How much of my paycheck can be garnished?

It depends on your state and your dependents, but in many states the ceiling is the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings for the week or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-4). Disposable earnings means pay after legally required withholding, not gross pay. Some states cap much lower.

Are there states that barely allow wage garnishment at all?

Some states are dramatically more protective than others. Florida exempts all disposable earnings of a head of family at or below $750 a week from attachment or garnishment (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Arizona caps most process at 10 percent of disposable earnings (A.R.S. § 33-1131). Alaska exempts weekly net earnings up to $350 (Alaska Stat. § 09.38.030). Check your state hub for the verified figure.

What is a head of household garnishment exemption?

It is a state-law protection for someone supporting dependents. Florida defines head of family as a natural person providing more than one-half of the support for a child or other dependent, and exempts that person's disposable earnings at or below $750 a week (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Nebraska instead reduces its cap from 25 percent to 15 percent for a head of a family (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558).

Does child support get garnished under the same limits?

No. Support orders are carved out of the ordinary caps in state after state. Mississippi allows up to 50 percent of disposable earnings where the individual is supporting another spouse or dependent child, and up to 60 percent where they are not (Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-4). Montana uses the same 50 and 60 percent figures, rising to 55 and 65 percent for older arrears (MCA 25-13-614).

Can I be fired because my wages are garnished?

Several state statutes prohibit it for a single debt. Nebraska provides that no employer shall discharge an employee by reason of the fact that earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558). Iowa likewise bars discharging an individual by reason of earnings having been subject to garnishment for indebtedness (Iowa Code § 642.21).

Are garnished wages sitting in my bank account still protected?

Sometimes, if they can be traced. Florida provides that earnings exempt under its head-of-family rule stay exempt from attachment or garnishment for 6 months after the financial institution receives them, provided the funds can be traced and identified as earnings, and commingling alone does not defeat tracing (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Other states handle deposited earnings differently.

Which state's exemption law applies if I moved recently?

Two separate questions are involved. For the garnishment itself, some states apply the law of the state where wages are earned and payable, subject to exceptions (KRS 427.050). For a bankruptcy case, 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) looks to where the debtor's domicile was located for the 730 days before filing, with a fallback rule when it was not in one state for that period.

Creditors & collection actions

State Wage Garnishment Limits and Exemptions

Wage garnishment is capped by law, and the cap is calculated from disposable earnings — pay left after legally required withholding. Many states track the common 25 percent ceiling, some cap far lower, and several exempt a head of family entirely. Filing bankruptcy generally triggers an automatic stay that commonly halts most collection garnishments.

Key points

Garnishment caps apply to disposable earnings, not gross pay, so the number on your offer letter is not the number a creditor works from.
Many state statutes cap consumer-debt garnishment at 25 percent of disposable earnings for the week, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less.
Some states are far more protective: Arizona caps most process at 10 percent, and Florida exempts all disposable earnings of a head of family at or below $750 a week.
Support orders and tax debts are carved out of the ordinary caps in state after state, and those percentages run much higher.
Filing a bankruptcy case generally triggers an automatic stay, which commonly halts a wage garnishment for an ordinary consumer debt.

If money is disappearing from your paycheck before it reaches you, the first useful thing to know is that the amount is not up to the creditor. A cap set by statute limits what can be taken, and in several states that cap is much lower than people expect. This page explains how the limit is calculated, what changes it, and what a bankruptcy filing does to a garnishment already running.

How does a wage garnishment limit actually work?

A garnishment is a court process that orders your employer to withhold part of your pay and send it to a judgment creditor. Nebraska's statute describes garnishment as "any legal or equitable procedure through which the earnings of any individual are required to be withheld for payment of any debt" (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558).

The cap is never applied to gross pay. It is applied to disposable earnings, defined in that same statute as earnings remaining after deducting "any amounts required by law to be withheld." Taxes and mandatory withholding come out first; the percentage applies to what is left. Voluntary deductions such as a retirement contribution you chose generally do not reduce the base.

The common formula in state law takes the lesser of two numbers: a percentage of disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed a multiple of the minimum hourly wage. Whichever produces the smaller withholding controls, so a low-wage week can produce nothing at all.

What changes the answer for your paycheck?

Four things move the number more than anything else.

The first is where you work and live. Mississippi and Montana both cap ordinary garnishment at 25 percent of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less (Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-4; MCA 25-13-614). Arizona instead caps most process at 10 percent of disposable earnings or the amount above 60 times the applicable minimum wage, whichever is less (A.R.S. § 33-1131).

The second is whether you support dependents. Nebraska drops the cap to 15 percent for a head of family (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558).

The third is what kind of debt it is. Support orders and tax debts sit outside the ordinary caps in most of these statutes.

The fourth is timing. Mississippi exempts wages entirely for 30 days from the date the writ is served (Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-4).

What does federal law say about garnishment?

