States That Prohibit or Limit Bank Account Garnishment

Delaware is the only state that keeps bank accounts out of its own garnishment process; every other state, and the District of Columbia, lets a judgment creditor garnish a bank account. What the debtor keeps turns on the state’s deposit exemption, on whether deposited wages stay exempt, and on the source of the money.

Nine states make the bank itself leave a set amount accessible when a garnishment arrives; everywhere else an exemption exists only if the debtor claims it, on deadlines that can run as short as 10 days. Federal benefit deposits are the one shield that works automatically in every state.

Does Any State Prohibit Bank Account Garnishment?

Among the fifty states and the District of Columbia charted below, Delaware alone takes banks out of the garnishment system. Banks, trust companies, savings institutions, and loan associations are not subject to Delaware’s attachment laws; the single exception is a wage attachment against the institution’s own employee.

The bar is not limited to consumer debts, and it follows the institution rather than the account. The statute names four institution types, so a broker-dealer or a credit union sits outside it. A Delaware court held a broker-dealer garnishable on that ground in Mergenthaler v. Triumph Mortgage Corp. (Del. Super. Ct. Apr. 27, 2017). The writ in that case later fell on a stale-judgment ground unrelated to the statute.

The bar binds Delaware process only. A bank doing business in several states can be garnished through another state’s courts, and the statute stops neither federal process nor a bankruptcy trustee. Delaware separately permits wage attachment at 15% of a resident’s wages, but pay deposited at a covered Delaware institution lands where a Delaware writ does not reach.

We use Delaware accounts regularly in planning for people who live in other states. A court in the debtor’s home state can still order the debtor personally to hand over funds held in another state, applying that court’s own collection law.

Bank Account Garnishment Rules in Each State

The chart below covers bank account garnishment in every state and the District of Columbia. Each row gives the wage garnishment limit for consumer debt, whether wages stay protected once deposited, the state’s bank account exemption, and the controlling statutes. Most wage cells state what the creditor can take, not what the debtor keeps, so a low percentage means strong protection; a few give the exempt share instead.

Disposable earnings is what remains after the deductions the law requires. A bank exemption marked automatic is applied by the bank on its own; an exemption marked “must be claimed” is lost if the debtor misses the deadline. An indexed figure appears at its August 2026 amount.

Current as of August 2026. Download the bank account garnishment by state chart (PDF).

