Glossary term
Wage Garnishment
Short answer
Wage garnishment is a legal process where a creditor obtains an order requiring your employer to withhold part of your paycheck and send it toward a debt. For ordinary consumer debts, the creditor generally must sue and win a judgment first.
Why it matters
Federal law sets a floor of protection: under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, garnishment for consumer debts is generally capped at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable pay exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage — and many states protect more, some barring wage garnishment for consumer debts almost entirely. Social Security and certain federal benefits are generally protected from commercial garnishment. Some debts, like taxes, federal student loans, and child support, can be garnished without a lawsuit and at different limits. A garnishment notice usually arrives with paperwork about claiming exemptions, and deadlines on that paperwork matter.
Example
A card issuer wins a judgment against Nora and serves a garnishment order on her employer, which begins withholding a slice of each paycheck up to the legal limit. Nora checks her state's rules — they shield more than the federal floor — and files the exemption claim form by its deadline. Her Social Security income, meanwhile, generally can't be touched for this kind of debt, and a bankruptcy filing would generally pause the garnishment while the case proceeds.
Terms used on this page
Guides that use this term
- Wage Garnishment for Consumer Debt: Limits and Protected IncomeHow wage garnishment works for consumer debt, the federal limits on how much can be taken, which income is protected, and how exemption claims generally work.
- Default Judgments: What They Are and Why to Avoid OneWhat a default judgment is, what creditors can do with one, how people find out too late, and why motions to set aside exist — in plain English.
- The Automatic Stay: How Filing Bankruptcy Pauses CollectionsWhat the automatic stay stops the moment a bankruptcy is filed — garnishments, lawsuits, foreclosure sales — what it doesn't stop, and how it can be limited.
Sources
This page is based on the following official and authoritative sources. Always check the source itself for the most current rules.
Educational information — not advice
This topic involves court deadlines and rights you can permanently lose.
This page provides general educational information about credit, debt, and consumer protections. It is not legal advice, financial advice, or credit repair services, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. Laws, procedures, deadlines, and dollar amounts vary by state and change over time.
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