State garnishment statutes repeatedly point at a federal floor rather than restating it. Florida provides that the amount garnished "may not exceed the amount allowed under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 1673" for a person who is not a head of family (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Alaska applies the same federal limitation to a nonresident debtor (Alaska Stat. § 09.38.030). Iowa exempts disposable earnings "to the extent provided by the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act" and then adds its own annual dollar ceilings on top (Iowa Code § 642.21).

The practical structure is a floor plus state protection. A state may protect more of your pay than the federal rule does, and several clearly do, but the federal restriction sets a baseline that state law works from rather than beneath.

Bankruptcy law then interacts with all of it. Under 11 U.S.C. § 522, a debtor may exempt property that is exempt under other federal law or under the state or local law applicable where the debtor has been domiciled, which is how a state wage exemption follows you into a bankruptcy case.

Where do state rules differ most?

The spread between states is wide, and it is worth seeing side by side. These are the published statutory limits for ordinary consumer judgments; support and tax collection follow different rules in nearly every one of them.

Note what varies: not just the percentage, but the mechanism. Some states use a percentage of disposable earnings, some a flat weekly dollar exemption, some an annual cap per creditor, and Florida a full exemption keyed to household support. A state that looks harsh on percentage can be protective in practice because of a floor tied to minimum wage.

We don't publish a verified figure for every state on this page. Your state hub carries the amounts we have verified for your jurisdiction, and where we have not verified one, we say so rather than estimating.

Published garnishment limits in selected states (ordinary consumer judgments)
State	Published limit	Authority
Nebraska	Lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30x the federal minimum hourly wage; 15% for a head of family	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558
Arizona	Lesser of 10% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 60x the applicable minimum wage	A.R.S. § 33-1131
Florida	All disposable earnings of a head of family at or below $750 a week are exempt from attachment or garnishment	Fla. Stat. § 222.11
Alabama	75% of wages exempt from levy; consumer credit transactions capped at the lesser of 25% or the amount above 30x the federal minimum hourly wage	Ala. Code § 6-10-7; Ala. Code § 5-19-15
Alaska	Weekly net earnings up to $350 exempt	Alaska Stat. § 09.38.030
Arkansas	First $25.00 per week of net wages absolutely exempt; 60 days' wages exempt on a sworn claim	Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208
Maryland	Greater of $145 per week or 75% of disposable wages exempt (different rule in four counties)	Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — Garnishment of Wages - Instructions to Garnishee

What does a head of household exemption look like in practice?

Florida is the clearest example. All disposable earnings of a head of family whose disposable earnings are $750 a week or less are exempt from attachment or garnishment (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Above that threshold, earnings may not be garnished unless the person agreed otherwise in a signed written waiver that meets specific formatting requirements set out in the statute. "Head of family" there means a natural person providing more than one-half of the support for a child or other dependent.

Nebraska takes a narrower approach to the same idea, cutting the cap from 25 percent to 15 percent for a head of a family — defined as someone who actually supports individuals connected by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558).

The exemption is rarely automatic in practice. Arkansas, for instance, requires a debtor to file a sworn statement with the court to claim its 60-day wage exemption (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208).

What documents and information are involved?

A garnishment generates paperwork on three sides, and the paperwork is where your options usually appear.

Maryland's rule is a useful model of what a writ must tell you: it notifies the debtor and the garnishee that federal and state exemptions may be available, and notifies the debtor of the right to contest the garnishment by filing a motion asserting a defense or objection (Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — Garnishment of Wages - Maryland Rules). The garnishee — your employer — files an answer within 30 days stating whether you are an employee, your rate of pay, and any prior liens.

Arkansas requires the clerk to attach a plain-English "Notice to Defendant" explaining that certain money and property may not be taken, listing Social Security, SSI, veterans' benefits, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation among federally exempt funds, and stating the right to ask for a court hearing (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402).

The writ of garnishment and any attached exemption notice — read the deadline on it first
Recent pay stubs showing gross pay and every legally required deduction, which is how disposable earnings are calculated
Proof of dependents if a head-of-family or head-of-household exemption may apply
The underlying judgment, including the amount owed and court costs
Records showing whether garnished funds are traceable exempt earnings deposited in a bank account

What does filing bankruptcy do to a garnishment?

Filing generally triggers an automatic stay, which commonly halts collection activity including wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts. That is why people facing garnishment often look at bankruptcy on a much shorter timeline than they otherwise would.

Several state statutes anticipate the interaction directly. Arizona provides that its wage exemptions do not apply to an order of a bankruptcy court under the chapter governing individual debt adjustment, or to state or federal tax debt (A.R.S. § 33-1131). Alaska allows a creditor to levy on otherwise-exempt earnings when the claim is enforceable under a bankruptcy court order in the range covering chapter 13 cases (Alaska Stat. § 09.38.030). South Dakota lets a debtor claim earned but unpaid earnings as exempt in a bankruptcy petition, whether or not those earnings have already been garnished (S.D. Codified Laws § 43-45-14).