State	Wage Garnishment (Consumer Debt)	Traced Wages Protected After Deposit?	Bank Account Exemption	Authority
Alabama	25% of wages, salaries or other compensation, the federal result with no head-of-family enhancement (§ 6-10-7)	No (§ 6-10-7 reaches wages due or to become due, and no Alabama statute carries the exemption past payment)	$9,400 of personal property of the debtor’s own selection, reaching garnished money and choses in action; readjusted every three years by the State Treasurer, rising to $10,225 for exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2027 (§§ 6-10-6, 6-10-12) (must be claimed)	Ala. Code §§ 6-10-6, 6-10-7, 6-10-12
Alaska	Weekly net earnings are exempt up to a set dollar amount, raised on the debtor’s affidavit that their earnings alone support the household; a nonresident gets only the federal limit. The amounts move by Department of Labor regulation rather than by amendment, so the figure in the code and the operative figure can differ (AS 09.38.030)	No	A liquid-assets exemption reaching deposits and securities, available only to a debtor who is not paid weekly, semi-monthly or monthly, so a regularly paid employee cannot use it; Alaska has no general wildcard. Amounts set by regulation (AS 09.38.030(b)) (must be claimed)	Alaska Stat. §§ 09.38.030, 09.38.050, 09.38.115
Arizona	Lesser of 10% of disposable earnings or the excess over 60× the highest applicable federal, state or local minimum wage; disposable earnings include bonuses, commissions and pension payments (§ 33-1131(B))	No	$5,000 as enacted, held in a single account at any one financial institution, so the figure is per account rather than per debtor; adjusted every January 1 since 2024 by the August CPI-U, rounded up to the nearest $100. Nothing is exempt from a child support arrearage judgment (§ 33-1126(A)(9), (D))	Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 33-1131(B), 33-1126(A)(9)
Arkansas	The first $25 a week of net wages of laborers and mechanics is exempt with no filing; 60 days’ wages are exempt on a sworn schedule but capped by the constitutional personal-property limit, so the federal ceiling does the real work (§ 16-66-208)	No	$500 for a married person or head of a family and $200 for an unmarried non-head, against debts by contract only; a constitutional cap the legislature cannot raise (Const. art. 9, §§ 1-2) (must be claimed by verified schedule)	Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208; Ark. Const. art. 9, §§ 1-2
California	Lesser of 20% of disposable earnings or 40% of the excess over 48× the applicable minimum wage, using the local minimum wage where it is higher (§ 706.050)	Yes (paid earnings keep their exempt character for 30 days after payment)	The Region 1 minimum basic standard of adequate care for a family of four, published annually by the Department of Social Services (automatic; per debtor rather than per account, and the bank must protect that aggregate where the debtor holds several accounts with it). It does not apply to a levy for wages owed, child or spousal support, or any state agency collecting a liability, including tax and unemployment insurance warrants (§ 704.220)	Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §§ 706.050, 704.220, 704.070
Colorado	Lesser of 20% of disposable earnings or the excess over 40× the greater of the federal or the Colorado minimum wage; on the debtor’s written objection the court must raise the exemption where the remaining income cannot cover listed living expenses (§ 13-54-104)	No. Commingled funds are allocated first in, first out under § 13-54-102(6), which divides dollars rather than carrying the wage exemption past deposit	$2,500 cumulative across depository accounts in the debtor’s name (§ 13-54-102(1)(w))	Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-54-104, 13-54-102
Connecticut	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 40× the higher of the federal or the Connecticut minimum wage; the state wage is indexed, so the floor moves annually (§ 52-361a(f))	Partly: $1,000 of deposits identifiable as wages within a two-month lookback, and nothing above that	$1,000, applied by the bank on execution with no claim from the debtor (automatic). The bank must first leave the full amount of readily identifiable direct-deposited federal benefits and Title IV-D support (§§ 52-367b(c)(2), 52-352b(18))	Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 52-361a(f), 52-367b, 52-352b(18)
Delaware	15% of the wages of a Delaware resident, one attachment at a time and priority to the first attaching creditor; no cap where the State collects a fine, costs or taxes. “Wages” excludes payment for services rendered by a self-employed person, who therefore has no state wage exemption at all (§ 4913)	Not addressed, and it need not be: wages deposited at a Delaware bank land where Delaware process does not reach	Banks, trust companies, savings institutions and loan associations are outside Delaware’s attachment laws entirely, the only exception being a wage attachment against the institution’s own employee. The bar names four institution types, so it reaches neither a broker-dealer nor a credit union, and it binds Delaware process only (§ 3502(b))	Del. Code tit. 10, §§ 3502(b), 4913
District of Columbia	25% of the amount by which weekly disposable wages exceed 40× the D.C. minimum hourly wage, a pure excess formula with no percentage-of-disposable prong, plus a hardship motion that can exempt more and is presumed for recipients of listed public assistance (§§ 16-572, 16-572.01)	No	$850 plus up to $8,075 of the unused homestead exemption; the whole exemption list runs only to a head of a family or householder, so a debtor who is neither has no fixed-dollar deposit exemption (§ 15-501(a)(3)) (must be claimed)	D.C. Code §§ 16-572, 15-501(a)(3)
