Florida Garnishment Limits

Florida does not impose its own numerical cap on wage garnishment. The limits that apply come from the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), which sets the maximum amount any creditor can take from a debtor’s paycheck. Florida follows these federal limits directly, with one significant addition: the head of household exemption under § 222.11, which can eliminate wage garnishment entirely for qualifying debtors.

The limits differ depending on the type of debt. Consumer creditors with a court judgment, child support and alimony obligees, the IRS, and federal student loan servicers each operate under different percentage caps. Understanding which limit applies to which debt is the starting point for evaluating exposure to garnishment.

CCPA Limits for Consumer Debts

For ordinary consumer debts—credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, and other judgment debts—the CCPA caps wage garnishment at the lesser of two amounts: 25% of the debtor’s disposable earnings for that pay period, or the amount by which the debtor’s weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.

“Disposable earnings” means the amount remaining after legally required deductions such as federal, state, and local income taxes, Social Security and Medicare withholding, and state unemployment insurance. Voluntary deductions for items like health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, or union dues are not subtracted when calculating disposable earnings.

At the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, the 30-times threshold is $217.50 per week. If a debtor’s weekly disposable earnings are $217.50 or less, nothing can be garnished. If disposable earnings fall between $217.50 and $290 per week, only the amount above $217.50 can be taken. At $290 or more per week in disposable earnings, the creditor can garnish up to 25%.

For pay periods longer than one week, the thresholds scale proportionally. The biweekly floor is $435, the semimonthly floor is $471.25, and the monthly floor is $942.50. A debtor earning less than these amounts in the applicable pay period is completely protected from consumer-debt garnishment under federal law—before even considering Florida’s head of household exemption.

Florida’s Head of Household Exemption

Florida’s head of household exemption under § 222.11 provides protection that goes well beyond the CCPA. A debtor who provides more than one-half of the support for a child or other dependent and earns $750 or less per week in net wages is completely exempt from wage garnishment. No percentage can be taken.

If the head of household earns more than $750 per week, the earnings above that threshold can only be garnished if the debtor has agreed to the garnishment in writing. Without a written waiver, the exemption protects the debtor’s entire paycheck regardless of the amount earned. This makes Florida one of the most protective states in the country for wage garnishment.

The exemption is not automatic. The debtor must assert it by filing a Claim of Exemption with the court within 20 days of receiving the garnishment notice. Failure to file within the deadline can result in waiver of the exemption even when the debtor clearly qualifies.

Head of household wages deposited into a bank account retain their exempt status for six months under § 222.11(3), provided the funds can be traced to the exempt earnings. After six months, the protection expires and the deposited wages become reachable by creditors.

Child Support and Alimony Limits

Garnishment for child support and alimony follows different and substantially higher limits under the CCPA. The head of household exemption does not block garnishment for family support obligations.

The CCPA permits garnishment of up to 50% of disposable earnings if the debtor is currently supporting another spouse or child beyond the support order. If the debtor is not supporting another spouse or child, the limit increases to 60%. An additional 5% can be garnished if the support payments are more than 12 weeks in arrears, bringing the maximum to 55% or 65% depending on the debtor’s circumstances.

These percentages apply to disposable earnings as defined by the CCPA. The floor that protects low-income earners from consumer debt garnishment (30 times the minimum wage) does not apply to support obligations. Even a debtor earning less than $217.50 per week can have support payments garnished from wages.

IRS Tax Levies

The IRS operates outside the CCPA framework entirely. When the IRS levies wages for unpaid federal taxes, it uses its own calculation method under 26 U.S.C. § 6334 based on the debtor’s filing status and the number of claimed exemptions. The IRS publishes annual tables (Publication 1494) that determine the amount of wages exempt from levy for each pay period.

The exempt amount is generally equivalent to the standard deduction plus personal exemptions divided across pay periods. Everything above that amount can be levied. For many taxpayers, the IRS can take a larger percentage of wages than any other creditor.

The IRS can also levy Social Security benefits at up to 15% of monthly payments through the Federal Payment Levy Program. This levy is continuous until the tax debt is satisfied.

Federal Student Loan Garnishment

The U.S. Department of Education can garnish wages for defaulted federal student loans through an administrative process that does not require a court judgment. The garnishment is capped at 15% of disposable earnings, but wages cannot be reduced below 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50 per week).

For Social Security benefits, the Department of Education can offset up to 15% of monthly payments but cannot reduce the remaining benefit below $750 per month. If the debtor’s benefit is already close to $750, the actual garnishment may be less than 15% or nothing at all.

Bank Account Garnishment Has No Percentage Cap

Unlike wage garnishment, bank account garnishment in Florida has no statutory percentage limit. When a creditor serves a writ of garnishment on a bank, the entire account balance up to the amount of the judgment can be frozen. There is no 25% cap, no minimum balance that must be left in the account, and no automatic protection for non-exempt funds.

The only limits on bank account garnishment come from exemptions. Federal regulation 31 CFR Part 212 requires banks to automatically protect two months of directly deposited federal benefits. Head of household wages deposited within the preceding six months are exempt if traceable. Tenants by the entireties accounts held jointly by married spouses are protected from individual creditors.

But for non-exempt funds in a bank account, the creditor can take everything up to the judgment amount. This is why bank account garnishment often creates a more immediate financial crisis than wage garnishment—the debtor loses access to the entire frozen balance while the claim of exemption process plays out.

Multiple Garnishments

When multiple creditors pursue wage garnishment simultaneously, the CCPA’s limits apply to the total amount garnished, not to each creditor individually. If one creditor is already garnishing 25% of the debtor’s disposable earnings, a second creditor cannot garnish any additional amount for a consumer debt. The second creditor’s writ remains in effect but cannot produce additional withholding until the first garnishment is satisfied.

Child support and alimony obligations receive priority. If a support garnishment is already in effect, a consumer-debt creditor can only garnish up to the difference between the support garnishment and the 25% CCPA limit—and only if the support garnishment is taking less than 25%. In practice, support garnishments often consume the entire garnishable amount, leaving nothing for consumer creditors.

IRS levies take priority over most other garnishments and are not subject to the CCPA percentage limits. A debtor facing both an IRS levy and a consumer-debt garnishment may see a combined withholding that exceeds 25% of disposable earnings.