A wage garnishment, also known as a wage attachment or wage deduction, is Court order that instructs your employer to withhold a specific amount of money from your paycheck and send it directly to a creditor. In most cases, a creditor cannot garnish your wages without obtaining a court-issued money judgment first. For example, if you have outstanding credit card payments or a medical bill, those creditors cannot garnish your wages unless they sue you first and get a Court Judgment. However, whether or not a creditor needs to sue you before garnishing wages depends on the type of debt.
Limitations of Wage Garnishment Orders
It’s important to note that a wage garnishment order only applies to your current employer. If you decide to switch jobs, the creditor will need to take additional steps to continue garnishing your wages. Specifically, they must issue a new form titled “citation to discover assets to debtor’s employer” to your new employer and go through the entire legal process again to obtain a new garnishment order. This means that if you change jobs, the garnishment may not automatically follow you, and you may have some time before the creditor can resume withholding money from your paycheck.
Which Debts Can Be Automatically Garnished Without a Lawsuit?
Wage Garnishment for Unpaid Child Support
If you owe child support, federal law allows the government or the creditor to garnish your wages without obtaining a court judgment. Court orders for child support automatically include an income withholding order. The order will be forwarded to your employer, and the designated amount will be subtracted from every paycheck. 750 ILCS 28/20(a) Moreover, if you fall behind in child support payments, the other parent can seek an extra wage garnishment order from the court.
The wage garnishment limits for unpaid child support are as follows:
- Up to 50% of disposable earnings if you are currently supporting a spouse or a child not covered by the current order.
- Up to 60% of earnings if you are not supporting a spouse or child in a separate case.
- An additional 5% may be taken if you are more than 12 weeks in arrears (15 U.S.C. § 1673).
Wage Garnishment for Federal Student Loans in Default
For federal student loans in default, the U.S. Department of Education or its collecting entity can garnish up to 15% of your pay, a process known as “administrative garnishment.” However, you are allowed to retain an amount equivalent to 30 times the current federal minimum wage per week, as federal law protects this income level from garnishment. It’s crucial to emphasize that these regulations only apply to Federal Loans. Private student loan lenders, on the other hand, must follow traditional procedures, which involve filing a lawsuit to garnish wages.
Unpaid Taxes Garnishment Limits
If you owe back taxes, the federal government can garnish your wages (referred to as a “levy”) without a court judgment. The weekly exempt amount is determined based on the total of your standard deduction and the aggregate amount of deductions for personal exemptions allowed in the taxable year. This total is then divided by 52. If you haven’t specified your standard deduction and dependent information, the IRS bases the exempt amount on the standard deduction for a married person filing separately with only one personal exemption.
It’s important to note that state and local governments may also have the authority to garnish wages for unpaid state and local taxes. To obtain more information, contact your state labor department.
Which Forms of Income Are Exempt from Garnishment?
Welfare and various public or government benefits enjoy protection from creditors. This safeguard includes:
- Social Security Disability
- ERISA Protected Retirement Accounts (not money withdrawn from these accounts)
- Dependent/Survivor Benefits
- SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
- TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
- General Assistance
- SNAP (Food Stamps)
- Unemployment Insurance Benefits
- Most Veterans’ Benefits
- Most Child Support and Maintenance Income
This protection means that creditors are unable to seize any or all of these benefits to recover the amount owed by the debtor. If your income doesn’t fall within these protected categories, you might be at risk of wage garnishment. In such cases, the crucial question arises: How much of your income can be garnished?
Wage Garnishment Limits in Illinois
In Illinois, a judgment creditor can garnish your wages, but only up to the lesser of two amounts:
- 15% of your gross wages. This calculation is based on your pay period. For example, if you’re paid biweekly, the 15% limit is calculated every two weeks.
- The amount of disposable earnings remaining after deducting the Illinois minimum wage (or the federal minimum wage if it is higher) multiplied by 45.
As of 2024, the Illinois minimum wage is $14 per hour, and the federal minimum wage is $12.90 per hour.
Exempt Wages Table
The table below shows the amount of earnings protected from wage garnishment based on your pay period. If your earnings exceed these amounts, garnishment will be calculated using the lesser of either 15% of your gross wages or your net earnings minus the amounts in the table.
| Timeframe: | If Paid Weekly | If Paid Every 2 Weeks | If Paid Semi-Monthly | If Paid Monthly |
| January 1, 2024 -December 31, 2024 (Minimum Wage $14/hr) | $630 | $1,260 | $1,365 | $2,730 |
| January 1, 2025 (Minimum Wage $15/hr) | $675 | $1,350 | $1,462.50 | $2,925 |
Understanding “Disposable Earnings”
“Disposable earnings” refer to the portion of an individual’s earnings left after deducting amounts required by law to be withheld (735 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/12-803). This means that the figures in the Exempt Wages Table are based on after-tax and other mandatory deductions, not on gross income. The 15% garnishment calculation is applied to the gross wages, while the exemption is calculated from disposable earnings, making it important to distinguish between the two.
Calculating Wage Garnishment in Illinois
To determine the maximum amount that can be garnished from a debtor’s paycheck, follow these steps:
- Calculate 15% of the debtor’s gross wages. Multiply gross wages for the applicable pay period by 0.15.
