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How much of your paycheck can a creditor garnish, state by state?
On $800.00 of weekly take-home pay, a credit card creditor with a judgment can garnish up to $200.00 a week in Virginia and Maryland, and nothing at all in Pennsylvania and South Carolina — the same debt, the same pay, a different state. In North Carolina and Florida what a creditor can take turns on a condition the statute sets, given in the table. Every figure below is calculated from the statute named beside it.
Side by side
| Where you live | $600.00 a week | $800.00 a week | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | $89.20 | $200.00 | Va. Code § 34-29(A) |
| Maryland | $150.00 | $200.00 | Md. Code, Com. Law § 15-601.1(b) |
| Washington, DC | $0.00 | $16.00 | D.C. Code § 16-572 |
| Pennsylvania | $0.00 | $0.00 | 42 Pa.C.S. § 8127(a) wages are exempt except for support, four weeks of board, a residential-lease judgment, PHEAA student loans and criminal restitution, costs, fines or bail |
| West Virginia | $120.00 | $160.00 | W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3(a) 20% of pay left after all state and federal taxes, and nothing at all while that is $362.50 a week or less |
| North Carolina | $0.00 | $0.00 | N.C.G.S. § 1-362 only when those earnings are needed to support the debtor's family |
| South Carolina | $0.00 | $0.00 | S.C. Code § 37-5-104 a creditor cannot garnish wages for a consumer credit sale, lease, loan or rental-purchase debt |
| Florida | $150.00 | $200.00 | Fla. Stat. § 222.11 this figure applies if you are not head of a family; a head of family is fully exempt at $750 a week or less, and above that only with a signed written agreement |
The rule in each place
| Virginia | In Virginia, a creditor can garnish no more than the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which they exceed 40 times the federal or Virginia minimum hourly wage, whichever is greater. At $12.77 that protects the first $510.80 a week. (Va. Code § 34-29(A)) |
|---|---|
| Maryland | In Maryland, the exempt part of each week's disposable wages is the greater of 75% or 30 times the State minimum hourly wage ($450.00 a week at $15.00). Medical insurance payments deducted by the employer are also exempt. (Md. Code, Com. Law § 15-601.1(b)) |
| Washington, DC | In DC, a creditor can garnish at most 25% of the amount by which weekly disposable wages exceed 40 times the DC minimum hourly wage. At $18.40 that protects the first $736.00 a week. (D.C. Code § 16-572) |
| Pennsylvania | In Pennsylvania, wages held by an employer are exempt from attachment except for divorce, support, board for four weeks or less, residential landlord judgments (the lesser of 10% of net wages per pay period or a sum that does not put the debtor below the federal poverty income guidelines), Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency student loans, and restitution to crime victims, costs, fines or bail ordered in a criminal case. (42 Pa.C.S. § 8127(a)) |
| West Virginia | In West Virginia, a suggestee execution against wages from private employment is a lien on 20% of the salary or wages due after the deduction of all state and federal taxes, and no more. It may never reduce the amount paid to the debtor below 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage a week ($362.50 at $7.25), and an execution issues only if weekly pay after those taxes exceeds that figure. (W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3(a)) |
| North Carolina | In North Carolina, a debtor's earnings for personal services in the 60 days before the order cannot be applied to the judgment when it appears those earnings are necessary for the use of a family supported wholly or partly by the debtor's labor. (N.C.G.S. § 1-362) |
| South Carolina | In South Carolina, for a debt arising from a consumer credit sale, a consumer lease, a consumer loan or a consumer rental-purchase agreement, wherever it was made, the creditor may not attach the debtor’s unpaid earnings by garnishment or like proceedings. (S.C. Code § 37-5-104) |
| Florida | In Florida, all disposable earnings of a head of family whose disposable earnings are $750 a week or less are exempt from attachment or garnishment, and earnings above $750 a week can be reached only if the head of family agreed to it in writing. Disposable earnings of a person who is not head of family may not be garnished beyond the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act limit. (Fla. Stat. § 222.11) |
| Federal floor | Federal law caps wage garnishment for ordinary debts at the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage ($217.50 a week). (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) |
Exceptions
The federal cap does not apply to court orders for child or spousal support, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, or debts for state or federal taxes.
How these numbers are calculated
- What the figure means. The most a creditor with an ordinary consumer judgment, such as a credit card debt, can take from one week of disposable earnings, meaning pay left after the amounts the law requires to be withheld (15 U.S.C. § 1672(a)-(b)). Support orders, taxes and defaulted federal student loans follow different rules and can take more (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(1), 20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)).
- Where the rule comes from. Each state's own statute, linked in the table. Nothing is taken from a secondary source or another website.
- How the maths is done. Each state's formula is applied in code to the same two pay levels, so the columns are comparable. We publish the formula, not an estimate.
- Which minimum wage. Whichever one the statute names: Virginia, whichever of the federal or state rate is higher; Maryland, that jurisdiction's own rate; Washington DC, that jurisdiction's own rate; West Virginia, the federal rate; Florida, the federal rate. Where a statute names a dollar figure instead, or bars garnishment outright, no minimum wage enters the calculation.
- When it was checked. Every rule on this page was read from its primary source on 2026-09-30. Minimum wages are re-checked each January and July, when they change.
- What it is not. General information, not legal advice, and not a prediction about any one case. Whether an exemption reaches your pay turns on the paperwork in your own case.
Frequently asked questions
Which states protect wages from ordinary debt collectors?
Of the places we have verified, Pennsylvania and South Carolina leave nothing for a creditor to take on $800.00 of weekly take-home pay for an ordinary consumer debt. In North Carolina and Florida what a creditor can take turns on a condition the statute names. Each statute is linked in the table above.
What does the federal garnishment limit say?
Federal law caps wage garnishment for ordinary debts at the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage ($217.50 a week).
Which debts are not covered by the federal garnishment limit?
The federal cap does not apply to court orders for child or spousal support, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, or debts for state or federal taxes.
Sources
- Va. Code § 34-29(A)
- Md. Code, Com. Law § 15-601.1(b)
- D.C. Code § 16-572
- 42 Pa.C.S. § 8127(a)
- W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3(a)
- N.C.G.S. § 1-362
- S.C. Code § 37-5-104
- Fla. Stat. § 222.11
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1672(a)-(b)
- 20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1)
- 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)(C)
Using this table
You may reproduce this table, in full or in part, with a link to this page (https://debt.demosite.today/blog/wage-garnishment-by-state/). If you spot an error in a figure or a citation, tell us through the contact form and we will correct it and note the date.