Florida	Nothing from a head of family, meaning a person who provides more than half the support of a child or other dependent; earnings above $750 a week are reachable only under the written waiver the statute prescribes. A non-head gets the federal limit (§ 222.11)	Yes (6 months, while traceable and identifiable as earnings; commingling alone does not defeat it)	$1,000 of personal property under the constitution; § 222.25(4) separately exempts $4,000, but only for a debtor who claims no homestead, so a homeowner’s figure is the $1,000. A writ served on a financial institution must go to its designated location in the state or its registered agent (§ 655.0201) (must be claimed)	Fla. Stat. §§ 222.11, 222.25(4); Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(a)(2)
Georgia	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over $217.50 a week, 15% on a private student loan judgment; the floor is hard-coded at 30 hours times $7.25 and does not track any state minimum wage (§ 18-4-5)	Not established: no tracing statute or decision, though the garnishment code provides that earnings held at a financial institution may still be exempt under the wage limits (§ 18-4-15(a))	$5,000 in any real or personal property, exempt from levy and sale by any process and claimable against a bank garnishment by a claim filed before disbursement, with a hearing within 10 days; the § 44-13-100(a)(6) wildcard is bankruptcy-scoped by its own chapeau. Two limits: § 44-13-1 is worded as an exemption from levy and sale rather than from garnishment by name, and no Georgia appellate decision has applied it to a bank garnishment. A garnishment served on a financial institution reaches funds held on the day of service plus five days (§§ 44-13-1, 18-4-4(c)(2))	O.C.G.A. §§ 18-4-5, 44-13-1, 18-4-4(c)(2), 18-4-15
Hawaii	5% of the first $100 a month, 10% of the next $100 and 20% of everything over $200, applied to earnings left after legally required withholding; the 20% marginal ceiling is more protective than the federal 25% (§ 652-1(a)(4))	No (§ 651-121(6) covers only compensation due for the 31 days before the proceeding)	None. The exemption list is closed, with no cash, deposit or residual category, and the garnishment statute expressly reaches money held by the garnishee for safekeeping (§§ 651-121, 652-1(a))	Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 652-1(a)(4), 651-121
Idaho	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage; the Idaho Credit Code applies the same rule to a judgment on a regulated consumer credit sale or loan (§§ 11-207(1), 28-45-104(2))	No (§ 11-605(11) protects earnings only while they remain unpaid)	None (the $1,500 exemption in § 11-605(10) reaches tangible personal property only)	Idaho Code §§ 11-207(1), 11-605(10)-(11)
Illinois	Lesser of 15% of gross wages or the excess over 45× the greater of the federal minimum wage or the Illinois minimum wage; Illinois has paid $15.00 an hour since January 1, 2025, so the state figure controls (735 ILCS 5/12-803)	No	$4,000 wildcard in any other property, which reaches a deposit balance. $1,000 of it is automatic in a checking or savings account, but only against a consumer debt judgment and only until the return date, after which an unclaimed balance can be turned over (735 ILCS 5/12-1001(b), 5/12-1001.1)	735 ILCS 5/12-803, 5/12-1001(b), 5/12-1001.1
Indiana	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage; on the debtor’s showing of good cause a court may cut the percentage to 10% (§ 37-2-6-4)	No	$450 in deposit accounts, cash and other intangible property; the code sets $300 and the Department of Financial Institutions carries the in-force figure to $450 (§ 34-55-10-2(c)(3); 750 IAC 1-1-1(c)) (must be claimed)	Ind. Code §§ 37-2-6-4, 34-55-10-2(c)(3)
Iowa	On a judgment from a consumer credit transaction, the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 40× the federal minimum wage, a higher floor than the federal 30×. Either way an annual cap per judgment creditor applies, running from $250 to $2,000 by income bracket, or 10% of expected earnings at $50,000 or more (§§ 537.5105(2), 642.21)	No	$1,000 in cash on hand, bank deposits, share drafts and other deposits, stackable on the chapter’s other exemptions. A garnished bank must keep sweeping the account at least monthly for new deposits while the garnishment notice stays effective (§§ 627.6(14), 642.22(2)) (must be claimed)	Iowa Code §§ 642.21, 537.5105(2), 627.6(14)
Kansas	Lesser of 25% of aggregate disposable earnings, the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage, or the plaintiff’s claim. A creditor who sold or assigned the account loses wage garnishment entirely, and no creditor may issue more than one wage garnishment against the same debtor in a 30-day period (§ 60-2310(b), (d))	No	None. The exemption list is closed, with no cash, deposit or residual clause; on a bank garnishment the institution freezes 110% of the balance due and keeps a $15 fee (§§ 60-2304, 60-733)	Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-2310, 60-2304
Kentucky	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage, with no head-of-family enhancement (§ 427.010(2))	No	None for an ordinary account: the $1,000 general exemption applies by its own terms only in a federal bankruptcy proceeding. Funds in a health savings account are exempt with no stated cap (§§ 427.010(1), 427.160)	Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 427.010, 427.160
Louisiana	75% of disposable earnings is exempt and in no case less than 30× the federal minimum wage; 50% exempt for child support and 60% for spousal support (§ 13:3881(A)(1)(a))	No	None. The exemption list is a closed set of categories with no wildcard and nothing reaching cash, a deposit account or a brokerage account	La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3881(A)(1)(a)
