Stop Wage Garnishment: Grounds for Objecting to Wage Garnishment

A creditor who sues you and wins a money judgment can take part of your paycheck using "wage garnishment." After the judgment creditor serves your employer with a wage garnishment order, your employer must withhold and send money from your paycheck directly to the creditor. But you might be able to stop the wage garnishment.

So, if you get notice of a wage garnishment, consider challenging it using one of the options described below.

Seven Ways to Challenge a Wage Garnishment

Here are seven arguments for challenging the legality of a wage garnishment, with more details below:

1. The garnishment exceeds the legal amount allowed.
2. You're self-employed.
3. The creditor followed improper garnishment procedure.
4. You've paid or are currently paying the creditor.
5. Another creditor is garnishing your paycheck.
6. You filed for bankruptcy.
7. You dispute the judgment.

1. The Garnishment Exceeds the Legal Amount Allowed

Under state and federal law, you’re entitled to exempt (or keep) a certain amount of your income, which your creditors can’t grab. You must claim your exemptions to prevent a judgment creditor from taking more than federal and state laws allow.

Federal Limits on Wage Garnishment

Under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), a judgment creditor can only garnish the lower of:

• 25% of your disposable earnings (gross pay less taxes and mandatory deductions), or
• your disposable earnings less 30 times the federal minimum wage. (15 U.S.C. § 1673 (2024).)

The key to calculating the proper exemption amount under the CCPA is to understand that mandatory deductions are only those deductions that your employer is legally required to withhold from your pay. Social security and federal, state and local taxes are required deductions. Deductions for insurance, savings plans, and charitable contributions aren’t.

State Limits on Wage Garnishment

Laws vary from state to state as to the type and amount of exemptions available in wage garnishments. Many states don’t offer more exemptions than what the CCPA provides.

Other states, like Illinois, expand the exemption by allowing creditors to take only up to 15% of your gross wages for that week, or the amount of disposable earnings that remains after deducting the Illinois minimum wage (or the federal minimum wage if it's greater than the Illinois minimum wage) multiplied by 45. (735 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/12-803, 740 Ill. Comp. Stat. §170/4 (2024).)

Some State Laws Prevent Most Wage Garnishments

Some states prevent certain types of creditors from garnishing you at all. For instance, in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, your wages can only be garnished to repay only a handful of special judgments, like state taxes, child or spousal support, and student loans. Your wages can't be garnished to pay a credit card judgment.

Head of Your Household Exemptions

If you are the main source of financial support for your family, you might be able to claim a head of household exemption. Not every state has a head of household exemption and those that do differ on the amounts of this special exemption.

If you live in a head-of-household state, you could exempt upwards of 90 to 100% of your earnings.

Exemption Limits for Certain Debts

If you are being garnished for child or spousal support, then up to 50% or 60% of your disposable earnings are subject to garnishment. (An additional 5% may be taken if you are more than 12 weeks in arrears.) Your exemptions are also limited in cases where you are garnished for federal taxes or federal student loans.

2. You're Self-Employed

If the income that the judgment creditor is seeking to garnish comes from self-employment, then your earnings might not be subject to the wage garnishment. It will depend upon whether the laws of your state include self-employment income as part of the earnings that a creditor can attach by wage garnishment.

But be careful. By objecting to the wage garnishment on self-employment grounds, you might just be inviting the creditor to file a non-wage garnishment against you instead. Depending on your circumstances, a non-wage garnishment could be more severe because you might not be entitled to the same income exemptions that you would receive as an employee, especially if your state has generous exemptions.

In this situation, you might want to consider other options, such as:

• settling with that creditor
• claiming your wage exemptions (if the end result is more favorable to you), or
• pursuing other objections, if available.

3. The Creditor Followed Improper Garnishment Procedure

Before a judgment creditor can garnish your wages, it must follow certain procedures. That can include providing written notices and an opportunity to set up a payment plan. Or you might have been improperly served with the garnishment papers. If the judgment creditor didn't give you proper notice, then you can raise this as an objection.

4. You've Paid or Are Currently Paying the Creditor

A judgment creditor isn’t entitled to a double payment or another windfall. You can object to the garnishment if:

• you previously paid the judgment
• you’re currently making payments under a voluntary or court-ordered payment plan, or
• the judgment creditor didn’t give you proper credit in its calculations for other post-judgment payments you made.

5. Another Creditor Is Garnishing You

In most cases, your wages can only be garnished by one creditor at a time. Or, if another creditor is garnishing only 10% of your disposable earnings, then this judgment creditor can’t garnish you for more than the remaining maximum percentage allowed under state or federal law, such as 15%. If this judgment creditor seeks to garnish more than what you’re allowed to exempt, then you should object to the garnishment.

6. You Filed for Bankruptcy

If you have filed bankruptcy, then the automatic stay prevents creditors from taking any further collection action against you, including the wage garnishment. A judgment creditor must cease pursuing the garnishment upon receiving notice of the bankruptcy.

7. You Dispute the Judgment

If you object to the judgment itself but didn't appeal it on time, objecting to the wage garnishment will be ineffective. The court will only consider issues related to the wage garnishment and will presume the judgment is legal.

If you dispute the judgment, perhaps due to improper service of process, for example, then you should consult with an attorney as soon as possible. You might have grounds to vacate that judgment, but time will be limited, and the process can be difficult. It might not immediately stop the garnishment, and you might need to post a bond or take other action.

Getting Help to Stop a Wage Garnishment

You can get more information on garnishment at the U.S. Department of Labor website.

For information specific to your situation or to get help objecting to a garnishment, contact a local debt relief attorney.