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How much of my income can be garnished?

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In a Nutshell

If a creditor is garnishing your wages for a judgment they have against you, then federal law says that the creditor can take no more than 25% of your disposable income, or the amount you earn that is greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less. 

Written by Jonathan Petts
Updated July 22, 2020


If a creditor is garnishing your wages for a judgment they have against you, then state exemptions limit the amount that can be garnished from your wages. Additionally, federal law says that the creditor can take no more than 25% of your disposable income, or the amount you earn that is greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less. 

For example, if you earn $600/week, 25% of your income is $150. Assuming $7.25 federal minimum wage, this is $7.25*30 = $217.5. Since $600 - $217.5 = $382.5, and $150 is less than $382.5, the creditor can only garnish $150. 



Written By:

Jonathan Petts

LinkedIn

Jonathan Petts has over 10 years of experience in bankruptcy and is co-founder and CEO of Upsolve. Attorney Petts has an LLM in Bankruptcy from St. John's University, clerked for two federal bankruptcy judges, and worked at two top New York City law firms specializing in bankrupt... read more about Jonathan Petts

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