How much of your paycheck can a creditor, the IRS, a student-loan servicer, or a child-support agency legally take? This calculator applies the federal CCPA limit — 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30× the minimum wage, whichever is lower — and the higher child-support and student-loan caps so you can see your real take-home pay.
Legally required deductions are federal and state income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state disability insurance only. Do not include 401(k) contributions, health or dental premiums, union dues, or other voluntary deductions — the CCPA does not subtract them when it defines disposable earnings.
| Pay Period | 25% of Disposable | Minimum-Wage Cap (Disposable − 30× Min. Wage) | Binding CCPA Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Biweekly | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Semimonthly | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Monthly | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
All four rows are scaled to the same annual disposable earnings, so you can compare how the cap changes if you are paid weekly instead of monthly. The 30× minimum-wage floor is $217.50 per week under the $7.25 federal minimum wage; states with a higher minimum wage raise this floor.
| Garnishment Type | Maximum Withholding | Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary creditor judgment | 25% of disposable earnings | CCPA 15 U.S.C. 1673(a) — or the amount above 30× minimum wage, whichever is less |
| Child support (not in arrears, supports another family) | 50% | CCPA 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2)(A) |
| Child support (not in arrears, no other family) | 55% | CCPA 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2)(B) |
| Child support (12+ weeks in arrears, no other family) | 60% | CCPA 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2)(C) |
| Child support (12+ weeks in arrears, supports another family) | 65% | CCPA 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2)(D) |
| Student loan (administrative wage garnishment) | 15% of disposable pay | 20 U.S.C. 1095a — never below the 30× minimum-wage floor |
| IRS tax levy | Formula (exempt amount protected) | IRC 6334(d); withheld per IRS Form 668-W worksheet |
| Bankruptcy order | As ordered by the court | Order of the bankruptcy court; the CCPA cap applies unless the court orders otherwise |
Situation: A creditor wins a judgment and serves a garnishment order on payroll. The employee is paid every two weeks: $2,000.00 gross with $400.00 in federal tax, state tax and FICA withheld.
Disposable earnings: $2,000.00 − $400.00 = $1,600.00. 25% cap: $400.00. Minimum-wage cap: $1,600.00 − $435.00 = $1,160.00.
Binding limit: the lower of the two is $400.00 (the 25% test), so that is the most the creditor can take each pay period.
Situation: A weekly-paid employee earns $900.00 gross with $180.00 in required deductions, giving $720.00 of disposable earnings. The order is for child support, the employee is not in arrears and does not support another family.
Cap: 55% of disposable earnings = $720.00 × 0.55 = $396.00 per week. If the employee were more than 12 weeks in arrears, the cap would rise to 60%; if they also supported another family it would be 50% while current, or 65% while in arrears.
Situation: A salaried employee is paid $3,250.00 a month with $650.00 in required deductions, so disposable pay is $2,600.00. The Department of Education issues an administrative wage garnishment order.
Cap: 15% of disposable pay = $390.00. The monthly 30× minimum-wage floor is $217.50 × 4.3333 = $942.50, and $2,600.00 − $942.50 = $1,657.50, so the floor does not reduce the 15% figure. The binding monthly garnishment is $390.00.
Legally required deductions = federal + state income tax, FICA (Social Security/Medicare) and state disability — never 401(k) or health premiums.
Period Exempt = $217.50 × 1 (weekly), × 2 (biweekly), × 2.1667 (semimonthly) or × 4.3333 (monthly).
30× minimum wage = 30 × $7.25 = $217.50 per week — the statutory CCPA floor.
Child support percentage = 50% (supports another family, current), 55% (no other family, current), 60% (in arrears, no other family) or 65% (in arrears, supports another family).
Student loan = 15% of disposable pay under 20 U.S.C. 1095a; some older orders used a 25% cap, but the current administrative garnishment figure is 15%.
First, check the order. Every garnishment must be properly served and must state the amount and the legal authority. Federal law guarantees you notice and an opportunity to object before an administrative wage garnishment takes effect, and for student loans you have a 15-day window after the notice to request a hearing and dispute the debt, the amount, or the terms. If your take-home pay would fall below the 30× minimum-wage floor, the employer is legally required to reduce the withholding — a payroll department cannot take more than the CCPA limit even if the order says otherwise.
