Garnishment Laws by State

Every state’s wage garnishment law starts from the same federal ceiling. A judgment creditor can take no more than 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed $217.50 a week, whichever is less. States can only protect more. Four leave a private judgment creditor no general wage garnishment remedy, nine add nothing to the federal formula, and in most others the creditor takes a smaller share.

The federal cap protects a paycheck only while it sits with the employer. In most states the protection ends the day the pay is deposited, so the chart covers both ends: the paycheck rules, then the deposit rules that decide what survives.

How Much of a Paycheck Can a Creditor Garnish?

A creditor holding a money judgment can garnish the lesser of two amounts: 25% of disposable earnings, or the excess above $217.50 a week, which is 30 times the federal minimum wage. The federal Consumer Credit Protection Act sets that ceiling for every state. A worker whose weekly disposable pay is $217.50 or less cannot be garnished at all.

Disposable earnings means pay left after deductions required by law, such as tax withholding and Social Security. Deductions the employee chooses, like health insurance premiums or elective retirement contributions, do not shrink the garnishable base.

The cap applies to any money judgment; a tort or commercial creditor faces the same limit as a credit card company. Three categories sit outside it: court orders for support, orders of a bankruptcy court in a Chapter 13 case, and any state or federal tax debt.

A support order can reach 50% of disposable earnings from a debtor who supports another spouse or dependent child, and 60% from one who does not. Each figure rises five points where the order collects support more than twelve weeks in arrears. A tax levy is not a percentage at all. The IRS takes everything above an exempt amount set by its own tables.

Federal student loans are garnished administratively under the Higher Education Act, capped at 15% of disposable pay with no court judgment required. Private student loans go through the courts like any other debt, and three states set special caps: Georgia allows 15%, Utah 15% on an education-loan judgment, and Washington pairs 15% with a higher income floor.

An employer cannot fire a worker because wages were garnished for any one debt. That federal protection covers a single debt; states remain free to bar firing over more than one.

Wage Garnishment Limits in Each State

The chart below covers wage garnishment law in every state and the District of Columbia. Each row gives the wage limit an ordinary judgment creditor faces, whether the state bars consumer wage garnishment, the bank account exemption, the traced-wage rule, 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.

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. Where a figure is indexed, the cell carries the amount in force in August 2026, which is not always the number printed in the statute. Ohio’s deposit exemption, for example, is $625 even though the code section still reads $400.

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

State	Wage Garnishment Limit	Prohibits Consumer Wage Garnishment?	Bank Account Exemption	Traced-Wage Protection?	Authority
Alabama	25% of wages, salaries or other compensation, the federal result with no head-of-family enhancement (§ 6-10-7)	No	$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)	No (§ 6-10-7 reaches wages due or to become due, and no Alabama statute carries the exemption past payment)	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)	No	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))	No	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)	No	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)	No	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)	Yes (paid earnings keep their exempt character for 30 days after payment)	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	$2,500 cumulative across depository accounts in the debtor’s name (§ 13-54-102(1)(w))	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	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))	No	$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))	Partly: $1,000 of deposits identifiable as wages within a two-month lookback, and nothing above that	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)	No	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))	Not addressed, and it need not be: wages deposited at a Delaware bank land where Delaware process does not reach	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)	No	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)	No	$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)	Yes (6 months, while traceable and identifiable as earnings; commingling alone does not defeat it)	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)	No	$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))	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))	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	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))	No (§ 651-121(6) covers only compensation due for the 31 days before the proceeding)	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	None (the $1,500 exemption in § 11-605(10) reaches tangible personal property only)	No (§ 11-605(11) protects earnings only while they remain unpaid)	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)	No	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)	No	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)	No	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)	No	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)	No	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	No	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))	Partly (no garnishment writ; a court-ordered installment payment substitutes)	$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)	No	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))	No	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)	No	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))	No	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)	No	None outside bankruptcy: the $1,500 wildcard applies by its own words in a bankruptcy case (§ 550.37 subd. 28)	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)	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)	No	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)	No	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))	No	None: the exemption lists are closed and carry no cash or wildcard category, so the 45-day traced-wage rule is the operative protection	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))	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)	No	$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)	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)	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))	No	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, which gives way to a support writ, both aggregated across the debtor’s accounts at that bank (NRS 21.105). Claimable: $10,000 in personal property not otherwise exempt, expressly including money and funds on deposit (NRS 21.090(1)(z))	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))	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 and the employer pays the rest over on the usual payday (§ 512:21(I)-(II))	No	$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)	Only for an account designated as a payroll account (§ 512:21(XI))	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)	No	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))	No	$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)	Yes (exempt wages keep their exempt status in a personal bank account while reasonably traceable)	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))	No, except a medical debt judgment, where withholding is barred outright	$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))	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))	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 in effect, by the absence of a remedy rather than by a prohibition statute	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)	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)	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	$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)	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)	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)	No	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)	No	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	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	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)	No	$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)	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)	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))	Yes, for every ordinary money judgment rather than consumer debt alone, subject to six narrow exceptions	$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)	No (the exemption runs only while the wages are in the employer’s hands)	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)	No	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))	Yes, and not limited to consumer debt: the bar reaches every private money judgment	$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)	No: once the paycheck is deposited the only protection is the cash exemption, itself unavailable to a homesteader	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	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)	No: for garnishment, earnings are exempt only to the extent §§ 21-18-51 to 21-18-53 provide (§ 43-45-14)	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	$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)	No: § 26-2-111’s tracing clause reaches crime-victim awards, bodily-injury, wrongful-death and lost-future-earnings payments, not wages	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)	Yes, and not limited to consumer debt: a tort or contract judgment creditor cannot reach current wages either	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	No (the exemption covers current wages and ends at deposit)	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	None: §§ 78B-5-505 and 78B-5-506 are closed category lists reaching neither cash, bank deposits, brokerage nor securities	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	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	$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)	No: § 2740(19)’s tracing clause covers benefit, support, injury, life-insurance and pension payments, and wages are absent from it	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)	No	$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)	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)	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	$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))	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))	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	$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)	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))	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	$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)	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	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)	No	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)	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))	Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-15-408, 1-20-106