Maine	No wage garnishment writ exists: no person may be held trustee for any amount due as wages for personal labor. A creditor reaches earnings only through a court-ordered installment payment entered after a disclosure hearing, capped at the least of 25% of disposable earnings plus exempt income, the excess of that sum over 40× the higher of the federal or the Maine minimum wage, or total disposable earnings (§§ 2602(6), 3126-A(3))	No	$3,000 in cash and deposit accounts, plus a $500 any-property wildcard; the unused-residence spillover reaches household goods, tools of trade and bodily-injury payments but not cash. All three figures adjust every three years, next on April 1, 2027 (§ 4422(15), (17)) (must be claimed)	Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, §§ 2602(6), 3126-A(3), 4422; tit. 9-A, § 5-105
Maryland	Exempt is the greater of 75% of disposable wages due or 30× the state minimum hourly wage for each week the wages were earned, so a creditor reaches the lesser of 25% or the excess over that floor, calculated per pay period; Maryland’s minimum wage runs above the federal figure (Com. Law § 15-601.1(b))	No	$500 in a deposit account with no election by the debtor, applied separately to each depository institution and to each writ, with the institution choosing which account it lands on; up to $6,000 in total if the debtor elects within 30 days of the attachment, with the $500 counting inside that $6,000 rather than on top of it. Neither figure applies to a wage attachment (Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-504(b)(5)-(6), (c)(3), (e))	Md. Code, Com. Law § 15-601.1(b); Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-504
Massachusetts	The debtor keeps the greater of 85% of gross wages or 50× the higher of the Massachusetts or federal minimum wage (ch. 246, § 28)	No	$2,500, which the bank applies on a trustee summons with no claim from the debtor (automatic); per debtor rather than per account, and no business, trust or organization qualifies. Outside trustee process the debtor may also claim $2,500 in cash and deposits and a $1,000 wildcard that absorbs up to $5,000 of unused exemptions (ch. 246, § 28A; ch. 235, § 34)	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 246, §§ 28, 28A
Michigan	The federal ceiling and nothing more. MCL 600.5311’s percentages sit in the voluntary wage-assignment chapter, and the court rule measures the garnishee’s liability by earnings not protected from garnishment by law (MCR 3.101(G)(1)(f))	No	None: neither exemption statute carries a cash, deposit or residual category. A bank may not withhold from an account into which only clearly identifiable Social Security, SSI, Railroad Retirement, Black Lung or Veterans benefits are directly deposited (MCL 600.6023; MCR 3.101(I)(6))	Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.6023; Mich. Ct. R. 3.101
Minnesota	25% of disposable earnings where weekly income exceeds 80× the applicable hourly wage, 15% above 60× but not 80×, 10% above 40× but not 60×, and nothing below 40× the greater of the Minnesota or federal minimum wage (§ 571.922)	Yes (20 days after deposit in any financial institution, single or joint account; exempt as a matter of right whether claimed or not, non-waivable, traced first in first out, and it also defeats a bank’s setoff or security interest)	None outside bankruptcy: the $1,500 wildcard applies by its own words in a bankruptcy case (§ 550.37 subd. 28)	Minn. Stat. §§ 571.922, 550.37 subd. 13
Mississippi	Nothing for 30 days from service of the writ, then the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage; Mississippi has no state minimum wage, so the floor keys to the federal rate (§ 85-3-4(1), (2)(a))	No	No exemption established for a deposit account: the $10,000 pooled allowance in § 85-3-1(a) is captioned tangible personal property and its cash item reads “cash on hand,” which no decision has applied to a bank deposit. At 70 or older, $50,000 expressly including deposits of money (§ 85-3-1(h)) (must be claimed)	Miss. Code Ann. §§ 85-3-4, 85-3-1
Missouri	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings, the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage, or 10% if the employee is a resident head of family (§ 525.030.2(1))	No	$600 of any other property of any kind, rising to $1,700 on January 1, 2027. For a head of family § 513.440 adds $1,250 plus $350 for each unmarried dependent child under 21 and expressly reaches debts and wages, the limb that covers a bank balance, except ten percent of any debt, income, salary or wages due (§§ 513.430.1(3), 513.440) (must be claimed)	Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 525.030, 513.430, 513.440
Montana	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage (§ 25-13-614(2))	Yes, for 45 days after receipt while the earnings stay traceable, by first in first out, last in first out or any other reasonable method the debtor selects (§ 25-13-610(2)-(3))	None: the exemption lists are closed and carry no cash or wildcard category, so the 45-day traced-wage rule is the operative protection	Mont. Code Ann. §§ 25-13-614, 25-13-610
Nebraska	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings, the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage, or 15% for a head of family, granted without further proceedings (§ 25-1558)	Unsettled: no statute or decision extends the wage percentages past deposit, though exempt funds stay exempt when commingled if reasonably traceable (Schaefer Shapiro v. Ball, 305 Neb. 669 (2020), a Social Security case)	$5,000 in personal property other than wages as the code reads, adjusted by the Department of Revenue every fifth year beginning 2023; assertable against a bank-account garnishment if claimed before final judgment in the garnishment (§ 25-1552; ARL Credit Services, Inc. v. Piper, 15 Neb. App. 811 (2007)). Earned income tax credit refunds are separately exempt (§ 25-1553) (must be claimed)	Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-1558, 25-1552
