Who is allowed to garnish wages

But you can keep an amount that's equivalent to 30 times the current federal minimum wage per week. No lawsuit or court order is required for this type of garnishment; if you're in default, your wages can be garnished. If you owe money to the IRS, watch out: The agency can take a big chunk of your wages, and it doesn't have to get a court order first.

The amount you get to keep depends on how many dependents you have and your standard deduction amount. Your employer will pay you a fairly low minimum amount each week and give the rest to the IRS. The IRS must send a wage levy notice to your employer, who is required to give you a copy.

The notice includes an exemption claim form, which you can complete and return. State and local tax agencies also have the right to take some of your wages.

In many states, however, the law limits how much the taxing authority can take. Contact your state labor department for information on your state's law. If a judgment creditor is attempting to garnish your wages, you might be able to challenge the garnishment by raising an objection.

The procedures you need to follow to object to a wage garnishment depend on the type of debt that the creditor is trying to collect from you, as well as the laws of your state.

Generally, though, the process for objecting to a garnishment begins with preparing and filing paperwork. If you believe that your earnings are exempt in full or in part under federal or state law, you should state that fact within your written objection.

Or, depending on the circumstances, you might be able to say that you've already paid the judgment creditor or you received a bankruptcy discharge. The garnishment papers that you receive from the court should contain instructions on what you must do to object to the garnishment. If the garnishment papers you received don't have this information, immediately contact the clerk of the court that issued the garnishment documents to find out this information. Usually, a form will be included with the garnishment notice that you can use to write your objection and request a hearing.

If you didn't get a form, ask for one from the clerk of the court that sent you the garnishment notice. If the court doesn't have a form, write out your objection and file it on time. If you don't state your reasons for objecting to the garnishment and timely file that written objection with the right court, you might have waived your right to fight the garnishment later.

If the court sets a garnishment hearing, you have to go to the hearing to protect your wages. The judge or magistrate will either accept or "sustain" your objection, and the garnishment will be reduced or terminated, or overrule the objection, and the garnishment will proceed.

You might be able to protect or exempt your wages from garnishment by filing for bankruptcy. This article provides an overview of your rights if your wages are garnished. You can get more information on garnishment at the U. Department of Labor website. To get information specific to your situation, consider contacting a local attorney. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.

The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. But there a few easy ways to bolster your credit, both during and after wage garnishment. Building a budget — and sticking to it — can help you stay on top of your finances to avoid another garnishment. From there, you can take out products such as a secured credit card to work on restoring your credit.

Watch your debts dwindle. Sign up for an account to link your cards, loans and accounts to manage them all in one place. Let's do this. Types of wage garnishment and how it happens. There are two types of garnishment:. How much of your wages can be garnished? Type of debt. Child support and alimony.

Federal student loans. What you can do about wage garnishment. What to do when you get a garnishment judgment. Work out a different deal. Challenge the judgment. Accept the garnishment. If wage garnishment is a financial burden. On a similar note Dive even deeper in Personal Finance.

These ruin the status of the account as holding only exempt money. If you have a wage garnishment, your employer may NOT fire you and potential employers may NOT refuse to hire you because of the garnishment. It is also important to keep an open communication with your employer.

Avoid anger at your employer, as they can do nothing to stop it. All money collected, except for the fees withheld by an employer or bank, is sent to the original creditor or debt collector. Can I hide or withdraw money from my bank account to avoid garnishment? Here is the link to the dispute form you would need to complete to request a hearing.

Once completed, you must take it to the District Court clerk and a hearing will be scheduled between 7 and 14 days after the request is submitted. You will then go to the courthouse to prove that the debt was either in error, missing information, or that your money is exempt from garnishment.

Note: These answers are written to provide general legal information, not legal advice. Your situation may be different or involve one of the exceptions in this area of the law.

These resources are not designed for complex or complicated legal issues. In those situation, hiring a lawyer will be your best option. If you would like more information about protecting your income and assets, please click here.

If you need help with garnishment or collection issues, please fill out our online application. LSC's support for this website is limited to those activities that are consistent with LSC restrictions. Skip to main content. Topics Consumer Debt and Debt Collection. There are two types of garnishments: wage garnishment and non-wage garnishment.

The first, wage garnishment, is the process of garnishing a paycheck. Non-wage Garnishment: The creditor or debt collector has the power to take your money from your bank if it has a judgment against you. The creditor is allowed to attempt this process two times in a thirty day period. Wage Garnishment: The creditor has the power to take money directly from your paycheck if it has a judgment against you. Before Garnishment The best way to avoid garnishment is to pay the debt in full or set up payment arrangements when you are first made aware of the debt.

Illness Exemption: If you are prevented from working for more than two weeks due to a personal illness or the illness of a family member, all garnishments must stop until two months after recovery from the illness.

Bankruptcy: The last resort to stop a garnishment is filing for bankruptcy. Judgement Proof Debtor: A person who has only Social Security an exempt form of payment in their bank account might be called Judgment Proof. Employment Rights: If you have a wage garnishment, your employer may NOT fire you and potential employers may NOT refuse to hire you because of the garnishment.