the excess over 40 times the state minimum hourly wage, each in effect when earnings are payable (C.R.S. § 13-54-104). Disposable earnings are what remains after legally required withholding and the health-insurance costs the statute names. That rule reaches only writs issued on or after October 1, 2020, regardless of judgment dates, and the act provided that any part challenged by referendum petition would take effect only if approved by the people in November 2020, applying from the governor's declaration of the vote (Colorado HB19-1189, § 7). Federal law caps garnishment at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings or the excess over 30 times the federal minimum wage (15 U.S.C. § 1673), and leaves stricter state limits intact (15 U.S.C. § 1677).

• Support orders have their own ceilings: 50 percent of disposable earnings where the worker supports another spouse or dependent child, 60 percent where not, each rising five points to the extent earnings are garnished for arrears for a period before the 12-week period ending with that workweek (C.R.S. § 13-54-104).
• Debts for fraudulently obtained public assistance or fraudulently obtained overpayments follow a separate least-of-three test: 35 percent of disposable earnings; the excess over 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage; or the excess over 30 times the state minimum hourly wage, each in effect when earnings are payable. Other pay periods use an equivalent multiple (C.R.S. § 13-54-104).

What do Colorado statutes require of creditors and courts?

Garnishment of earnings is a postjudgment remedy. After entry of judgment, when a writ of execution can issue, the clerk issues a writ of continuing garnishment at the judgment creditor's request; no writ of execution is required (C.R.C.P. 103). Not later than seven days after service, the garnishee must notify the creditor and deliver the writ and notices to the debtor (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-105). Withholding begins on the debtor's first payday at least 21 days after service, or the first such payday after any prior effective writ expires. On reasonable written request, the creditor must provide a written accounting of funds received to date, including the balance due (C.R.C.P. 103).

• A writ of garnishment for support is a separate procedure and has priority over a writ of continuing garnishment, even one served earlier (C.R.C.P. 103).
• A garnishee is not required to deduct, set up, or plead any exemption for a judgment debtor except as set out in the writ (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-108.5).

Which income is protected from garnishment under Colorado law?

Two things limit what a garnishment can take in Colorado: the statutory cap on how much of your earnings a writ can reach, and the exemptions you can claim for particular property and income. Colorado's exemptions extend to writs of garnishment, not only to attachment and execution (C.R.S. § 13-54-106; C.R.S. § 13-54.5-103). Most of the categories in Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102 are exempt only up to a value the statute fixes, so the protected amount depends on the category. No property is exempt from levy and sale for the purchase price of that same property (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-103), and nothing in the exemption article exempts property from sale to pay taxes legally assessed (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-105). And when a writ results from a judgment for child support arrearages or child support debt, the exemptions available are those in subsection (3) of the wage statute, not the general list (C.R.S. § 13-54-106).

• Pensions, retirement plans, deferred compensation plans, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102).
• Public or private disability benefit claims up to a monthly limit the statute sets; amounts above it remain subject to garnishment under the wage statute (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102).
• Income tax refunds attributed to an earned income tax credit or child tax credit, and court-ordered support obligations and payments, including child support a parent owes or pays (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102; Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102.5).
• Workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, Social Security, and public employees' retirement benefits appear among the exemptions a judgment debtor may claim (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-106).

Which statutory protections may matter when contesting a Colorado garnishment?

If you dispute the calculation of exempt earnings, you have seven days from receiving the writ copy or calculation to resolve it by agreement with the garnishee; if a good-faith effort fails, you may file a written objection within 14 days of that same receipt (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-108; C.R.C.P. 103, Section 6; C.R.C.P. (County Court) 403, Section 6). A hardship objection under the wage statute needs no conferral with the garnishee and may be filed in writing at any time during the garnishment (C.R.S. § 13-54-104). File on Form 28 with the clerk of the court that entered judgment, and immediately mail a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the garnishee and the creditor's attorney, or the creditor if none. Filing stays proceedings on those earnings until the court rules, and a timely objection draws a hearing within 14 days (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-109).

• At a hardship hearing the court decides whether earnings after garnishment, with other family income, are insufficient to pay actual and necessary living expenses, on proof of expenses incurred in the 60 days before the hearing; on a finding of insufficiency it must exempt more (C.R.S. § 13-54-104).
• Refund timing is not uniform: the statute directs remittance of over-garnished earnings within seven days (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-109), while the rules say three business days (C.R.C.P. 103, Section 6); either follows a court finding, and the judgment is reinstated accordingly.
• A debtor who missed those windows may move, within 182 days from receipt of the writ copy or the exempt-earnings calculation, to have an objection or claim of exemption heard. No hearing is automatic: it requires a verified showing, under oath, of good cause, and never grounds available during the original windows (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-108; C.R.C.P. 103, Section 6).
• Colorado bars an employer from discharging an employee because a creditor has subjected the employee's unpaid earnings to garnishment for a judgment, with a civil action within 91 days for lost wages capped at six weeks, costs, fees, and reinstatement; that addresses firing, not over-withholding (C.R.S. § 13-54.5-110).