Nevada	18% of disposable earnings where the gross weekly wage is $770 or less, 25% above that, and in no case more than the excess over 50× the federal minimum wage (NRS 21.090(1)(g), 31.295(2))	Yes: the statutory definition of earnings includes compensation held in accounts at a bank or other financial institution, so the percentages follow the money into the account with no time limit (NRS 21.090(1)(g)(2))	Two layers. Automatic: $2,000 or the whole balance, whichever is less, stays accessible where the bank reasonably identifies a Treasury electronic deposit exempt from execution in the preceding 45 days, and otherwise $400, aggregated across the debtor’s accounts at that bank and unavailable against a support writ (NRS 21.105). Claimable: $10,000 in personal property not otherwise exempt, expressly including money and funds on deposit (NRS 21.090(1)(z))	Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 21.090, 21.105
New Hampshire	Wages earned after service of the writ on the trustee are exempt. Wages earned before service are exempt as well, except in an action on a New Hampshire court judgment, where 50× the federal minimum hourly wage a week stays exempt. The employer must pay that exempt amount to the employee on the usual payday (§ 512:21(I)-(II))	Only for an account designated as a payroll account (§ 512:21(XI))	$1,000 in any property plus up to $7,000 of unused specific exemptions, $8,000 at most; not indexed (§ 511:2(XVIII)) (must be claimed)	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 512:21, 511:2
New Jersey	10% of wages, debts, earnings, salary, trust-fund income or profits, unless the debtor’s income exceeds 250% of the poverty level, when the court may order a larger percentage, bounded above by the federal limit (2A:17-56(a))	No	$1,000 in goods and chattels, shares of stock and personal property of every kind; unchanged since the 1951 codification and not indexed, and no protection against a purchase-money debt or tax process (2A:17-19) (must be claimed)	N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2A:17-56, 2A:17-19
New Mexico	Exempt is the greater of 75% of disposable earnings for the pay period or 40× the highest applicable minimum hourly wage, federal, state or local, whichever is highest where the wages were earned (§ 35-12-7(A))	Yes (exempt wages keep their exempt status in a personal bank account while reasonably traceable)	$2,400 in any depository or investment account outside bankruptcy, inside a $15,000 wildcard for other personal property, plus traced money from the sources § 42-10-1 lists; adjusted every two years from July 1, 2025 (§§ 35-12-7(B)(2), 42-10-1(A)(14)) (must be claimed)	N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 35-12-7, 42-10-1(A)(14)
New York	Lesser of 10% of gross earnings or 25% of disposable earnings, and nothing at all in a week when disposable earnings do not exceed 30× the greater of the federal or the New York minimum wage. No withholding at all on a judgment from a medical debt action brought by a hospital or a licensed health care professional (CPLR 5231(b))	Partly (90% of earnings for personal services rendered within the 60 days before the income execution, which the debtor must claim) (CPLR 5205(d)(2))	$4,080 in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester and $3,840 elsewhere for 2026, being 240× the applicable minimum wage (self-executing), and an account holding less than 90% of that figure cannot be restrained at all. A separate $3,425 is exempt where direct deposits reasonably identifiable as statutorily exempt payments arrived in the preceding 45 days (CPLR 5222(i), 5205(l))	N.Y. C.P.L.R. §§ 5231(b), 5222(i), 5205(l), 5205(d)(2)
North Carolina	No wage garnishment is available to a private judgment creditor. Garnishment is ancillary to attachment, and attachment issues only against a nonresident, a foreign corporation, or a debtor who absconds, conceals himself or disposes of property to defraud creditors; the garnishments the code authorizes run to state and local taxes, child support, benefit overpayments and ambulance service (§§ 1-440.21(a), 1-440.3)	Yes, on a showing: earnings for personal services within the 60 days before the order stay exempt if the debtor shows by affidavit that they are necessary for a family supported wholly or partly by his labor. Commingling defeats it, and a debtor with no dependents gets nothing (§ 1-362)	Up to $5,000 of any unused portion of the $35,000 homestead exemption, so a debtor with $35,000 or more of home equity has nothing; not indexed (§ 1C-1601(a)(2)) (must be claimed)	N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-440.21(a), 1-440.3, 1-362, 1C-1601(a)(2)
North Dakota	Lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the excess over 40× the federal minimum hourly wage, that maximum then reduced by $20 for each dependent family member residing with the debtor; the dependent list must reach the employer within 10 days of the summons (§ 32-09.1-03)	No: wages are exempt from process only to the extent § 32-09.1-03 provides, a formula applied in the employer’s hands (§ 28-22-18)	$7,500 for a head of a family, the statute naming money among the property that may be selected, or $3,750 for an unmarried debtor without dependents; alternatively $25,000 in lieu of the homestead exemption. Claimed within 10 days of the notice of levy, or the property is treated as non-exempt (§§ 28-22-03, 28-22-03.1, 28-22-05)	N.D. Cent. Code §§ 32-09.1-03, 28-22-03, 28-22-03.1
Ohio	The federal floor and nothing more: the greater of 75% of disposable earnings or 30× the federal minimum hourly wage a week (§ 2329.66(A)(13))	No	$625 for April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2028, covering cash on hand, money due and payable, money to become due within 90 days, tax refunds and money on deposit together, but not personal earnings. The amount is re-set every third April 1 by Judicial Conference memorandum rather than by amending the section, so the codified text still reads $400; the next re-set is April 1, 2028 (§ 2329.66(A)(3), (B)) (must be claimed)	Ohio Rev. Code § 2329.66(A)(3), (A)(13), (B)