The filing fee is $245 for a Chapter 7 case (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)) and $235 for Chapter 13 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)).

What should you ask a lawyer about your garnishment?

Bring the writ and two months of pay stubs, and ask questions that are specific to your paycheck rather than general ones about the law.

A few that tend to be productive:

Which state's exemption law governs my garnishment? This is not always obvious. Kentucky applies the law of the state where wages are earned and payable, with exceptions for personal service in Kentucky or Kentucky residence when the debt or cause of action arose (KRS 427.050). Kansas exempts out-of-state wages in some circumstances (K.S.A. 60-2309).

Which exemption set applies if I file? Under 11 U.S.C. § 522, some states let a debtor choose the federal list; others do not. Colorado denies the federal exemptions to its residents (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-107), as does Arizona (A.R.S. § 33-1133). California sets out its own alternative list (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 703.140).

And: does the 730-day domicile rule in 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) change which state's exemptions I get?

Frequently asked questions

How much of my paycheck can be garnished?: It depends on your state and your dependents, but in many states the ceiling is the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings for the week or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-4). Disposable earnings means pay after legally required withholding, not gross pay. Some states cap much lower.
Are there states that barely allow wage garnishment at all?: Some states are dramatically more protective than others. Florida exempts all disposable earnings of a head of family at or below $750 a week from attachment or garnishment (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Arizona caps most process at 10 percent of disposable earnings (A.R.S. § 33-1131). Alaska exempts weekly net earnings up to $350 (Alaska Stat. § 09.38.030). Check your state hub for the verified figure.
What is a head of household garnishment exemption?: It is a state-law protection for someone supporting dependents. Florida defines head of family as a natural person providing more than one-half of the support for a child or other dependent, and exempts that person's disposable earnings at or below $750 a week (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Nebraska instead reduces its cap from 25 percent to 15 percent for a head of a family (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558).
Does child support get garnished under the same limits?: No. Support orders are carved out of the ordinary caps in state after state. Mississippi allows up to 50 percent of disposable earnings where the individual is supporting another spouse or dependent child, and up to 60 percent where they are not (Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-4). Montana uses the same 50 and 60 percent figures, rising to 55 and 65 percent for older arrears (MCA 25-13-614).
Can I be fired because my wages are garnished?: Several state statutes prohibit it for a single debt. Nebraska provides that no employer shall discharge an employee by reason of the fact that earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558). Iowa likewise bars discharging an individual by reason of earnings having been subject to garnishment for indebtedness (Iowa Code § 642.21).
Does filing bankruptcy stop a garnishment that is already running?: Filing generally triggers an automatic stay, which commonly halts wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts. State law anticipates this: South Dakota lets a debtor claim earned but unpaid earnings as exempt in a bankruptcy petition whether or not those earnings have already been garnished (S.D. Codified Laws § 43-45-14). Support and tax collection are treated differently.
Are garnished wages sitting in my bank account still protected?: Sometimes, if they can be traced. Florida provides that earnings exempt under its head-of-family rule stay exempt from attachment or garnishment for 6 months after the financial institution receives them, provided the funds can be traced and identified as earnings, and commingling alone does not defeat tracing (Fla. Stat. § 222.11). Other states handle deposited earnings differently.
Which state's exemption law applies if I moved recently?: Two separate questions are involved. For the garnishment itself, some states apply the law of the state where wages are earned and payable, subject to exceptions (KRS 427.050). For a bankruptcy case, 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) looks to where the debtor's domicile was located for the 730 days before filing, with a fallback rule when it was not in one state for that period.

Sources

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1558 — Wages; subject to garnishment; amount; exceptions
Fla. Stat. § 222.11 — Exemption of wages from garnishment
A.R.S. § 33-1131 — Definition; wages; salary; compensation
Miss. Code Ann. § 85-3-4 — Execution or attachment of wages, salaries or other compensation; limitations
MCA 25-13-614 — Earnings of judgment debtor
Alaska Stat. § 09.38.030 — Exemption of earnings and liquid assets
Iowa Code § 642.21 — Exemption from net earnings
Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208 — Exemptions — Wages — Penalty
Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402 — Procedure in issuing writs of garnishment
Ala. Code § 6-10-7 — Wages, Salaries, or Other Compensation of Laborers or Employees for Personal Services
Ala. Code § 5-19-15 — Garnishment
S.D. Codified Laws § 43-45-14 — Exemption of earnings from garnishment process or levy—Bankruptcy
KRS 427.050 — Out-of-state law applicable when wages earned and payable out-of-state
K.S.A. 60-2309 — Wages earned in another state
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-107 — Exemptions in bankruptcy
A.R.S. § 33-1133 — Other exemption laws
Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 703.140 — Exemptions in bankruptcy cases
11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — Garnishment of Wages - Maryland Rules
Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — Garnishment of Wages - Instructions to Garnishee
28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)
28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Last reviewed July 26, 2026 · Sources verified July 26, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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