Does filing bankruptcy stop a garnishment for child support?

Generally no. Section 362(b)(2)(C) excepts from the stay 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, and (b)(2)(B) excepts collecting such an obligation from property that is not estate property. Tennessee law points the same way: § 26-2-108 says personal earnings are not exempt from a support order it describes.

Can Tennessee filers choose the federal exemption list?

That turns on your domicile. Under 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) the governing law is that of your domicile for the 730 days before filing; if that was not one state, the place you were domiciled for the 180 days immediately preceding that period, or for a longer portion of those days than in any other place. Tennessee has opted out of the § 522(d) list (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-112), so where its law applies that list is unavailable; § 522(b)(3) preserves other federal exemptions, retirement funds, and an election if domicile leaves none.

What does "disposable earnings" mean?

It means the part of your earnings left after deducting amounts the law requires to be withheld (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-102; 15 U.S.C. § 1672). Voluntary deductions are not subtracted. This matters because the 25% figure in § 26-2-106 is 25% of disposable earnings, not of gross pay, and the worksheet in § 26-2-404 walks an employer through the arithmetic.

Can two creditors garnish the same paycheck at once?

Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-224 says a later-filed writ that deducts the maximum allowable amount does not run concurrently with an earlier writ for the time limit § 26-2-214 prescribes; the later writ does not begin to run until the earlier judgment is satisfied, the earlier writ expires, or it is stayed by an installment motion under § 26-2-216. A lien obtained under § 26-2-214 has priority over later ones.

Can your employer fire you over a garnishment?

15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) says no employer may discharge an employee because earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and willful violation carries penalties under § 1674(b). That is an employment-protection rule, not a remedy for money taken from your pay. Where what was withheld was exempt, § 26-2-407 is the provision for asserting exemption rights. Section 1677(2) leaves room for state law barring discharge where earnings are garnished for more than one indebtedness.

Are government wages in Tennessee garnishable?

Yes. Garnishment of salaries, wages or other compensation due from the state, a county or a municipality to an officer or employee is permissible, and no privilege or immunity may be claimed; the same exemptions available to private employees apply (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-221). Service and answer for state garnishments run through the relevant commissioner, with an administrative fee and a timing rule in § 26-2-222.

Wages & debt

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

For an ordinary judgment, Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106 caps weekly garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount exceeding thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage; support and tax judgments follow different limits. Filing a bankruptcy petition generally operates as an automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a), which commonly halts collection garnishment. But § 362(b)(2)(C) excepts domestic-support income withholding, a case dismissed within the past year can shorten the stay and two can prevent it, and a creditor may seek relief under § 362(d).

Key points

For ordinary debts, Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106 caps weekly withholding at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage.
Support and tax judgments are calculated differently and can reach far more of a paycheck (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b); Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216).
A garnishee must place a hold and then deliver the garnishment summons and the Notice to Judgment Debtor, which states how to contest the garnishment (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 26-2-203, 26-2-214).
Filing generally operates as an automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a), which commonly reaches garnishment on an ordinary money judgment, while § 362(b)(2)(C) excepts domestic-support income withholding, a case dismissed within the past year can end the stay early under § 362(c)(3), two dismissals can keep it from taking effect under § 362(c)(4), and a creditor may seek relief for cause under § 362(d).
Tennessee has opted out of the federal § 522(d) exemption list (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-112), but which state's exemption law applies turns on where your domicile was for the 730 days before filing, and 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3) separately preserves other federal exemptions and qualifying retirement funds.

A garnishment notice at work is frightening, and the paperwork rarely explains what the limits actually are. This page sets out what the Tennessee garnishment statutes collected here say, what federal wage-garnishment law adds, and what a bankruptcy filing changes. It is information about the law, not advice about your case.

How much of your pay can be garnished in Tennessee?

For an ordinary judgment debt, Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106 caps what a creditor can reach each workweek at whichever is less: 25% of your disposable earnings for that week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect when the earnings become due and payable. For a pay period other than a week, an equivalent amount is in effect. "Earnings" is broad, covering wages, salary, commission, bonus, and periodic pension or retirement payments (§ 26-2-102). "Disposable earnings" means what is left after amounts the law requires to be withheld (§ 26-2-102; 15 U.S.C. § 1672). Section 26-2-107 adds a weekly allowance for each dependent child under sixteen years of age who is a resident of this state, but it is your responsibility to inform your employer of each child claimed, and the section does not apply if you do not. Support and tax judgments are calculated differently.

Withholding limits by type of judgment
Type of judgment	Limit on disposable earnings
Ordinary debt (credit card, medical, auto deficiency)	Lesser of 25% for the week, or the amount above thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106)
Child support, or alimony where the recipient has not remarried	50% of disposable earnings where the debtor is supporting another spouse or dependent child, and 60% where the debtor is not; those figures become 55% and 65% to the extent earnings are garnished to enforce a support order for a period before the twelve-week period ending with the beginning of that workweek (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(2))
Alimony where the recipient has remarried	The ordinary-debt calculation applies (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216)
State or federal tax	No disposable earnings are exempt under 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b) (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216)

What do the supplied Tennessee statutes require of creditors and courts?