Oklahoma	25% of current wages or earnings for personal or professional services earned in the last 90 days; the statute exempts 75%. A debtor supporting a family or other dependents may apply for a hardship exemption after process issues, and a debtor with neither may not (tit. 31, §§ 1(A)(18), 1.1)	Partly, and only through the wage exemption itself: the 75% is framed by when the earnings were earned rather than by whose hands hold them, so a debtor may claim it against a bank fund shown to be 90-day earnings. Older earnings are unprotected, and the debtor must claim it	None. The exemption list runs to 24 enumerated categories with no wildcard, no cash line and no deposit-account line, so the 90-day wage exemption is the operative protection	Okla. Stat. tit. 31, §§ 1(A)(18), 1.1
Oregon	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over $400 a week, for wages payable through June 30, 2027; from July 1, 2027 the floor becomes 30× the Oregon minimum wage. A waiver is void, and a support or restitution award drops the floor to the older $254 schedule (ORS 18.385)	Yes (exempt wages stay exempt on deposit while reasonably identifiable, up to a $7,500 accumulation, commingled funds traced first in first out) (ORS 18.348)	$2,600 for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the base protected account balance, which is a combined total across the debtor’s accounts at the institution and which the bank must leave accessible on its own; the State Court Administrator re-indexes and publishes it each July 1 (ORS 18.785(2)(b), (2)(j)) (automatic)	Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 18.385, 18.785, 18.348
Pennsylvania	Wages, salaries and commissions are wholly exempt from attachment while in the employer’s hands, for every ordinary money judgment. The closed exception list is divorce, support, board furnished for four weeks or less, a residential-lease landlord judgment, PHEAA student loans, and criminal restitution, costs, fines or bail; the landlord exception reaches the lesser of 10% of net wages or the sum that would put the debtor below the federal poverty guidelines (42 Pa.C.S. § 8127(a))	No (the exemption runs only while the wages are in the employer’s hands)	$300, covering bank notes, money, securities, real property, judgments and other indebtedness together; fixed since 1982 and not indexed (42 Pa.C.S. § 8123(a)) (must be claimed)	42 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 8127(a), 8123(a)
Rhode Island	The federal ceiling does the work. Rhode Island’s own wage exemption for an ordinary debtor is $50 a week; wages are wholly exempt while the debtor is the object of public charitable relief and for a year after, and a spouse’s and minor children’s wages are exempt as well (§ 9-26-4(8))	No	$500 in savings or other deposits at a banking or financial institution; the additional $6,500 wildcard is available only to a debtor in bankruptcy. Not indexed (§ 9-26-4(18)) (must be claimed)	R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-26-4(8), (18)
South Carolina	No wage garnishment is available to a private judgment creditor. The earnings of the debtor for his personal services cannot be applied toward a judgment in supplementary proceedings, and a separate section bars any garnishment of earnings for personal services rendered by an employee regardless of where the debt was incurred; federal-law garnishments and support orders are untouched (§§ 15-39-410, 15-39-420(2))	No: once the paycheck is deposited the only protection is the cash exemption, itself unavailable to a homesteader	$5,000 as enacted in cash and other liquid assets, covering deposits, securities, notes, unpaid earnings not otherwise exempt, accrued vacation pay, refunds and receivables, plus up to $5,000 of unused spillover; available only to a debtor who does not claim the homestead exemption. The figure is re-set every even-numbered year and the published amount runs above the enacted base, reaching $7,600 on July 1, 2024 (§ 15-41-30(A)(5), (A)(7)) (must be claimed)	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-39-410, 15-39-420(2), 15-41-30(A)(5)
South Dakota	Lesser of 20% of disposable earnings or the excess over 40× the applicable minimum wage, the federal minimum as in effect on July 24, 2009 or the state minimum if greater, less $25 a week for each dependent family member residing with the debtor (§ 21-18-51)	No: for garnishment, earnings are exempt only to the extent §§ 21-18-51 to 21-18-53 provide (§ 43-45-14)	No dedicated deposit-account exemption. A head of family may select $7,000 and any other debtor $5,000 from personal property not absolutely exempt, expressly including money (§ 43-45-4) (must be claimed and appraised)	S.D. Codified Laws §§ 21-18-51, 43-45-4
Tennessee	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage, plus $2.50 a week for each dependent child under 16 resident in the state, forfeited if the debtor does not inform the employer. No head-of-family provision (§§ 26-2-106, 26-2-107)	No: § 26-2-111’s tracing clause reaches crime-victim awards, bodily-injury, wrongful-death and lost-future-earnings payments, not wages	$10,000 of personal property, which the statute expressly extends to money and funds on deposit with a bank or other financial institution; a general exemption the debtor may allocate to a deposit rather than a dedicated bank exemption, and there is no vocation or abode condition (§ 26-2-103) (must be claimed)	Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 26-2-103, 26-2-106
