For an ordinary debt, federal law caps garnishment at the lesser of two figures: 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions. A state can set a lower cap, and the lower amount governs.
What happened
Your paycheck came up short. Payroll says a garnishment order arrived, so part of your pay now goes to a creditor. The order names a court case and the creditor behind it. Federal law puts a ceiling on how much of each check can be taken.
What usually applies
The federal ceiling covers ordinary garnishments. Those are the ones not for support, taxes, or bankruptcy. For those, the weekly amount cannot pass the lesser of two figures. One is 25 percent of your disposable earnings. The other is the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions, like taxes and Social Security. Union dues and insurance usually do not count as those deductions. If your state law leads to a smaller amount, the state number is the one that must be used. Support orders, tax debts, and bankruptcy orders run on their own limits. Federal law also bars an employer from firing a worker whose pay is garnished for any one debt.
“For ordinary garnishments (i.e., those not for support, bankruptcy, or any state or federal tax), the weekly amount may not exceed the lesser of two figures: 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings, or the amount by which an employee’s disposable earnings are greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 an hour).”
“The amount of pay subject to garnishment is based on an employee’s “disposable earnings,” which is the amount of earnings left after legally required deductions are made”
“If a state wage garnishment law differs from the wage garnishment provisions of the CCPA, the law resulting in the lower amount of earnings being garnished must be observed.”
“The CCPA prohibits an employer from firing an employee whose earnings are subject to garnishment for any one debt, regardless of the number of levies made or proceedings brought to collect that one debt.”
What to do
- 1
Get a copy of the garnishment order
Ask payroll for it. The order names the court, the case number, and the creditor collecting.
- 2
Find your disposable earnings for the pay period
Start with gross pay. Take out only the deductions the law requires, like taxes and Social Security.
- 3
Compare the two federal figures
The smaller number is the federal ceiling for that week. Anything above it is worth a question.
- 4
Check whether your state protects more
Some states shield more pay than federal law does. When the two differ, the lower amount is used.
- 5
Call legal aid this week
Legal aid offices do this for free. So do court self help centers. They check the math and file claims.
Get help early, while money is still leaving each check. Legal aid offices and court self help centers do this work for free. Call right away if the amount looks too high, if the debt is not yours, or if you never got court papers in the case. If you are not working, there is no paycheck to garnish, but a creditor may go after a bank account instead. Your local 211 line can point you to the nearest office.
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Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #30 (CCPA wage garnishment protections)Retrieved 2026-07-31
Last reviewed 2026-07-31