Second, look at state law, not just federal law. Many states set a stricter test than the federal 25% cap. For example, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and South Carolina restrict most ordinary creditor garnishments entirely — meaning a judgment creditor may have no garnishment remedy at all, while child support and tax levies still apply. Other states use a higher multiple of the minimum wage or exempt more of your disposable pay.
Third, act quickly. You can ask the court for a hardship hearing or to reduce the order if the withholding makes it impossible to cover rent, food and basic medical care. Filing for bankruptcy can stop most collection garnishments automatically through the bankruptcy stay, although child support and many tax debts survive bankruptcy. Contact your employer's payroll or HR department to confirm exactly what was subtracted, keep copies of every pay stub, and consult a legal-aid attorney or a consumer-law lawyer — many offer free consultations for garnishment disputes.
The CCPA cap is the most a creditor can take, not the amount they must take. If disposable earnings are at or below the 30× minimum-wage floor, the ordinary garnishment is zero.
Only one ordinary creditor garnishment can run at a time, unlike child support, which can stack across multiple orders — though the total is still capped at 50%–65% of disposable earnings.
States with a higher minimum wage raise the floor automatically, and several states restrict ordinary garnishments far more than federal law does. Always compare both tests.
Disposable earnings is the legal term the CCPA uses, and it is narrower than the "take-home pay" figure on your pay stub. Under 15 U.S.C. 1672(b) it means the part of your earnings that remains after legally required deductions. That includes federal income tax withholding, state income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes, and state disability insurance. Those amounts are subtracted because the law requires them to be withheld — you never had a choice about paying them.
Everything voluntary is left in. Contributions to a 401(k), 403(b) or other retirement plan are not subtracted when the court calculates disposable earnings, even though they reduce the cash you actually receive. The same is true of health, dental and vision insurance premiums, flexible spending account contributions, life insurance, union dues, garnishment-processing fees charged by the employer, and repayments of an employer loan. This matters because it cuts both ways: a large 401(k) deferral makes your paycheck smaller but does not shrink the base the garnishment is calculated on, so the dollar amount withheld can feel larger than 25% of the money that lands in your bank account.
Two more wrinkles are worth knowing. First, tips, commissions, bonuses and overtime are all "earnings" and count toward disposable earnings in the pay period they are paid. Second, some state garnishment statutes define disposable earnings differently or allow additional deductions, which is why the state test can produce a different number than the federal one. Self-employment income is not "earnings" for wage-garnishment purposes because there is no employer to serve an order on — a creditor must use a different collection remedy, such as a bank levy.
Not every garnishment follows the 25% rule. Congress wrote different ceilings for different kinds of debt, and the type printed on the order determines which ceiling applies. An ordinary creditor judgment — a credit card, medical bill, personal loan or car-repo deficiency — is capped at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30× the federal minimum wage. At $7.25 per hour, 30× is $217.50 per week, $435.00 biweekly, roughly $471.25 semimonthly and $942.50 monthly. If your disposable earnings fall at or below that floor, an ordinary creditor cannot garnish you at all.
Child support is treated far more seriously. Under CCPA 1673(b), withholding can reach 50% of disposable earnings if you support a spouse or child other than the one named in the order, or 55% if you do not. Those limits rise to 60% and 65% when you are more than 12 weeks in arrears — 60% if you support no other family and 65% if you do. Unlike ordinary garnishments, multiple child-support orders can run at the same time and the totals are combined against the cap. Student-loan administrative wage garnishment under 20 U.S.C. 1095a is capped at 15% of disposable pay and may not push you below the 30× minimum-wage floor; some older orders carried a 25% figure, but 15% is the current administrative standard. Finally, an IRS tax levy does not use a percentage cap at all. Instead, the IRS protects an exempt amount equal to your standard deduction plus personal exemptions, prorated across your pay periods, and takes the rest — your employer works this out on Form 668-W, so the calculator's IRS figure is an approximation only.
The practical takeaway: an ordinary creditor can generally take no more than a quarter of your disposable pay, child support can take half or more, student loans are limited to 15%, and the IRS can reach everything above a protected floor. Knowing which category your order falls into is the single most important step in checking whether payroll is withholding the right amount.
⚠️ Not legal advice: State law may be stricter than the federal CCPA limits shown here — several states restrict ordinary creditor garnishments entirely or protect more of your pay — and the IRS levy figure is an approximation based on the Form 668-W exempt-amount worksheet. This calculator is for education and estimation only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Always read the actual garnishment order, check your state's rules, and consult a qualified attorney or legal-aid office before making decisions about a garnishment.