- Find the exempt earnings for 2024. Refer to the Exempt Wages Table above and locate the row for 2024. Identify the exempt amount based on your pay frequency (e.g., weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly). Subtract this exempt amount from the actual earnings for the pay period.
- Compare the two amounts. The smaller of the two amounts calculated in the steps 1 and 2 is the maximum that can be garnished from the debtor’s paycheck each week. If this amount is zero, no wages can be garnished.
Wage Garnishment Example
Let’s say you earn $1,200 gross per week, which after taxes and other mandatory deductions, leaves you with $1,000 net (disposable earnings).
Step 1 – Calculate 15%:
Multiply $1,200 (gross wages) by 0.15:
1,200×0.15=180
Write down $180. This is 15% of your gross weekly wages.
Step 2 – Subtract Net Wages from Table:
According to the Exempt Wages Table for 2024, the exempt amount for someone paid weekly is $630.
Subtract $630 from your disposable (net after tax, actual take home pay) earnings:
1,000−630=370
Write down $370. This is the amount of your earnings that exceeds the exempt amount.
Step 3 – Compare the two amounts:
The smaller of the two amounts calculated in steps 1 and 2 is the maximum that can be garnished from your paycheck each week. In this case, the smaller amount is $180.Therefore, $180 is the maximum that can be garnished from your wages per week. If the lower number had been zero, no wages could be garnished.
Note: If you have multiple jobs, the 15% garnishment limit applies to your combined income. This means creditors can garnish wages from a secondary paycheck as well, but only up to 15% of your total gross earnings per pay period. Additionally, by law, wages include all forms of earned income, such as 1099 income and commissions, which are also subject to the 15% cap. For example, if you work in sales and receive both W2 wages and commission income, each type of income is individually capped at 15% for garnishment purposes.
How Long Does Wage Garnishment Last?
Wage garnishment doesn’t go away until you’ve completely paid off what you owe or until some legal steps are taken to put a stop to it. If you’ve got a hefty debt, a garnishment could be part of your paycheck for quite a few years. The reason? In Illinois, legal judgments, for amounts over $25,000, earn interest at a rate of 9% per year, and for amounts under $25,000, it’s 5%. So, the longer it takes to settle the debt, the more it can add up.
In a nutshell, wage garnishment is a tool creditors use to make sure they get their money. But here in Illinois, there are protections in place for folks who owe money. Learning about these protections can help you handle wage garnishment challenges and figure out how to get some relief when you need it.
How to Protect Your Wages from Garnishment
Upon receiving notice of a wage garnishment order, you may have the opportunity to shield or “exempt” a portion or all of your wages by filing an exemption claim or raising an objection. The specific procedures for objecting to a wage garnishment hinge on the nature of the debt the creditor is pursuing.
Available Exemptions under Illinois Law
Illinois law offers various exemptions to help individuals undergoing wage garnishment to meet essential living expenses.
These include:
- Low-Income Exemption: Illinois safeguards low-income earners from extensive wage garnishment. Wages cannot be garnished to the extent that earnings fall below a threshold set at 45 times the federal minimum wage.
- Other Exemptions: As noted above, certain incomes such as Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), unemployment compensation, and specific retirement benefits, are exempt from wage garnishment in Illinois.
In Illinois, there is no Head of Household Exemption, meaning that primary breadwinners or individuals supporting dependents do not receive special protections against wage garnishment.
For protections in other situations, including from citations to discover assets, Illinois exemptions closely resemble bankruptcy exemptions.
Applying for Exemptions in Illinois
In the face of wage garnishment, it is advisable to promptly seek legal counsel to understand available exemptions. Typically, one must file a claim for exemption with the court, providing evidence of eligibility. The court will review the claim, and if approved, adjust the garnishment accordingly. If this fails you are likely facing a permanent wage deduction or even an additional citation to discover assets.
Conditional Judgments in Wage Garnishment
A conditional judgment in the context of a Citation to Discover Assets served on an employer occurs when the employer (often referred to as the third-party respondent) fails to respond to or comply with the citation. The citation is typically issued to determine if the employer is holding any wages or other assets owed to the judgment debtor that could be used to satisfy the debt. If the employer does not respond to the citation by disclosing the debtor’s employment and wage information, the court may issue a conditional judgment against the employer.
The conditional judgment acts as a preliminary penalty, holding the employer financially liable for the amount owed by the debtor. However, the judgment is not final at this stage. The employer is given another opportunity, usually through a motion to vacate or comply with the citation, to provide the required information or assets before the conditional judgment becomes a final, enforceable judgment.
Swift Debt Relief Through Bankruptcy
As a Chicago Bankruptcy Attorney, I am here to guide you towards the quickest and most painless way to solve your financial struggles—filing for bankruptcy. Once you have filed bankruptcy, all wage garnishments are immediately halted. A creditor cannot garnish your wages after a bankruptcy has been filed without violating the automatic stay. This approach not only offers a rapid resolution to your debts but may also provide an opportunity to recover some of the wages that were recently garnished as a preferential payment. Timing your filing is important, and now might be an opportune moment for you to consider bankruptcy. By taking this step, you can swiftly address your financial difficulties, gaining relief and paving the way for a fresh start. I am here to support you through this process and help you navigate towards a more stable financial future.
