Paycheck Garnishment: First 48 Hours

If garnishment papers reached you or your employer, first identify who issued them. An ordinary creditor usually needs a court judgment before taking pay. The IRS, a state tax agency, a child-support agency, or a federal agency may use a different process, limit, and objection procedure. The federal 25% formula and this site’s ordinary-debt calculator do not answer every kind of paycheck withholding. If you’re the employer or payroll staff processing the order rather than the employee it applies to, see the employer’s guide to wage garnishment orders instead.

What should I do in the first 48 hours?

1. Get every page of the notice

Ask payroll for a copy if the papers went to your employer first. Keep the envelope too. Find and write down:

• the issuing court or government agency;
• the court case, docket, tax, or agency number;
• the creditor or agency claiming payment;
• the judgment or balance claimed;
• the date the order was issued and received;
• every objection, exemption, or hearing deadline; and
• the address where a response must be filed or sent.

Do not send a court form to the creditor, or an IRS form to a state court, unless the instructions expressly require it. Use the destination printed on your own notice.

2. Identify the type before using a percentage

What the paperwork says	Usual authority	Ordinary 25% calculator?	First destination
Writ, earnings garnishment, judgment creditor	State, county, or municipal court process	Yes, as a federal ceiling only	Recipient named in the writ, notice, or official instructions
Form 668-W, Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income	IRS	No	Phone number on the levy or IRS letter
Income Withholding for Support (IWO)	Court or child-support agency	No	Sender and Case ID on the IWO
Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG)	Federal agency or its collector	No	Agency named in the notice
State or local tax levy	State or local revenue agency	No	Agency named in the notice

If the papers show Form 668-W(ACS) or Form 668-W(ICS), go to the IRS wage levy guide. If they show an IWO, the child-support rules can permit a much larger withholding than an ordinary consumer judgment.

3. Check the court and judgment

For a credit card, medical bill, personal loan, or similar private debt, look up the case on the official website of the court printed on the writ of garnishment or call that court’s clerk. Confirm that the name, creditor, judgment amount, and case number match.

If you never received the summons, the debt is not yours, the amount is wrong, or the judgment was already paid or vacated, ask the clerk which official forms are used to request a hearing, object to the garnishment, or ask to set aside the judgment. A clerk can explain filing mechanics but cannot give legal advice. These procedures and deadlines are set by state and sometimes local law.

4. Find the exact exemption or objection form

There is no nationwide “claim of exemption” form for an ordinary wage garnishment. Use the form included with the notice or the official judiciary or court forms page for the jurisdiction. Search by the exact terms printed on the papers, such as “claim of exemption,” “debtor’s answer,” “request for hearing,” or “motion to quash.” Submit it to the recipient identified in the notice or official instructions. Depending on the jurisdiction, that may be the court clerk, levying officer or sheriff, employer, or another designated recipient. Follow every instruction for delivering copies to other parties.

Possible state-law protections include a higher protected wage floor, a lower percentage, a head-of-household exemption, or a restriction on garnishment for ordinary consumer debt. Eligibility and proof vary. Start with the site’s state debt-law directory, then verify the current form, deadline, and delivery instructions against the official notice and the issuing jurisdiction’s current instructions.

5. Get legal help quickly when the facts are disputed

USA.gov’s legal-aid directory links to Legal Services Corporation programs and other free or lower-cost help. Bring the complete notice, pay stubs, judgment papers, proof of household income, and evidence supporting any identity, payment, service, or exemption issue.

How much can an ordinary creditor take?

Under Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), the maximum for an ordinary judgment debt in a workweek is the lesser of:

1. 25% of disposable earnings; or
2. the amount disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.

At the current $7.25 federal minimum wage, the protected federal floor is:

Pay period	No ordinary garnishment at or below	25% can be reached at or above
Weekly	$217.50	$290.00
Biweekly	$435.00	$580.00
Semimonthly	$471.25	$628.33
Monthly	$942.50	$1,256.66

Between the two numbers, only earnings above the protected floor can be taken. For example, with $250 in weekly disposable earnings, the federal maximum is $32.50—not 25%, because $250 minus $217.50 is the smaller amount.

These are federal ceilings for ordinary debt. If applicable state or local law protects more pay, the more protective rule controls. The federal formula continues to use the federal minimum wage; a state minimum wage changes the calculation only when the applicable state law makes it part of that state’s rule. Run your own numbers with the wage garnishment calculator, which includes overlays for 12 states, and see states with the strongest wage garnishment protections, ranked for how your state compares — three states ban ordinary wage garnishment for consumer debt entirely.

