Garnishment Response

A Garnishment Response in the United States sets out the garnishment response and the obligations it places on the parties.

The garnishment process begins when a judgment creditor — a party who has obtained a court judgment against a debtor — seeks to collect by redirecting money owed by a third party (the garnishee) to the debtor. The creditor applies to the court for a writ of garnishment, which the court issues and serves on the garnishee. Upon receipt of the writ, the garnishee is legally obligated to: temporarily freeze assets belonging to the debtor; respond to the writ within the time specified by state law (typically 20 to 30 days); withhold the non-exempt portion of wages or funds; remit withheld amounts to the creditor or the court; and continue withholding in accordance with the court's order until the judgment is satisfied, the order is released, or the debtor's employment or account relationship ends.

Wage garnishment limits under the CCPA are calculated based on the employee's disposable earnings — the amount remaining after legally required deductions (federal income tax, Social Security at 6.2% under 26 U.S.C. § 3101, Medicare at 1.45%, and state income tax). For ordinary consumer debts (credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, student loans), the maximum garnishable amount per workweek is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour as of 2026, making the protected threshold $217.50 per week). For child support and alimony orders, up to 50% of disposable earnings may be garnished if the employee supports another family, or up to 60% otherwise, with an additional 5% for support arrearages exceeding 12 weeks. For IRS federal tax levies, different exemption amounts apply under IRC § 6334.

Bank account garnishment is subject to the Treasury Department's garnishment exemption rule at 31 C.F.R. Part 212, which requires financial institutions receiving garnishment orders to identify and protect federally protected benefit payments deposited in the preceding two months — including Social Security (42 U.S.C. § 407), SSI (42 U.S.C. § 1383(d)), VA benefits (38 U.S.C. § 5301), federal pension payments (CSRS, FERS), Railroad Retirement benefits, and federal student aid refunds. Financial institutions must protect these amounts automatically without requiring the account holder to assert the exemption.

A Garnishment Response is needed whenever an employer, bank, or other entity holding money or property belonging to a judgment debtor receives a writ of garnishment or similar legal process from a court or creditor.

Employer wage garnishment responses are required when an employer receives a writ of garnishment directing the employer to withhold a portion of an employee's wages and remit the withheld amount to the creditor or the court. Every US employer with payroll will eventually receive wage garnishment orders — the American Payroll Association estimates that approximately 7% of the US workforce has wages garnished in any given year for debts including child support, student loans, consumer debts, and tax levies.

Child support income withholding orders (IWOs) are the most common form of wage garnishment. Under the Child Support Enforcement Act of 1984 (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 666(b)(3)), all child support orders must include an immediate income withholding order as standard practice. Employers receiving an IWO under the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) standardized form must begin withholding within the first pay period that occurs at least 14 days after receipt.

Bank account garnishments require responses from financial institutions when a court issues a bank levy or writ of execution directing the bank to freeze and turn over funds in the debtor's account. The bank must respond within the state-prescribed time period, identify protected federal benefits under 31 C.F.R. Part 212, and remit only the non-protected portion to the judgment creditor.

IRS levies under IRC § 6331 do not require a court order — the IRS can issue a levy directly upon giving the required notice and demand for payment (IRC § 6331(d)) and waiting 30 days. Employers receiving an IRS Form 668-W (Continuous Wage Levy) must complete the exemption statement and withhold amounts in excess of the exempt amount calculated under IRC § 6334.

Student loan garnishment under the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1095a) allows the US Department of Education to garnish up to 15% of disposable earnings (or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less) without a court order through administrative wage garnishment (AWG) for defaulted federal student loans.

A legally adequate Garnishment Response must contain specific information to satisfy state procedural requirements and protect the garnishee from default judgment liability.

Garnishee identification: The response must identify the garnishee by full legal name, address, and employer identification number (EIN) or bank routing number. For employer garnishees, the payroll contact name and phone number should be provided for follow-up by the creditor or court.

Debtor identification and employment/account status: The response must state whether the named judgment debtor is currently employed by the garnishee (and if so, for how long and in what capacity), or whether the debtor maintains an account at the financial institution. If the debtor is not employed by the garnishee or holds no account, the response must affirmatively state this fact — failure to respond even when nothing is owed can result in a default judgment against the garnishee for the full debt amount.

Disposable earnings calculation: For wage garnishments, the response must calculate the employee's disposable earnings for the applicable pay period: gross wages less all legally required deductions (federal income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and state income tax). The response must apply the CCPA limits to calculate the maximum garnishable amount — the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount exceeding 30 times the federal minimum wage per workweek ($217.50 in 2026) — or the applicable higher limits for child support, alimony, or IRS levies.

Exemption analysis: The response must identify any applicable state or federal exemptions. Many states provide garnishment exemptions more protective than federal law — for example, Texas (Tex. Const. Art. XVI § 28) and South Carolina completely exempt wages from private creditor garnishment; Florida exempts wages of heads of household under Fla. Stat. § 222.11. Federal benefit exemptions under 31 C.F.R. Part 212 must be applied for bank account garnishments. The response should state the exempt amount and the non-exempt amount available for withholding.

Withholding amount and remittance instructions: The response must state the amount being withheld from the current pay period or account balance, when the withheld amount will be remitted, and the remittance method (check payable to the creditor or court, electronic transfer). The garnishee should retain a copy of the writ and the response with all supporting calculations as documentation of compliance.

Multiple garnishment priority: When an employee has multiple simultaneous garnishments from different creditors, the response should address priority. Child support IWOs have first priority over all other garnishments under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 666(b)(7)). Among non-support creditors, priority is determined by the date of service of the respective writs — earlier-served writs take priority. The garnishee cannot withhold more than the CCPA maximum in aggregate across all garnishments.

Anti-retaliation compliance: For employer responses to wage garnishments, the response should document that the employer is aware of the CCPA's anti-retaliation provision (15 U.S.C. § 1674), which prohibits discharge of an employee for having wages garnished for a single debt. Employers maintaining documentation of this awareness protect themselves in the event of a later retaliation claim by the employee.