Texas	Current wages for personal service are not subject to garnishment for any judgment except as state or federal law otherwise provides, and the garnishee is discharged as to any debt for current wages. The carve-outs come from other law: court-ordered child support, and federal claims such as taxes and student loans (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 63.004)	No (the exemption covers current wages and ends at deposit)	None. Chapter 42’s $100,000 family and $50,000 single caps apply only to the closed category list in § 42.002(a), which contains no cash, deposit accounts, brokerage or securities	Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 63.004; Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001
Utah	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30 hours a week times the federal minimum wage on a judgment arising from a consumer credit agreement, and 15% where the judgment relates to an education loan; no head-of-family provision (§ 70C-7-103)	No: § 78B-5-507(2) lists the exemptions that survive receipt and stay exempt in any traceable form, and earnings are not on the list	None: §§ 78B-5-505 and 78B-5-506 are closed category lists reaching neither cash, bank deposits, brokerage nor securities	Utah Code §§ 70C-7-103, 78B-5-505, 78B-5-507
Vermont	15% of disposable earnings on a consumer credit judgment, leaving 85%, or 40× the federal minimum wage, whichever is greater, exempt; 25% otherwise. A court may exempt more where the debtor’s and dependents’ weekly maintenance expenses exceed those figures, and no order issues at all against a debtor who received state assistance in the two months before the hearing (12 V.S.A. § 3170)	No: § 2740(19)’s tracing clause covers benefit, support, injury, life-insurance and pension payments, and wages are absent from it	$700 in bank deposits or deposit accounts, plus a $400 wildcard in any property that can absorb up to $7,000 of unused motor-vehicle, tools-of-trade, jewelry, household-goods and growing-crops exemptions (12 V.S.A. § 2740) (must be claimed)	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, §§ 2740, 3170
Virginia	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 40× the greater of the federal or the Virginia minimum wage in effect when the earnings are payable; support orders, chapter 13 orders and tax debts sit outside the cap (§ 34-29)	Yes: earnings means compensation for personal services whether paid to the individual or deposited with another entity on his behalf and traceable to him, with no time limit. The depository need not determine which part is subject to garnishment, so the debtor carries the tracing (§ 34-29)	$5,000 in real or personal property the householder selects, including money and debts due; $10,000 at 65 or older, plus $500 for each dependent. CPI-adjusted on April 1, 2027 and every three years after (§ 34-4) (must be claimed by recorded homestead deed)	Va. Code §§ 34-4, 34-29
Washington	For consumer debt, the lesser of 20% of disposable earnings or the excess over 35× the state minimum wage; 25%, or the excess over 35× the federal minimum wage, on every other judgment, and 15% on private student loan debt (RCW 6.27.150)	No: money earned as earnings is not exempt under RCW 6.15.010, so deposited pay gets the flat cash sub-cap rather than a carried-over percentage (RCW 6.27.150(7))	$2,000 for consumer debt and $500 for other debts, protected by the bank automatically however many accounts exist; $2,500 for private student loan debt, $1,000 of it automatic. The figures sit inside a $3,000 general personal-property cap and are indexed by the Department of Revenue every three years beginning July 1, 2027 (RCW 6.15.010(1)(d))	Wash. Rev. Code §§ 6.15.010, 6.27.150
West Virginia	20% of after-tax salary or wages and no more, and no suggestee execution at all unless weekly after-tax pay exceeds 50× the federal minimum wage, which the garnishment may not reduce it below; a consumer-credit judgment debtor may also petition on undue hardship. The lien runs one year, and only one execution is satisfied at a time (§ 38-5A-3)	No: wages are automatically exempt only to the extent § 38-5A-3 sets, and once deposited the money falls to the $1,100 deposit line (§ 38-8-1(c))	$1,100 in funds on deposit in a federally insured financial institution, inside a $15,000 aggregate cap that also has to cover the vehicle, household goods and trade tools (§ 38-8-1) (must be claimed)	W. Va. Code §§ 38-5A-3, 38-8-1
Wisconsin	20% of disposable earnings, and nothing at all where household income is below the poverty line or the debtor receives, recently received or has been determined eligible for need-based public assistance. Where taking 20% would put household income below the poverty line, the garnishment is limited to the excess over the poverty line (§ 812.34(2))	No: there is no deposited-earnings provision, and § 815.18(3)(h) exempts 75% of net income per pay period only as reasonably necessary for support	$5,000 in depository accounts, but only to the extent the account is for the debtor’s personal use and is not used as a business account; depository account reaches an account with a securities broker or dealer and excludes a safe deposit box (§ 815.18(3)(k)) (must be claimed)	Wis. Stat. §§ 812.34, 815.18(3)(k)
Wyoming	Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the excess over 30× the federal minimum wage; continuing garnishment runs on the same rule (§ 1-15-408)	Yes: disposable earnings stay exempt if deposited within 20 calendar days before service of a writ against the account, on the day of service, or within 10 business days after; and where a creditor garnishes earnings shown on a pay advice, the rest of that pay advice is entirely exempt once deposited. The bank has no duty to investigate, so the debtor must raise it (§ 1-15-408(a))	None: the exemption schedule is closed, with no cash, bank, brokerage or securities line and no wildcard, so the traced-wage rule is the operative protection (§ 1-20-106)	Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-15-408, 1-20-106