Tennessee's statutes put conditions on issuing and serving a garnishment. When the creditor requests issuance, it must file a statement showing your last known address, the amount owed on the judgment, and the creditor's address for notices; if a clerk issues one without demand, the clerk takes that information from the court records (§ 26-2-402). No clerk may issue a garnishment unless it carries both the required Notice to Judgment Debtor and the notice § 26-2-203 prescribes, and no officer may summon a garnishee without them (§ 26-2-403). Within two business days after the day it receives the garnishment, the garnishee must determine whether it holds or controls your money or property, and if so, within that same period mail the summons and notice to your last known address as shown by its records, or deliver them to you. It may never do that before placing a hold on all available funds in its possession or control (§§ 26-2-203, 26-2-406). If its records show a different address from the one the creditor supplied on the notice, it must mail a copy to that address too. Only the garnishee furnishes these papers (§ 26-2-405); it may be required to answer under oath (§ 26-2-204), and its answer is not conclusive (§ 26-2-205).

Which income is protected from garnishment under Tennessee law?

For wages, the cap itself does the work: the garnishee must pay you the amount of your exempt earnings (§ 26-2-214), and the summons must tell you about the exemptions in federal law and in §§ 26-2-106 and 26-2-107, and about how to contest the garnishment (§ 26-2-214). Beyond wages, the § 26-2-404 notice gives examples of money that state and federal law keep from paying a judgment — Social Security, SSI, unemployment benefits, Veterans' benefits, AFDC, and most government pensions — along with certain health care aids and tools of trade as exempt property. That notice says plainly the list is partial and you may have other exemptions. Two counterweights: personal earnings are not exempt from a support order described in § 26-2-108, and public pay is garnishable, with the same exemptions private employees receive (§ 26-2-221). Federal law does not displace more limited state garnishment rules (15 U.S.C. § 1677).

Which statutory protections may matter when contesting a Tennessee garnishment?

Two motions appear in these statutes, and they do different jobs. If exempt money has been taken, § 26-2-407 lets a judgment debtor assert exemption rights by filing a motion to quash. The deadline is twenty days from the garnishee/employer's withholding of wages in a wage garnishment, and twenty days from the mailing of the § 26-2-404 notice for a levy of execution or any other garnishment. Once it is filed, the clerk must immediately schedule a hearing and the court must adjudicate promptly, in no event later than fourteen days from filing (§ 26-2-410). Separately, no clerk may pay out funds and no officer may conduct an execution sale until your time for filing a motion to quash has expired, or a judicial determination has been made on that motion (§ 26-2-408); property found exempt is released immediately. Section 26-2-216 does something different. After a judgment has been rendered and the time to appeal has elapsed without an appeal, the judge may — on the parties' written consent or on the debtor's written motion, after due notice and a full hearing — order the debtor to pay the clerk a weekly, biweekly or monthly sum toward the judgment. The motion must be supported by an affidavit stating the debtor's inability to pay except from wages or other income in amounts that make installment payments necessary or equitable. Filing it stays the issuance, execution or return of a writ of garnishment during the period the debtor complies with the court's order, but not where the debtor has admitted the debt and is paying the judgment by agreed installments. On written consent the hearing may be held the same day judgment is entered; only one such motion is allowed per judgment, and the court may reinstate a stay for good cause shown (§ 26-2-217). A written installment agreement signed by the parties and filed with the clerk has the same effect as such an order (§ 26-2-218); if the debtor fails to strictly comply, that stay immediately becomes null and void (§ 26-2-219).

How does filing bankruptcy affect a Tennessee garnishment?

A voluntary case is commenced by filing a petition with the bankruptcy court, and that filing is itself the order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). Under § 362(a), the petition operates as a stay applicable to all entities; it arises by operation of the statute, without a separate court order and without notice to the creditor as a precondition. The stayed acts include continuing a judicial action against the debtor that was or could have been commenced before the case was filed, or that seeks to recover a claim against the debtor arising before filing; enforcing a prepetition judgment against the debtor or estate property; and any act to collect a prepetition claim. Garnishment on an ordinary money judgment generally falls inside that language, so it commonly stops — but not in every situation. Section 362(b)(2)(C) excepts withholding of income for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute; § 362(b)(1) excepts criminal proceedings; § 362(b)(9) excepts certain tax audits, assessments and demands. A creditor may also seek relief from the stay for cause under § 362(d).

What happens to the stay if you have had a case dismissed in the past year?