What does “disposable earnings” mean?

Disposable earnings are earnings left after deductions required by law, such as federal, state, and local taxes and the employee’s required Social Security and Medicare contributions. They are not the same as take-home pay. Voluntary health insurance, retirement-plan contributions, union dues, and similar deductions generally do not reduce disposable earnings for the federal CCPA calculation.

The protection applies to compensation for personal services, including wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, and certain pension or retirement payments. It does not ordinarily include tips.

Do IRS, child-support, and federal debts use the same cap?

No.

Debt or order	General federal framework
Ordinary consumer judgment	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above the 30-times-minimum-wage floor; stronger state law can control
Child or spousal support	Up to 50% or 60%, depending on whether the worker supports another spouse or child, plus 5 percentage points for support more than 12 weeks in arrears
Federal non-tax debt, including qualifying federal student-loan AWG	Generally the lesser of the ordered amount up to 15% of disposable pay or the amount above the 30-times-federal-minimum-wage floor; priority withholding can reduce the available amount
Federal or state tax	Tax levy rules, not the ordinary 25% formula
Certain bankruptcy court orders	Separate rules

The support percentages are maximum ceilings, not the amount automatically taken in every case. Competing orders also have priority rules. Do not assume that every order can simply be added on top of every other one; payroll should follow the orders and contact the issuing court or agencies when their priority is unclear.

Can my employer fire me?

Federal law prohibits an employer from firing an employee because earnings were garnished for one debt, regardless of how many levies or proceedings arise from that debt. The federal protection does not extend to discharge because of a second or later debt, although state law may provide more protection.

Questions about an amount exceeding the federal limit or discharge because of one garnishment can be directed to the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-4-US-WAGE (1-866-487-9243). Questions about whether the judgment is valid, whether an exemption applies, or which order has priority generally belong with the issuing court or agency.

Can I stop or reduce the withholding?

The correct path depends on the paperwork:

• Court-process exemption or objection: use the official form, deadline, recipient, and delivery instructions supplied with the notice or by the issuing jurisdiction.
• Bad service or default judgment: ask the issuing court about a motion to set aside or vacate; an exemption claim alone may not undo the judgment.
• Wrong person, amount, or satisfied judgment: raise the issue through the court procedure shown in the notice and provide records.
• Creditor agreement: get any payment plan, settlement, or garnishment release in writing. Payroll normally needs an official release or court direction. See Settling or Setting Up a Payment Plan While Your Wages Are Being Garnished for how to negotiate this without accidentally leaving the original order still in force.
• IRS levy: call the number on the levy and use the IRS wage levy guide.
• Child support: contact the sender shown on the IWO. Payroll cannot change the support order, and withholding usually continues until an amended or termination notice arrives. See the child support wage garnishment guide for how IWO limits work.
• Bankruptcy: filing generally triggers an automatic stay that stays ordinary judgment garnishments and prepetition IRS wage levies while it applies. Domestic-support withholding can continue, repeat filings may limit the stay, and a debt that is not discharged may be collected later. See Bankruptcy and an Active Wage Garnishment for what stops and what doesn’t, Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13, and the Chapter 7 means test estimator if this is a path you’re considering — official U.S. Courts data shows bankruptcy filings up 11.9% nationally in the 12 months ending March 2026, see the state-by-state filing surge.

Questions & Answers

Is paycheck garnishment the same as a bank levy?

No. A wage garnishment directs an employer to withhold future earnings. A [bank-account levy](/situations/bank-account-levy) reaches funds held by a financial institution. Different notices, exemption procedures, and deadlines can apply.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team

What if payroll is taking too much?

Ask payroll for its calculation and a complete copy of the order. Compare the pay-period amount with the applicable federal and state rule. For an ordinary garnishment exceeding the CCPA ceiling, contact payroll, the issuing court, and DOL's Wage and Hour Division promptly. For an IRS levy or IWO, do not use the ordinary formula.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team

Can I use the site's calculator for an IRS levy or child support?

No. The [wage garnishment calculator](/calculators/wage-garnishment-calculator) estimates the federal ceiling for one ordinary creditor garnishment. It does not calculate state protections, IRS levies, child support, taxes, or federal administrative wage garnishment.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team

Where do I file a claim of exemption?

Submit it to the recipient named in the notice or official instructions. That may be a court clerk, levying officer or sheriff, employer, or another designated recipient. Follow the specified deadline and instructions for delivering copies. If the order came from an agency instead of a court process, use that agency's objection or hearing procedure.

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— US Debt Compass Editorial Team