Wage Garnishment in Florida

Wage garnishment in Florida allows a judgment creditor to intercept a portion of a debtor’s paycheck each pay period until the debt is paid. Federal law caps the garnishable amount at 25% of disposable earnings. Florida’s head of household exemption under § 222.11 goes further, shielding a qualifying debtor’s entire income with no dollar limit.

The exemption is not automatic. A debtor who qualifies must affirmatively claim it after receiving a garnishment notice, within a strict 20-day deadline. Missing that deadline can mean losing the protection entirely, even for a debtor who clearly qualifies.

How Does Wage Garnishment Work in Florida?

A creditor cannot garnish wages without first winning a court judgment. Once the judgment is entered, the creditor files a Motion for Continuing Writ of Garnishment under § 77.0305. The clerk issues the writ, and the creditor arranges service on the debtor’s employer.

Once the employer receives the writ, withholding begins immediately. The employer files an answer with the court within 20 days confirming the debtor’s employment status, pay frequency, and current earnings. The creditor must mail the debtor a copy of the writ, the motion, and a Notice to Defendant with a Claim of Exemption form. The mailing deadline is five business days after issuance or three business days after service on the employer, whichever is later. Florida’s writ of garnishment procedures are strictly construed, and a creditor who misses any deadline risks having the writ dissolved.

A continuing writ remains in effect until the judgment is paid in full, the debtor’s employment with the garnished employer ends, or a court orders the garnishment dissolved. The creditor does not need to file new writs for each pay period.

How Much of a Paycheck Can Be Garnished?

Federal law caps wage garnishment at the lesser of two amounts: 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. The governing statute is 15 U.S.C. § 1673.

Disposable earnings are what remain after the employer deducts amounts required by law—federal and state income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. Voluntary deductions like health insurance premiums, 401(k) contributions, and union dues are not subtracted when calculating disposable earnings.

At 30 times the current federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour), the protected weekly floor is $217.50. A debtor earning less than $217.50 per week in disposable income cannot have any wages garnished. For a debtor earning $700 per week in disposable income, the creditor can garnish $175 (25% of $700), because that amount is less than $482.50 ($700 minus $217.50). Florida follows these federal limits for most consumer debts.

What Is the Head of Household Exemption?

Florida’s head of household exemption can exempt a qualifying debtor’s entire earnings from wage garnishment. There is no dollar cap. A head of household earning $2,000 per week receives the same protection as one earning $500 per week, as long as the exemption has not been waived in writing.

To qualify, a debtor must provide more than half the financial support for a child or other dependent. The dependent does not need to be a minor child. A debtor supporting an elderly parent, a disabled adult child, or a non-working spouse can qualify. The “dependent” definition is broader than the IRS version used for tax filing, so a debtor may qualify for the head of household exemption even without claiming that person as a tax dependent.

Both spouses in a marriage cannot simultaneously claim head of household status for the same dependents. If both spouses work and both face garnishment, only the spouse who provides the majority of financial support for the household’s dependents can assert the exemption. The other spouse’s wages remain subject to garnishment under the standard federal limits. An exception exists when each spouse separately supports different dependents in different households, such as children from prior marriages living in separate homes.

Does the $750 Weekly Threshold Apply to Everyone?

The $750 weekly figure in Florida’s wage garnishment statute is frequently misunderstood. It does not apply to all debtors—it applies only to debtors who qualify as head of household.

A head of household whose weekly disposable earnings are $750 or less is fully exempt from wage garnishment by any judgment creditor. A head of household earning more than $750 per week is still fully exempt unless the debtor signed a written waiver of the exemption. The $750 threshold only becomes relevant when a head of household has signed a valid waiver: in that situation, the creditor can garnish disposable earnings above $750 per week but cannot touch the first $750.

Debtors who are not head of household are subject to the federal garnishment limits (25% of disposable earnings or the amount exceeding $217.50 per week), regardless of whether they earn more or less than $750.

How to Claim the Head of Household Exemption

The head of household exemption is not automatic. A debtor must file a Claim of Exemption and serve copies on the creditor and employer within 20 days of receiving the garnishment notice. The garnishment notice includes a Claim of Exemption form that the debtor must complete and have notarized.

If the creditor does not contest the claim within 8 business days of hand delivery or 14 business days of mailing, the writ is automatically dissolved and the employer must stop withholding. If the creditor does contest the exemption, the court schedules an evidentiary hearing where the debtor must prove qualification through tax returns, pay stubs, W-2 statements, and evidence of financial support for the dependent.

In practice, many creditor attorneys will voluntarily dissolve a wage garnishment after reviewing documentation that clearly supports the head of household claim. Providing this evidence early and directly to the creditor’s attorney can resolve the garnishment without a hearing.

Can the Head of Household Exemption Be Waived?

The head of household exemption can be waived in writing, and many consumer loan agreements and credit card contracts include a waiver buried in the fine print. If the debtor signed a waiver, the creditor can garnish wages above $750 per week even though the debtor supports dependents.

Florida courts have upheld these waivers when they are knowing and voluntary. Section 222.11(2)(b) sets strict formal requirements: the waiver must appear in a separate document attached to the loan agreement, written in the same language, and printed in type no smaller than 14 points. A waiver that does not meet these requirements may be challenged as invalid. Debtors should review their original loan documents for waiver language before assuming the exemption applies.

How Long After a Judgment Can Wages Be Garnished?

A Florida judgment is enforceable for 20 years and can be renewed. A judgment creditor can initiate wage garnishment at any point during that window.

