This wage garnishment calculator shows the maximum a creditor can legally take from your paycheck under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA). For an ordinary debt, the limit is the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount your disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage ($7.25 × 30 = $217.50/week). Enter your pay and required deductions to see your disposable earnings, the maximum garnishment, and what you keep — for ordinary debt, child support, and federal student loans.
When a creditor wins a judgment, they can order your employer to withhold part of your wages — a garnishment. But federal law caps how much. Under Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, for an ordinary debt the weekly garnishment cannot exceed the lesser of:
If your disposable earnings are $217.50 or less per week, nothing can be garnished for ordinary debt. The "lesser of" rule means low earners are fully protected and middle earners are capped at a quarter of their pay.
The garnishment is calculated on disposable earnings, not gross pay and not full take-home. Disposable earnings are your pay after legally required deductions only:
Importantly, voluntary deductions — 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, union dues, charitable giving — are not subtracted. So your disposable earnings are usually higher than the net amount on your check, which means the garnishment base is larger than people expect.
You earn $1,200 gross per week with $240 of required deductions (taxes and FICA), for a credit-card judgment.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross weekly pay | $1,200.00 |
| Required deductions | $240.00 |
| Disposable earnings | $960.00 |
| 25% of disposable | $240.00 |
| Amount over $217.50 floor | $742.50 |
| Maximum garnishment (lesser of the two) | $240.00 |
| You keep | $720.00 |
Here the 25% cap ($240) is smaller than the over-floor amount ($742.50), so $240 is the most that can be taken. For someone earning near minimum wage the floor rule would bind instead, protecting more of their pay.
Child and spousal support garnishments are treated far more aggressively because the law prioritizes family support. The CCPA allows up to:
These limits dwarf the 25% ordinary-debt cap, which is why support orders take priority and can consume a large share of a paycheck.
Two big exceptions don't use the 25% CCPA cap at all. An IRS wage levy instead leaves you a fixed exempt amount based on your filing status and number of dependents (published in IRS tables) and takes the rest. Defaulted federal student loans can be administratively garnished up to 15% of disposable pay without a court order. The calculator includes the 15% student-loan option; IRS levies depend on your specific exemption table.
Federal CCPA limits are a floor of protection, not a ceiling. Many states cap garnishment below 25%, use a higher minimum-wage multiple, or exempt certain wage levels entirely — and a few states bar most wage garnishment for consumer debt outright. When state and federal law differ, the rule that protects more of your pay applies. Always check your state's specific garnishment statute alongside this federal estimate.
For a single garnishment (one debt), federal law forbids your employer from firing you because of it. That protection, however, does not cover a second garnishment for a separate debt — at that point federal law no longer bars termination, although some states extend protection further. If you face multiple garnishments, know your state's rules.
The tool subtracts your required deductions from gross pay to find disposable earnings, scales the $217.50 weekly federal floor to your pay period, and applies the correct limit for your garnishment type: the lesser of 25%-of-disposable or the over-floor amount for ordinary debt; 50%/60% for support; 15% for federal student loans. It then shows the maximum garnishment and what you keep. All figures use the federal $7.25 minimum wage and 2026 CCPA rules.
What happens if more than one creditor comes after the same paycheck? The garnishments don't simply stack to consume your whole check — the federal aggregate limits still apply, and priority rules decide who gets paid first. Child and spousal support orders take top priority and are withheld before ordinary creditors get anything, which is why support can claim up to 50%–60% of disposable earnings on its own. After support, federal tax levies and certain government debts generally outrank private judgments. Ordinary creditor garnishments — credit cards, medical bills, private judgments — usually follow a "first in time" order and share whatever room remains under the 25% cap. The practical effect: if a large support order is already in place, an ordinary creditor may collect little or nothing because the disposable-earnings room is exhausted. Your employer's payroll department is responsible for applying these priorities correctly, but understanding the hierarchy helps you predict what will actually leave your check.
Beyond the percentage caps, certain types of income carry their own protections. Federal benefits — Social Security, SSI, veterans' benefits, and federal pensions — are generally exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts (though support orders and federal debts can still reach Social Security to a degree). Once wages are deposited, anti-garnishment protections can blur, but banks must protect a baseline of directly deposited federal benefits in an account. On the other side, some obligations bypass the ordinary limits entirely: as covered above, the IRS uses an exempt-amount table rather than the 25% cap, and defaulted federal student loans use administrative wage garnishment at 15% without a court judgment. Knowing whether your income source is protected, and whether the debt type follows the CCPA cap or its own statute, is essential before you assume any single number applies to your situation.
If a garnishment notice arrives, you have more options than many people realize, and acting quickly matters. First, verify the math — employers and creditors sometimes miscalculate disposable earnings or apply the wrong cap; the calculator above gives you a baseline to check against. Second, claim every exemption your state allows: many states let you file a claim of exemption to protect more of your wages based on household need, head-of-household status, or low income, and some exempt a higher dollar floor than the federal $217.50/week. Third, if the underlying judgment is wrong or the debt isn't yours, you may be able to challenge it in court. Finally, for overwhelming debt, options like a negotiated payment plan, debt settlement, or in some cases bankruptcy (which triggers an automatic stay halting most garnishments) may be more effective than letting the garnishment run. Because procedures and exemptions are state-specific and time-sensitive, consulting a consumer-rights or bankruptcy attorney early is usually worth it.
For ordinary debt, the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount over 30× the $7.25 federal minimum wage ($217.50/week). Many states protect more.
Pay after legally required deductions only (taxes, FICA, required state contributions). Voluntary deductions like 401(k) and insurance are not subtracted.
Yes, up to 50% (supporting another) or 60% (not), plus 5% if more than 12 weeks behind, far above the 25% ordinary-debt cap.
Yes, under separate rules: IRS levies use an exempt-amount table; defaulted federal student loans can be administratively garnished up to 15% of disposable pay.
Federal law bars firing you over a single garnishment for one debt, but not for a second garnishment for a separate debt; some states protect further.
The CCPA uses 30× the $7.25 federal minimum wage = $217.50/week. A higher state minimum wage may apply under state garnishment law, protecting more pay.