Texas Wage Garnishment Protection Calculator

How this calculator works

Texas is one of only four states — Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina — that strongly limits wage garnishment for consumer debt. In the other 46 states, a credit-card company, hospital, or general unsecured creditor that wins a money judgment can garnish the debtor's wages subject only to the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) cap. In Texas, the same creditor with the same judgment generally cannot touch the debtor's wages at all.

The rule sits in the Texas Constitution itself — Article XVI § 28:

No current wages for personal service shall ever be subject to garnishment, except for the enforcement of court-ordered: (1) child support payments; or (2) spousal maintenance.

The protection is broader than the more familiar federal CCPA cap at 15 U.S.C. § 1673. Six categories of creditor overcome the constitutional protection. The calculator routes each input combination through the right framework — Texas Family Code § 158.009 for support, 34 C.F.R. § 34.19 for federal student loans, IRC § 6334 for IRS levies — and produces the per-pay-period maximum withholding under the binding cap.

The constitutional protection (Art. XVI § 28)

The Texas constitutional wage-protection blocks:

• General consumer creditors holding any unsecured money judgment.
• Credit-card judgment creditors (the most common consumer-debt scenario).
• Medical-debt judgment creditors — Texas medical billing collectors cannot pursue wage garnishment.
• Personal-loan deficiency claims — payday loan defaults, auto-deficiency judgments after repossession sale, etc.
• Tort judgment creditors — a plaintiff who wins a personal-injury or property-damage judgment against a Texas-domiciled defendant cannot garnish wages to collect.
• Business creditors holding general unsecured judgments — trade creditors, landlords with deficiency claims, etc.

For these creditor types, the calculator returns $0 garnishable — no portion of disposable earnings is subject to garnishment by the creditor.

The six exceptions

Six categories overcome the constitutional protection:

1. Child support — named in the text of § 28 itself. Texas Family Code Chapter 158 requires income withholding in every Texas child-support case (the income-withholding order is mandatory, not discretionary).
2. Spousal maintenance — also named in § 28 itself. Texas Family Code § 158.009 sets the same statutory cap.
3. Defaulted federal student loans — the U.S. Department of Education may issue an administrative wage-garnishment order under 20 U.S.C. § 1095a (Higher Education Act § 488A) and 34 C.F.R. § 34.19 without a court judgment. The garnishment is purely administrative.
4. Federal taxes (IRS levy) — IRC § 6334 authorizes the IRS to levy on wages subject to a statutory exempt amount published annually in IRS Publication 1494.
5. Texas state taxes — the Texas Comptroller has limited statutory power under Tex. Tax Code Chapter 111. Texas's lack of a state income tax means this applies primarily to unremitted sales tax (by Texas businesses), mixed-beverage tax, and other Comptroller-administered obligations.
6. Court-ordered criminal restitution — Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42.037 and parallel federal restitution statutes.

The federal exceptions (3, 4, partly 6) bind by federal supremacy — a state constitutional protection cannot defeat a federal administrative collection right.

The federal CCPA cap

Even where garnishment is allowed, the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act caps the maximum withholding. 15 U.S.C. § 1673 produces a different cap depending on the creditor type.

Non-support garnishment (federal student loan, state tax, restitution): the cap is the LESSER of —

• 25% of disposable earnings, OR
• Disposable earnings minus 30× federal minimum wage ($217.50/week)

Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (unchanged since July 24, 2009), so the 30× multiplier produces a $217.50-per-week floor. Disposable earnings at or below $217.50/week are FULLY exempt from non-support garnishment under federal law.

Support garnishment (child support, spousal maintenance): the federal cap escalates per § 1673(b)(2):

• 50% of disposable earnings — obligor supports another spouse or dependent child, not 12+ weeks delinquent.
• 55% — supporting another family AND 12+ weeks delinquent.
• 60% — NOT supporting another family.
• 65% — not supporting another family AND 12+ weeks delinquent.

The 30× minimum-wage floor does not apply to support garnishment per § 1673(b)(1) — a low-wage obligor still owes the percentage up to the cap.

Texas's parallel cap. Texas Family Code § 158.009 separately caps Texas income withholding for support at 50% of disposable earnings. When the federal CCPA cap is higher (60% or 65% in no-second-family cases), Texas's 50% cap controls.

Disposable earnings

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1672(b), "disposable earnings" means gross pay MINUS amounts the law REQUIRES the employer to withhold:

• Federal income tax withholding.
• FICA (Social Security).
• Medicare.
• State income tax (Texas has none).
• State unemployment / disability where withheld (Texas withholds neither).

Voluntary deductions are NOT subtracted to reach disposable earnings. The voluntary stack — 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, FSA / HSA contributions, union dues, voluntary garnishments to other debts, charitable payroll deductions, life insurance premiums — does not shield wages from a garnishment percentage. A typical Texas worker's disposable earnings run roughly 78%–82% of gross.

Worked example 1 — credit-card judgment, $1,000 disposable

A Texas worker with $1,000/week of disposable earnings is sued by a credit-card issuer that wins a $15,000 default judgment. The creditor seeks a writ of garnishment in the Texas state court that entered the judgment.

• Creditor type: credit-card — general unsecured consumer creditor.
• Texas Constitution Art. XVI § 28 blocks: YES.
• Garnishable amount: $0/week.
• Retained wages: $1,000/week.

The creditor cannot reach the wages. Its collection options reduce to bank-account levy after wages are deposited, abstract-of-judgment liens that follow non-homestead real estate, and post-judgment discovery of business assets.