Wage floors move on their own. Connecticut and Colorado tie the floor to indexed state minimum wages, so the exempt amount rises with each wage increase. Oregon’s floor is a flat $400 a week until July 2027, when it converts to 30 times the Oregon minimum wage.

Which States Do Not Allow Wage Garnishment?

Four states leave a private judgment creditor no general way to garnish wages: Texas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina. None of the four limits its rule to credit card or other consumer debt; a tort or commercial judgment creditor is barred the same way.

Texas exempts current wages for personal service from garnishment on any judgment, and a Texas creditor’s remedy is the bank account. The exceptions come from other law, chiefly court-ordered child support or spousal maintenance and federal claims such as taxes and student loans.

Pennsylvania exempts wages for every ordinary money judgment while they sit in the employer’s hands, subject to six narrow exceptions, including support orders, state-agency student loans, and criminal restitution. Two exceptions belong to private creditors: a residential landlord holding a lease judgment, and a board provider whose bill covers four weeks or less. The landlord takes at most 10% of net wages and nothing that pushes the debtor below the federal poverty guidelines.

South Carolina bars a private creditor from reaching earnings for personal services on any civil money judgment, regardless of where the debt was incurred. Federal garnishments and support orders are untouched.

North Carolina has no prohibition statute; it gives the creditor no remedy instead. Garnishment there rides on attachment, and attachment does not issue against an ordinary resident debtor. The garnishments the code does authorize run to taxes, child support, benefit overpayments, and ambulance service.

Maine comes close. No garnishment writ exists for wages there; a creditor needs a court-ordered installment payment entered after a disclosure hearing, capped by the statute’s own percentage formula. New York bars withholding on one category only: a judgment from a medical debt action brought by a hospital or a licensed health care professional.

Florida exempts all disposable earnings of a head of family, meaning a person who provides more than half the support of a child or other dependent. Earnings of $750 a week or less cannot be reached at all, and higher earnings stay exempt unless the debtor signed the statutory written waiver. A Florida debtor who is not a head of family gets only the federal limit under Florida’s garnishment rules.

How States Protect More Than the Federal Formula

States protect wages beyond the federal rule in two ways: by cutting the percentage a creditor can take, or by raising the income floor a garnishment cannot touch.

Arizona stops the creditor at 10% of disposable earnings. New Jersey allows 10% of wages unless the debtor’s income tops 250% of the poverty level. Hawaii’s graduated formula never takes more than 20% at the margin, and several states, California and Colorado among them, hold the line at 20%.