What makes wage garnishment particularly persistent is the continuing nature of the writ. A single writ served on an employer garnishes all future wages as they become payable until the judgment is satisfied or the garnishment is dissolved. The creditor does not need to refile. A debtor whose wages are garnished today may remain subject to the same writ for years if the underlying judgment remains unpaid.

What Types of Income Count as Wages?

Florida’s continuing writ applies only to earnings an employer pays an employee as compensation for personal labor or services. This includes salary, hourly wages, bonuses, commissions, overtime pay, and similar employment compensation.

Payments made to independent contractors are not wages for garnishment purposes. A creditor cannot obtain a continuing writ against payments owed to a debtor working as an independent contractor. Instead, the creditor must serve a separate, one-time writ of garnishment each time it believes money is owed to the contractor. Continuing writs are limited exclusively to wages, salary, and commissions—a creditor likewise cannot obtain a continuing writ against rents, accounts receivable, or other non-wage payments.

Self-employed business owners who control their own compensation face a related limitation. In In re Manning, 163 B.R. 380 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1994), the court held that a business owner who sets their own pay cannot claim the head of household exemption unless they receive regular compensation under an arms-length employment agreement, regardless of business cash flow. An owner who draws money from the business whenever convenient, rather than receiving a fixed salary, is unlikely to qualify.

What Happens When Exempt Wages Are Deposited into a Bank Account?

Exempt wages do not lose their protected status when deposited into a bank account. Section 222.11(3) keeps head of household wages exempt from garnishment for six months following deposit, provided the debtor can trace the funds to exempt earnings.

The practical challenge is proving that the money in the account came from exempt wages. Commingling exempt wages with non-exempt income in the same account makes tracing difficult. The most effective approach is maintaining a dedicated bank account that receives only direct deposits of exempt wages and is not used for other deposits.

If a creditor serves a writ of garnishment on a bank holding the debtor’s deposited wages, the bank will freeze the account. The debtor must then file a Claim of Exemption and demonstrate that the frozen funds are traceable to exempt wages. Keeping pay stubs, bank statements, and deposit records organized in advance simplifies this process considerably.

Which Debts Bypass Normal Garnishment Limits?

Federal tax debts owed to the IRS can be collected through an administrative wage levy without a court judgment. The IRS determines the exempt amount based on the debtor’s filing status and number of dependents, and the remaining disposable income can be levied in full.

Child support and alimony obligations allow garnishment of up to 50% of disposable earnings if the debtor is currently supporting another spouse or child, or up to 60% if the debtor is not. An additional 5% can be garnished if the debtor is more than 12 weeks behind on payments.

Federal student loan servicers can garnish up to 15% of disposable earnings through an administrative process that does not require a court judgment, though the debtor must receive notice and an opportunity to request a hearing.

Federal agencies beyond the IRS and student loan servicers also have administrative garnishment power. The Small Business Administration and similar agencies can garnish up to 15% of a debtor’s disposable earnings to collect federal debts. These administrative garnishments are federal remedies not governed by state law. The head of household exemption does not apply, and no state exemption can block them.

Can an Out-of-State Creditor Garnish Florida Wages?

Wage garnishment is generally governed by the law of the state where the court issuing the writ has jurisdiction. A Florida resident who works remotely for an out-of-state employer may face garnishment through another state’s court system, where Florida’s head of household exemption does not apply.

Florida courts have limited authority to apply Florida exemptions when another state’s court issued the writ. A debtor facing an out-of-state garnishment may need to retain local counsel to challenge the writ or assert exemptions available under that state’s laws.

How to Stop a Wage Garnishment in Florida

Filing a Claim of Exemption is the most direct response to a wage garnishment. A debtor who qualifies as head of household or whose garnished funds include exempt income such as Social Security or disability payments can dissolve the writ entirely by proving the exemption.

Challenging the garnishment on procedural grounds is a separate option. Florida’s garnishment statutes are strictly construed, and creditors frequently make errors in the notice, timing, or documentation requirements. A single missed deadline or improperly served notice can be grounds to dissolve the writ.

Negotiating directly with the creditor can sometimes produce a voluntary dissolution if the debtor agrees to a payment plan. Filing for bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay that halts all collection activity including wage garnishment, though bankruptcy carries long-term consequences.

A debtor whose circumstances change after a garnishment judgment has been entered can seek relief under Rule 1.540 of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. For example, a debtor who was not head of household when the garnishment began but later has a child may now qualify. The garnishment statute itself does not provide a procedure for asserting the exemption after the garnishment has been reduced to judgment, but Rule 1.540 allows the court to modify or vacate the order.

What Are an Employer’s Obligations?

An employer served with a continuing writ of wage garnishment becomes a garnishee with specific legal obligations. The employer must withhold the required amount each pay period and remit it to the creditor. Failing to comply can expose the employer to liability for the full amount of the debt.

Federal law under 15 U.S.C. § 1674 prohibits an employer from firing an employee solely because the employee’s wages are subject to garnishment for a single debt. This protection does not extend to multiple garnishments—an employee whose wages are subject to writs from two or more creditors has no federal protection against termination. Florida law permits the employer to charge the debtor a fee for processing the garnishment, deducted directly from the debtor’s paycheck.

Wage garnishment is one collection tool among several that Florida creditors can use after obtaining a judgment. Florida asset protection planning addresses the full range of creditor remedies, including bank account garnishment, judgment liens, and forced sale of non-exempt property.