Child Support Wage Garnishment: IWO Limits and Help

Child support withholding runs on a different set of rules than an ordinary paycheck garnishment. It’s initiated by an Income Withholding for Support (IWO) — a standardized federal form, not a court judgment against you for consumer debt — and it can take a much larger share of a paycheck than the 25% ceiling that applies to credit card or medical debt.

Getting an IWO doesn’t mean anything went wrong procedurally. It’s the routine mechanism state child-support agencies and courts use to collect ordered support directly from wages, and in most cases payroll is legally required to comply the moment it’s received, without waiting for a court hearing. If you’re the one processing the order rather than the one it applies to, see the employer’s guide to wage garnishment orders for deadlines, priority rules, and remittance requirements.

What is an IWO, and where does it come from?

An IWO is issued either by a court that ordered support or by a state’s child-support enforcement agency acting under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act — commonly called a “IV-D agency.” Every state, tribal, and territorial IV-D program uses the same standardized federal IWO form, so the paperwork looks the same regardless of which state issued it.

The IWO identifies:

• the sender (court or IV-D agency) and a Case ID;
• the amount to withhold per pay period for current support, and any additional amount for past-due support (arrears);
• where payments must be sent — almost always a State Disbursement Unit (SDU), not the custodial parent directly; and
• whether medical support is also required, which may arrive as a separate National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) rather than being folded into the IWO itself.

If the notice you or your employer received doesn’t match this format, confirm what it actually is before assuming it’s an IWO — an ordinary creditor’s writ, an IRS levy, and an IWO are all different instruments with different limits. Anyone unsure which type of order they’re looking at should start with the paycheck garnishment first-48-hours guide.

How much can be withheld?

Child and spousal support withholding is governed by a separate, higher ceiling under the Consumer Credit Protection Act than ordinary debt. The federal maximum percentage of disposable earnings that can be withheld depends on two questions: does the employee support another spouse or child not covered by this order, and are the payments more than 12 weeks in arrears?

Supporting another spouse/child?	Arrears over 12 weeks?	Federal ceiling
Yes	No	50%
Yes	Yes	55%
No	No	60%
No	Yes	65%

These are ceilings set by federal law, not the amount automatically withheld. The actual dollar amount withheld each pay period is whatever the IWO specifies, up to that ceiling — payroll doesn’t independently decide to withhold the maximum. Some states also apply their own, sometimes lower, withholding limits; the more protective limit generally controls. Confirm the applicable state rule through the state debt-law directory and the OCSS state contacts list.

What do I do if I’m the employer?

Federal requirements for employers receiving an IWO include:

• Begin withholding no later than the first pay period after 14 working days from the date on the IWO, unless state law sets a different timeframe.
• Send withheld amounts to the SDU identified on the notice — not to the custodial parent or the issuing agency directly — generally within a short window (commonly seven business days) of the pay date.
• Follow the IWO’s instructions on allocating payments if multiple children or multiple withholding orders apply to the same employee, rather than deciding allocation independently.
• Notify the sender promptly if the employee is terminated, and provide the employee’s last known address and new employer if known.
• Continue withholding until officially told to stop. An employee’s request, a verbal statement that the case is closed, or a missed payment by the other parent does not authorize payroll to stop withholding — only a written release, amended order, or termination notice from the sender does.

Do multiple garnishment orders compete with a support order?

Federal law generally treats support obligations as high priority relative to most other wage attachments, but priority among multiple simultaneous orders — support, an IRS levy, a federal administrative garnishment, an ordinary creditor garnishment — depends on the type of each order, when each was received, and applicable state law. Payroll should not assume support automatically overrides every other order in every circumstance; when priority between a support order and another withholding order is unclear, the employer should contact the agencies or courts involved rather than guess. The paycheck garnishment guide covers how the different withholding types generally compare.

What if the order involves more than one state?

Interstate cases are governed by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), adopted in some form by every state. UIFSA generally identifies a single “controlling order” when support orders exist in more than one state, and an employer in one state must honor an IWO issued by another state’s IV-D agency or court exactly as if it came from a local order — an out-of-state IWO doesn’t need to be domesticated through a local court before payroll can act on it. If competing orders from different states exist, that conflict is resolved by the courts or agencies under UIFSA’s priority rules, not by the employer.

How do I get an IWO corrected, modified, or stopped?

• Wrong amount, wrong person, or a case that’s already closed: contact the sender identified on the IWO — the issuing court or IV-D agency — using the Case ID on the notice. Payroll and employees generally cannot resolve this directly with each other.
• Requesting a modification of the underlying support amount: that’s a separate legal process through the issuing court or IV-D agency, not something accomplished by disputing the IWO itself.
• Support obligation ended (child reached majority, order expired): withholding continues until the sender issues a termination notice, even if the underlying reason for support has ended. Contact the agency to request one rather than assuming payroll will stop on its own.
• Believe the IWO doesn’t meet the standardized federal form requirements: an employer generally isn’t required to honor a document that doesn’t follow the required format, but should confirm this against current OCSS guidance rather than refuse withholding on its own judgment.

Questions & Answers

Can bankruptcy stop child-support withholding?

No. Domestic-support obligations are generally excepted from the [automatic stay](/glossary/automatic-stay) and continue to be withheld even after a [Chapter 7 or Chapter 13](/compare/chapter-7-vs-chapter-13) filing. See the [bankruptcy terms](/glossary/category/bankruptcy-terms) glossary for related definitions.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team

Is child-support withholding the same as an ordinary wage garnishment?

No. It uses a different form (the IWO, not a court writ for a money judgment), a different federal ceiling (up to 50–65% of disposable earnings instead of 25%), and different rules for stopping or modifying it. See the [paycheck garnishment guide](/situations/wage-garnishment) for how the types compare.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team

Where does the withheld money actually go?

To the State Disbursement Unit named on the IWO, which then routes it to the custodial parent or the state, depending on the case. Payroll should not send withheld amounts directly to a parent.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team

What if my employer isn't withholding the correct amount?

Contact the sender identified on the IWO — the issuing court or state IV-D agency — using the Case ID on the notice. They can confirm the correct amount and, if needed, follow up directly with the employer.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team