Introduction
A wage garnishment happens when a court or agency orders your boss to take money out of your paycheck to pay a debt. This Wage Garnishment Calculator shows you how much of your pay can be taken and how much the law lets you keep.
Federal law sets limits. For most debts, like credit cards or medical bills, a creditor can take no more than 25% of your disposable pay. Disposable pay is what is left after taxes and other required deductions. The law also protects an amount equal to 30 times the minimum hourly wage each week. Student loans have a 15% cap. Child support and alimony have higher caps, from 50% up to 65%.
To use this tool, pick your debt type, choose how often you get paid, and enter your gross pay and the deductions from your pay stub. Results update as you type. You will see your garnishment per paycheck, your protected take-home pay, your yearly total, and a step-by-step solution so you can check every number.
Use this calculator to plan your budget, check that your employer is taking the right amount, or see how paying off a prior garnishment changes your paycheck. Results are estimates based on federal rules. Your state may protect more of your pay, so check your local laws too.
How to use our Wage Garnishment Calculator
Enter your debt type, how often you get paid, your gross pay, and the deductions listed on your pay stub. The calculator shows how much of each paycheck can be garnished, how much pay is protected, your yearly garnishment total, and the step-by-step math behind it.
Debt Type: Pick Consumer Debt, Student Loan, or Child Support / Alimony. Each type has its own federal limit, so this choice changes your result the most.
Pay Frequency: Choose how often you get a paycheck: weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, monthly, or custom. This sets your yearly number of paychecks and the protected pay floor.
Weeks per Pay Period: This box shows only if you pick "Other / Custom." Type how many weeks one paycheck covers, like 2 for every two weeks.
Gross Pay (Per Paycheck): Enter your total pay for one pay period before any taxes or deductions come out.
Federal Income Tax: Enter the federal tax taken out of one paycheck.
Social Security Tax (OASDI): Enter the Social Security amount held from one paycheck, usually 6.2% of your pay.
Medicare Tax: Enter the Medicare amount held from one paycheck, usually 1.45% of your pay.
State Income Tax: Enter the state tax taken out of one paycheck. Put 0 if your state has no income tax.
City & Local Taxes: Enter any city or local tax held from one paycheck. Put 0 if you pay none.
State Unemployment & Disability Tax: Enter any state unemployment or disability amount held from your pay. Put 0 if it is not on your stub.
Health Insurance Premiums: Enter what you pay for health coverage each paycheck. This counts for student loan (ED) math but not for the standard DOL math.
Involuntary Retirement / Pension Contributions: Enter only required retirement or pension amounts your job takes out. Do not include money you chose to save.
Other Withholding with Priority: Enter any garnishment already coming out of your pay. It lowers how much a new garnishment can take.
Federal Minimum Hourly Wage: Leave this at $7.25 unless your state wage is higher. A higher wage protects more of your pay.
Hours Multiplier: This is locked at 30 hours because federal law sets it. You cannot change it.
General Garnishment Percentage Cap: Leave this at 25% unless your state caps it lower. It is the most that can be taken from your disposable pay.
Student Loan Garnishment Cap: Leave this at 15%, the federal limit for student loan wage garnishment. You can enter a lower number if needed.
Prorated Minimum Wage Floor: This box fills in for you. It shows the pay amount that cannot be touched by a garnishment.
Supporting another spouse or child: For child support only, click Yes or No. Yes sets the cap at 50%; No sets it at 60%.
12 or more weeks past due: For child support only, click Yes or No. Yes adds 5% to your cap.
Calculate Garnishment: Click this button to see your results, charts, and full math. Click Reset to clear the form and start over.
What Is Wage Garnishment?
Wage garnishment is when a court or government agency orders your boss to take money out of your paycheck and send it to someone you owe. The money goes straight to the creditor before you ever see it. Common reasons include unpaid credit cards, medical bills, court judgments, defaulted federal student loans, child support, and alimony.
Disposable Pay: The Number That Matters
Garnishment is never based on your gross pay. It is based on your disposable pay. That is your gross pay minus deductions the law requires, such as:
- Federal income tax
- Social Security (OASDI) and Medicare tax
- State and local income tax
- State unemployment and disability tax
- Required retirement or pension contributions
Things you choose to pay for, like a 401(k) you signed up for, union dues, or life insurance, usually do not count. Health insurance premiums are a special case. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) does not subtract them. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) does subtract them for student loan garnishments. That is why student loan results can show two different numbers.
Federal Limits on How Much Can Be Taken
The Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) sets caps so you keep enough to live on:
- Regular debts (credit cards, medical bills, judgments): up to 25% of disposable pay.
- Federal student loans: up to 15% of disposable pay.
- Child support or alimony: 50% if you support another spouse or child, or 60% if you do not. Add 5 more points if payments are 12 or more weeks late. So the cap can reach 55% or 65%.
The Minimum Wage Floor
For regular debts and student loans, there is a second rule. A creditor cannot touch the first 30 hours of pay at the federal minimum wage each week. At $7.25 an hour, that is $217.50 a week, $435.00 for two weeks, and about $942.50 a month. Only the money above that floor can be taken, and the creditor must use whichever limit gives the smaller amount. Child support orders do not get this floor protection.
More Than One Garnishment
If money is already being pulled from your check for another court order, that amount counts against the same cap. It does not stack on top. So a second creditor can only take what is left of the 25% room, which is often nothing.
State Laws Can Protect You More
States can be stricter than federal law, never weaker. Some states use a higher minimum wage in the formula. Some cap garnishment below 25%. A few states, like Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, block most consumer debt garnishment altogether. When state and federal rules differ, the one that leaves you with more money wins.
What Cannot Be Garnished
Most federal benefits are off limits for regular debts. That includes Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, and federal student aid. Child support and some federal debts can still reach some of these funds.
How to Fight or Stop a Garnishment
- Object in court. You usually have a short window, often 5 to 30 days, to file a claim of exemption or dispute the debt.
- Ask for a hardship review. Student loan garnishments allow a hearing if the amount causes real financial hardship.
- Set up a payment plan. Many creditors and loan servicers will drop the garnishment if you agree to pay another way.
- Get out of student loan default. Loan rehabilitation or consolidation can end an administrative wage garnishment.
- Talk to a lawyer. Legal aid groups often help for free.
Your boss cannot fire you for one garnishment order. That protection is federal law. It does not cover you if two or more separate debts lead to garnishment.
Why Estimates Can Differ
Real numbers depend on your exact pay stub, your state's rules, and the wording of the court order. Use this as a planning tool, then check your order and your pay stub for the final figure.