How does filing bankruptcy affect a Colorado garnishment?

Filing a voluntary petition commences the case and constitutes an order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). On filing, section 362(a) operates as a stay applicable to all entities, without a separate order or notice. It covers the commencement or continuation of an action or proceeding against the debtor that was or could have been commenced before the case, or to recover a prepetition claim; enforcement of a prepetition judgment against the debtor or estate property; and acts to collect a prepetition claim (11 U.S.C. § 362). A garnishment on a prepetition judgment generally falls within that description, which is why filing commonly halts garnishment. It does not reach everything: section 362(b) excepts the withholding of income that is property of the estate or of the debtor for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute. A creditor may request relief from the stay, which the court grants after notice and a hearing on the grounds in section 362(d).

Which exemptions apply if you file bankruptcy in Colorado?

Colorado has opted out of the federal list: the exemptions in 11 U.S.C. § 522(d) are denied to Colorado residents, and exemptions a resident may claim are limited to those expressly provided by Colorado statute (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-107). Which law applies turns on section 522(b)(3)(A): the law of the place where the debtor's domicile was located for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing, or, if the domicile was not in a single state for that period, the place of domicile for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for a longer portion of that 180-day period than in any other place. Opting out is not the same as having no federal exemptions: section 522(b)(3) allows property exempt under federal law other than § 522(d), and retirement funds in an account exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code sections it lists. If that domiciliary rule would leave a debtor ineligible for any exemption, the debtor may elect the § 522(d) list.

What should you ask a lawyer about a Colorado garnishment?

Colorado's statutes set the framework, not what is right in your case. A bankruptcy lawyer, or legal aid if cost is the barrier, can read the writ against the judgment behind it. Bring the writ, the exempt-earnings calculation, pay stubs, and your monthly household expenses.

• Does the amount withheld match the least-of calculation in C.R.S. § 13-54-104 for my disposable earnings?
• Am I still inside the seven-day and 14-day objection windows, or does a hardship objection fit better?
• Is this an ordinary continuing garnishment, a writ of garnishment for support, or something else?
• Have I had a bankruptcy case dismissed in the past year, and how would that affect the stay?

Frequently asked questions

Does filing bankruptcy stop a garnishment for child support?

Not in the same way. Section 362(b)(2)(C) excepts from the stay the withholding of income that is property of the estate or property of the debtor for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute, so support income withholding can continue after filing. Colorado also treats a writ of garnishment for support as a separate procedure with priority over a writ of continuing garnishment (C.R.C.P. 103).

How long does the automatic stay last?

It depends on which act is stayed. Under section 362(c)(1), the stay of an act against property of the estate continues until that property is no longer property of the estate. Under section 362(c)(2), the stay of any other act continues until the earliest of case closing, dismissal, or, in a chapter 7 case concerning an individual or a case under chapter 9, 11, 12, or 13, the grant or denial of a discharge. Repeat filings, section 362(b) exceptions, and court-ordered relief under section 362(d) can change that.

What if I had one bankruptcy case dismissed in the past year?

If a chapter 7, 11, or 13 case is filed by or against an individual whose case was pending in the prior year but dismissed (other than a case refiled under a chapter other than 7 after a 707(b) dismissal), section 362(c)(3) terminates the stay with respect to the debtor on day 30 as to that debt, its collateral, or a lease. A party in interest may seek an extension after notice and a hearing completed before day 30, showing good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.

What if two or more of my cases were dismissed in the past year?

Under section 362(c)(4), if a case is filed by or against an individual and two or more of the debtor's cases were pending within the previous year but dismissed, other than one refiled under a chapter other than 7 after a 707(b) dismissal, no stay goes into effect on filing. Within 30 days a party in interest may request one; the court may order it after notice and a hearing only on a good-faith showing as to the creditors to be stayed, effective on entry.

How long does a Colorado writ of continuing garnishment last?

A continuing garnishment writ is a levy on nonexempt earnings for 182 days after service for judgments entered on or after August 8, 2001, and 91 days for earlier ones (C.R.C.P. 103). They turn on the judgment date, not HB19-1189. A writ served during a prior writ's period takes effect afterward; a support writ tolls it; agreed suspension does not extend it. It ends earlier when earnings are no longer due, the judgment is vacated, modified, or satisfied in full, or the writ is dismissed.

Sources

• C.R.S. § 13-54-104
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102.5
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-103
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-105
• C.R.S. § 13-54-106
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-107
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-102
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-103
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-105
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-106
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-108
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-108.5
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-109
• C.R.S. § 13-54.5-110
• C.R.C.P. 103
• C.R.C.P. (County Court) 403
• 11 U.S.C. § 301
• 11 U.S.C. § 362 · official source
• 11 U.S.C. § 522 · official source
• 15 U.S.C. § 1673
• 15 U.S.C. § 1677
• Colorado HB19-1189, § 7

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