Several deposit exemptions are set by state officials rather than by the statute’s own text. Alabama’s code prints $7,500, but the State Treasurer’s current figure is $9,400, rising to $10,225 in April 2027. Indiana’s $300 becomes $450 through a banking regulator’s rule, and Ohio’s $400 has been $625 since April 2025, re-set every third year by memorandum rather than by amendment.

Other figures move on published cycles. Oregon re-indexes its protected account balance every July 1 and Arizona adjusts its account exemption each January 1. Missouri’s $600 any-property exemption is scheduled by statute to reach $1,700 on January 1, 2027. The statute text alone often carries the stale number.

Which States Make Banks Protect Deposits Automatically?

Nine states require the bank itself to leave money accessible when a garnishment arrives: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon, and Washington. In those states part of the balance survives even if the debtor never files an exemption claim.

New York sets the largest automatic dollar figures. For 2026 the exempt figure is $4,080 in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester and $3,840 elsewhere, and an account holding less than 90% of that figure cannot be restrained at all. California’s automatic exemption is not a dollar figure but a published family-of-four living standard, applied per debtor and aggregated across the debtor’s accounts at the bank; Arizona’s claimable $5,000, by contrast, runs per account. Maryland’s automatic $500 applies separately to each institution and to each writ.

The other automatic amounts carry conditions. Illinois’s automatic $1,000 applies against a consumer debt judgment in a checking or savings account and expires on the return date, when an unclaimed balance can be turned over. Nevada layers two amounts. The bank must leave $2,000 accessible where a federal benefit deposit landed in the preceding 45 days, and $400 otherwise, totaled across the debtor’s accounts at that bank. Massachusetts’s $2,500 applies per debtor, and the trustee summons must itself describe the exemption.

Everywhere else the exemption waits on the debtor, and the deadlines are short. North Dakota treats property as non-exempt unless claimed within 10 days after the levy notice. Georgia requires the claim before the garnished funds are disbursed, and Nebraska cuts the claim off at final judgment. Virginia requires the householder to record a homestead deed to claim its $5,000.

Do Wages Stay Protected After They Are Deposited?

Deposited wages keep their exempt character by statute in nine states: California, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, and Wyoming. In most of the rest a paycheck becomes ordinary money at deposit, protected only by whatever fixed-dollar exemption the state gives deposit accounts.

The windows differ widely: Minnesota gives 20 days, and Nevada and Virginia set no time limit at all because each defines earnings to include pay held in a bank account. Florida keeps exempt earnings protected in a bank account for six months while they stay traceable and identifiable as earnings; commingling alone does not defeat it. Wyoming goes further in one respect: once a creditor garnishes part of a paycheck, the rest of that paycheck is entirely exempt once deposited.

North Carolina is not a tenth state: 60 days of earnings stay exempt only on the debtor’s affidavit that a family supported by his labor needs them. A debtor with no dependents gets nothing, and commingling defeats the claim. The North Carolina Court of Appeals denied the exemption in Radiance Capital Receivables Twenty One, LLC v. Lancsek (2022) for exactly that reason. The levied funds were not sufficiently segregated.

Four more states protect deposited wages in part. Connecticut shields up to $1,000 of deposits identifiable as wages within a two-month lookback. Oklahoma lets a debtor claim earnings from the last 90 days against a bank garnishment, and a New York debtor can claim 90% of the last 60 days of earnings. New Hampshire protects only an account designated as a payroll account.

The debtor carries the tracing burden in nearly every state. Minnesota stands apart: its 20-day protection applies as a matter of right, cannot be waived, and defeats even the bank’s own setoff or security interest.

Strong paycheck protection does not follow the money into the bank. Texas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina leave a private judgment creditor no general wage garnishment remedy, though Pennsylvania’s bar carries six narrow exceptions. Once the paycheck is deposited, Texas exempts nothing and Pennsylvania protects only $300. South Carolina’s cash exemption is unavailable to a debtor claiming the homestead exemption.

What Bank Accounts Cannot Be Garnished?

An account holding directly deposited federal benefits is the closest thing to a garnishment-proof bank account in every state. When a garnishment order arrives, the bank must immediately protect up to two months of deposited Social Security, veterans, federal employee retirement, or Railroad Retirement benefits, or the whole balance if it is smaller.

The protected amount needs no claim from the account holder and cannot be frozen; the bank treats it as conclusively exempt. The bank reviews the account once per order and may not charge a garnishment fee against the protected amount, and deposits arriving after the review are not garnished unless a new order is served.

The rule covers garnishment orders rather than IRS levies. It also gives way where the order arrives with a Notice of Right to Garnish Federal Benefits, which accompanies federal debt collections and state child support agency orders.

Some states add benefit rules of their own. A Michigan bank may not withhold anything from an account funded only by clearly identifiable Social Security, SSI, Railroad Retirement, Black Lung, or veterans benefits. New York separately exempts $3,425 where identifiable exempt payments arrived by direct deposit in the preceding 45 days. Connecticut makes the bank set aside identifiable federal benefit deposits before applying its $1,000.

A married couple’s joint account can also sit beyond a creditor of one spouse alone. Florida presumes such an account is held as tenants by the entirety, a form of ownership that creditor cannot garnish. Missouri applies the same entireties presumption to marital deposits, and its courts have enforced it against creditors.

Outside those categories, no account is inherently exempt from garnishment; the account keeps whatever the state’s exemption and the source of its deposits give it.

Where Is a Bank Account Safest from Garnishment?

Delaware protects the account by structure. New York sets the largest self-executing dollar exemption: $4,080 or $3,840 depending on the county, and a creditor cannot restrain an account holding less than 90% of that figure. Nevada and Virginia carry a wage earner’s exemption into the account indefinitely, and Florida shields exempt earnings six months past deposit.

The weakest ground is the six states that pair the federal wage formula with no deposit exemption and no tracing rule: Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, and Utah. Kentucky’s one carve-out is the health savings account, exempt with no stated cap, and Michigan’s is the benefits-only account rule. Hawaii and Texas also exempt nothing on deposit but fall outside the group at the wage step: Hawaii’s graduated formula is more protective than the federal ceiling, and Texas bars wage garnishment outright.

Everywhere outside the nine automatic states, protection also depends on the debtor acting in time, because a missed claim deadline forfeits an exemption the statute otherwise gives. The figures above are those in force in August 2026, and the indexed ones move on their own cycles.