Other states raise the income floor instead, which protects low earners most. Illinois exempts 45 times its $15.00 minimum wage, about $675 a week, before the creditor sees anything. Arizona pairs its 10% cap with a floor of 60 times the highest applicable minimum wage, local rates included.

A handful of states adjust for hardship or dependents. Missouri cuts the take to 10% for a resident head of family, and Nebraska to 15%. Colorado courts must raise the exemption where the remaining income cannot cover listed living expenses. The District of Columbia adds a hardship motion, presumed for public assistance recipients; once it is granted, the creditor cannot move to revisit it for 18 months.

The debt type moves several caps as well. Washington allows a consumer creditor 20% and other judgment creditors 25%, and Vermont draws the same line at 15% and 25%. Iowa caps each judgment creditor at an annual dollar total that runs from $250 to $2,000 by income bracket.

Nine states add nothing of their own to the federal formula: Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Utah, and Wyoming. Georgia reproduces the federal figures but writes the $217.50 floor into its statute as a fixed dollar amount. Tennessee adds $2.50 a week for each dependent child under 16. Rhode Island writes no percentage formula of its own, so the federal ceiling does the work.

Can a Creditor Garnish Wages in Another State?

Each state’s garnishment statute defines its own reach, so the protection a debtor gets turns on which statute applies rather than on where the debt arose.

Some statutes protect only residents. Delaware’s 15% cap covers the wages of a Delaware resident, and Alaska gives a nonresident nothing beyond the federal limit. New Mexico keys its floor to the highest minimum wage in force where the wages were earned. South Carolina writes the rule from the debtor’s side, protecting earnings for personal services regardless of where the debt was incurred.

How Is a Bank Levy Different from Wage Garnishment?

A wage garnishment takes a capped share of each paycheck from the employer. A bank levy reaches whatever sits in the account when the writ is served. No federal percentage cap protects deposited money.

The service date controls what a levy catches. Georgia’s garnishment reaches funds held on the day of service plus five days. Kansas has the bank freeze 110% of the balance due and keep a $15 fee. Iowa makes a garnished bank sweep the account at least monthly for new deposits while the notice stays effective.

In most states the wage exemption dies at deposit, and the paycheck becomes ordinary money the moment it lands. Nine states carry the exemption into the account by statute: California, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, and Wyoming. Minnesota’s window is 20 days, Florida’s six months. Nevada and Virginia impose no window, because each defines earnings to include pay held at a bank.

North Carolina belongs beside that list rather than on it. Its 60-day protection exists only where the debtor shows by affidavit that a family supported by his labor needs the money, and commingling defeats the claim. Connecticut, Oklahoma, New York, and New Hampshire protect deposited wages in part. Tracing is the debtor’s burden nearly everywhere; Minnesota is the exception, with a 20-day protection that applies whether claimed or not and cannot be waived.

Whether money already in the account survives depends on the state’s deposit exemption. Delaware alone on this chart takes banks out of its own garnishment process. Everywhere else, the deposit exemption ranges between nothing at all and several thousand dollars the bank itself must protect.

Federal benefit deposits are protected in every state. On receiving a garnishment order, a bank must automatically protect up to two months of directly deposited Social Security, veterans, federal employee retirement, or Railroad Retirement benefits, and it may not freeze that amount. The rule reaches garnishment orders only; an IRS levy falls outside it. The rule also gives way where the order arrives with a Notice of Right to Garnish Federal Benefits. Federal agencies collecting federal debts and state child support agencies attach that notice.

Which States Have the Strongest Wage Garnishment Protections?

Texas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina give wages the strongest protection on the chart, because an ordinary private creditor cannot garnish them at all. Florida does the same for any head of family. In the four states the bar covers the paycheck only. The protection ends at deposit: Texas exempts nothing in a bank account, Pennsylvania protects $300, North Carolina offers only unused homestead exemption up to $5,000, and South Carolina’s cash exemption excludes anyone claiming a homestead.

The strongest end-to-end protection sits where the percentage cap and the deposit rules meet. Nevada’s percentages follow the money into the account and never expire, and the automatic floor adds $400, or $2,000 when federal benefits landed within the preceding 45 days. California pairs a 20% cap with an automatic per-debtor deposit exemption and a 30-day tracing rule. At the weak end, the nine federal-formula states add nothing, and most of them protect little or nothing on deposit either.

Every dollar figure above is the August 2026 amount; the indexed ones move when state officials re-set them, without any statutory amendment.