Sections 362(c)(3) and (c)(4) are separate rules, and both turn on dismissed cases. Paragraph (c)(3) applies where a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual debtor under chapter 7, 11 or 13 and a single or joint case of that debtor was pending within the preceding 1-year period but was dismissed — other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b). In that situation the stay under subsection (a) terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the filing of the later case, as to any action taken with respect to a debt, property securing that debt, or a lease. This page does not determine the scope of any protection that remains after that date. A party in interest may move for continuation of the stay, and the court may extend it as to any or all creditors after notice and a hearing completed before the 30-day period expires, only on a showing that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed. Paragraph (c)(4) covers repeat dismissals. Where a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under this title, and two or more single or joint cases of that debtor were pending within the previous year but were dismissed — again subject to the section 707(b) refiling exception — the stay does not go into effect upon the filing of the later case. If a party in interest requests it within 30 days after that filing, the court may order the stay to take effect as to any or all creditors, after notice and a hearing, only on the same good-faith showing as to the creditors to be stayed.

What should you ask a lawyer about a Tennessee garnishment?

Bring the garnishment summons, the Notice to Judgment Debtor, and recent pay stubs. Useful questions: Is this judgment for ordinary debt, support, or taxes, since that decides which withholding limit applies? Has the twenty-day window in § 26-2-407 to move to quash already passed, and is any other challenge open? Would an installment order under § 26-2-216 fit my budget better than a bankruptcy filing? Is more than one writ outstanding, and how does § 26-2-224 sequence them? Does my pay include money the § 26-2-404 notice treats as exempt? Which state's exemption law applies to me under 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A), given each place I have lived recently, since living in Tennessee today does not by itself answer that? If a garnishment is running and I change jobs, what does § 26-2-225 require me to send the creditor? Legal aid may be available; the clerk can supply forms and service information but not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Does filing bankruptcy stop a garnishment for child support?: Generally no. Section 362(b)(2)(C) excepts from the stay 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, and (b)(2)(B) excepts collecting such an obligation from property that is not estate property. Tennessee law points the same way: § 26-2-108 says personal earnings are not exempt from a support order it describes.
Can Tennessee filers choose the federal exemption list?: That turns on your domicile. Under 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) the governing law is that of your domicile for the 730 days before filing; if that was not one state, the place you were domiciled for the 180 days immediately preceding that period, or for a longer portion of those days than in any other place. Tennessee has opted out of the § 522(d) list (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-112), so where its law applies that list is unavailable; § 522(b)(3) preserves other federal exemptions, retirement funds, and an election if domicile leaves none.
What does "disposable earnings" mean?: It means the part of your earnings left after deducting amounts the law requires to be withheld (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-102; 15 U.S.C. § 1672). Voluntary deductions are not subtracted. This matters because the 25% figure in § 26-2-106 is 25% of disposable earnings, not of gross pay, and the worksheet in § 26-2-404 walks an employer through the arithmetic.
Can two creditors garnish the same paycheck at once?: Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-224 says a later-filed writ that deducts the maximum allowable amount does not run concurrently with an earlier writ for the time limit § 26-2-214 prescribes; the later writ does not begin to run until the earlier judgment is satisfied, the earlier writ expires, or it is stayed by an installment motion under § 26-2-216. A lien obtained under § 26-2-214 has priority over later ones.
Can your employer fire you over a garnishment?: 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) says no employer may discharge an employee because earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and willful violation carries penalties under § 1674(b). That is an employment-protection rule, not a remedy for money taken from your pay. Where what was withheld was exempt, § 26-2-407 is the provision for asserting exemption rights. Section 1677(2) leaves room for state law barring discharge where earnings are garnished for more than one indebtedness.
Are government wages in Tennessee garnishable?: Yes. Garnishment of salaries, wages or other compensation due from the state, a county or a municipality to an officer or employee is permissible, and no privilege or immunity may be claimed; the same exemptions available to private employees apply (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-221). Service and answer for state garnishments run through the relevant commissioner, with an administrative fee and a timing rule in § 26-2-222.

Sources

Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-102 — Part definitions
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106 — Maximum amount of disposable earnings subject to garnishment
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-107 — Exemptions for dependent children
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-108 — Personal earnings not exempt from order for alimony or child support
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-112
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-203
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-204
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-205
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-214
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-217
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-218
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-219
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-221
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-222
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-224
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-225
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-402
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-403
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-404 — Notice to Judgment Debtor
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-405
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-406
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-407 — Assertion of exemption rights
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-408
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-409
Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-410
11 U.S.C. § 301 — Voluntary cases
11 U.S.C. § 362 — Automatic stay · official source
11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
15 U.S.C. § 1672 — Definitions
15 U.S.C. § 1673 — Restriction on garnishment
15 U.S.C. § 1674 — Restriction on discharge from employment by reason of garnishment
15 U.S.C. § 1677 — Effect on State laws

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

Sources verified October 9, 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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