Worked example 2 — child support, $1,000 disposable, supporting second family, not delinquent

Same worker, but now an order for current child support is in play. The obligor remarried and has dependents in a second household; the support order is current (no arrears).

• Creditor type: child-support — exception to Art. XVI § 28.
• Federal CCPA cap (§ 1673(b)(2)(A)): 50% (supporting another family, not delinquent).
• Texas Family Code § 158.009 cap: 50%.
• Lower of the two: 50%.
• Garnishable amount: $1,000 × 0.50 = $500/week.
• Retained wages: $500/week.

Worked example 3 — child support, $1,000 disposable, no second family, 12+ weeks delinquent

Same worker, but no second family AND 12+ weeks delinquent on the support order.

• Federal CCPA cap (§ 1673(b)(2)(D)): 60% + 5% = 65%.
• Texas Family Code § 158.009 cap: 50%.
• Lower of the two: 50% (Texas controls).
• Garnishable amount: $1,000 × 0.50 = $500/week — but wait. The calculator uses the cap from the federal mechanic (65%) for the percentage display when the federal mechanic is the rule being escalated, but the bound figure is Texas's 50% cap.

The 5-percentage-point delinquency bump in the federal CCPA is academic in Texas — Texas's 50% statutory cap stays the operative ceiling. The exception: a non-Texas withholding order being honored by a Texas employer (e.g., the obligor moved to Texas but the support order originated in California) may run at the higher federal cap depending on the issuing state's law.

Worked example 4 — defaulted federal student loan, $1,000 disposable

Same worker, defaulted on a $40,000 federal Direct Loan. The Department of Education issues an administrative wage-garnishment order to the employer.

• Creditor type: federal-student-loan — exception by federal supremacy.
• 34 C.F.R. § 34.19 cap: 15% of disposable = $1,000 × 0.15 = $150.
• Federal CCPA standard cap: lesser of 25% ($250) or disposable minus $217.50 ($782.50) = $250.
• Garnishable amount: lower of $150 and $250 = $150/week.
• Retained wages: $850/week.

Private student loans (i.e., not federal Direct or guaranteed loans) are general consumer debt and remain fully blocked by Tex. Const. Art. XVI § 28. The AWG mechanic applies ONLY to federal student loans.

Worked example 5 — IRS levy, $1,000 disposable, single, no dependents

Same worker owes $20,000 in back federal income tax; the IRS issues a Form 668-W wage levy.

• Creditor type: federal-tax-irs — IRC § 6334 levy.
• Approximate 2026 exempt amount, single filer, no dependents (IRS Publication 1494): ~$390/week.
• Garnishable: $1,000 − $390 = ~$610/week.
• Retained wages: ~$390/week.

The IRS levy is unusual — instead of capping garnishment as a percentage, IRC § 6334(d) protects an exempt amount based on filing status and dependents and exposes everything above it. A taxpayer with high disposable earnings can lose well over 50% of disposable to an IRS levy until the tax debt is satisfied. The exact figure for the tax year is in the current Publication 1494 table.

The bank-account levy distinction

The Texas constitutional protection covers "current wages for personal service." Once wages are paid into the employee's bank account, they generally lose their "current wages" character and become subject to a separate collection tool: a writ of garnishment served on the bank.

• Tex. Prop. Code § 42.0021 — limited exemption for retirement-account assets (IRA, 401(k), pension).
• Tex. Prop. Code § 42.002 — categories of personal property exempt up to $50,000 (single) / $100,000 (family).
• Ordinary checking-account balances above the exempt categories are fair game once wages hit the account.

"Texas protects wages from garnishment" is therefore true but narrow: the protection ends at the deposit. A sophisticated Texas judgment creditor will pursue the bank-levy route. A debtor whose only assets are recently-deposited wages should expect bank-levy attempts and should consult Texas debtor-rights counsel about timing-of-deposit defenses and exemption claims.

Common errors

• Thinking Texas has "no wage garnishment ever." Texas's protection is broad but six categories of creditor overcome it. A child-support order, a defaulted federal student loan, or an IRS levy will reach a Texas worker's wages.
• Missing the federal supremacy exceptions. Federal student loans (34 C.F.R. § 34.19), IRS levies (IRC § 6334), and federal restitution all override Art. XVI § 28 by the Supremacy Clause. A debtor relying on the Texas protection against federal collection is misreading the law.
• Misapplying the child-support escalation. The federal 60%/65% rates (no second family, with arrears bump) are academic in Texas because § 158.009 holds the operative cap at 50%. Out-of-state withholding orders honored by a Texas employer can deviate.
• Forgetting the bank-account-levy route. The constitutional protection ends at the deposit. A consumer creditor blocked from wages can still hit a checking account.

Texas vs the rest of the country

Most states permit wage garnishment for consumer debt subject only to the federal CCPA cap. A Texas worker who relocates to a state without strong wage protection — California, Florida, New York, most others — loses the constitutional shield. The protection follows Texas employment, not Texas residency. A Texas resident commuting to a job in Louisiana, or a remote worker employed by a non-Texas employer, may not enjoy the Article XVI § 28 protection depending on which state's law the employer applies to its payroll.

Conversely, a non-Texas debtor who relocates to a Texas-employer job acquires the Texas wage protection — even on judgments entered in another state. The judgment creditor must domesticate the foreign judgment in Texas (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 35, the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act) and then attempt collection under Texas law. The constitutional wage-protection blocks the garnishment notwithstanding the foreign-judgment domestication.