Small claims court · collecting a judgment
How much of a paycheck can actually be garnished?
Pick your state, enter a pay period's gross and take-home pay, and see the most a judgment creditor can legally take — and what's protected either way, cited to that state's own wage-garnishment law.
Out of this weekly paycheck, a creditor holding this judgment could take up to $0.00, leaving you $700.00.
Uses California's $16.90/hour state minimum wage. If your workplace is in a city with a higher local minimum wage, the law uses that higher figure instead — more of your paycheck is protected than this shows.
Source: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §706.050
Covers an ordinary civil judgment held by a private creditor — not child support, taxes, or federal student loans, which follow different, more permissive rules in every state. Informational only, not legal advice; a court or your employer's payroll department applies the actual withholding.
How this is calculated
Last reviewed: September 2026
The federal floor, and how states build on it
Federal law (the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. §1673) caps an ordinary wage garnishment at the lesser of two figures: 25% of disposable (take-home) earnings, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage for the pay period. No state can allow more than that — but several protect more. This calculator applies each covered state's own rule for a private creditor collecting an ordinary civil judgment, defaulting to the federal formula in states that haven't set a tighter one (Michigan, and Florida and New Jersey above their own income thresholds).
States that bar or sharply limit it
Pennsylvania and North Carolina don't allow wage garnishment at all for an ordinary judgment — the small claims scenario this site covers — with narrow exceptions (unpaid residential rent in Pennsylvania; taxes, student loans, and support obligations in North Carolina, none of which come from a small claims judgment). Florida exempts a debtor's entire paycheck if they're the head of a family supporting a dependent, unless they've signed a written waiver. Each state's result explains which rule applied.
What this doesn't cover
- Estimating your taxes. This tool asks for take-home pay directly rather than computing it from your salary — payroll withholding depends on far more than this calculator could reasonably model, and a wrong estimate here would be worse than asking you for the real number off a pay stub.
- Child support, tax levies, and student loans. Each follows its own, more permissive garnishment rules in every state and isn't what this tool computes.
- A local minimum wage above the state figure. California and Washington both tie their threshold to a minimum wage; a higher local minimum wage (common in parts of both states) protects more than this calculator shows.
- Stacked garnishment orders. This estimates a single judgment's limit, not how a second garnishment order interacts with an existing one.
States currently covered
California, Florida, New York (New York City), Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey, Washington. More states are added on an ongoing basis.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this ask for take-home pay instead of just my salary?
Because every state's limit is based on "disposable earnings" — what's left after taxes, Social Security, and other legally required deductions, not your gross salary. This calculator doesn't try to estimate your taxes for you; enter the take-home figure from an actual pay stub for the pay period you're checking.
Does this apply to child support or unpaid taxes?
No. Child support, taxes, and federal student loans all follow their own, more permissive garnishment rules in every state — typically allowing a larger share of a paycheck than an ordinary judgment. This tool covers only a private creditor collecting on an ordinary civil judgment, the kind a small claims case produces.
My state isn't as protective as this shows — why?
Federal law sets a ceiling every state has to meet or beat, but a handful of states protect more than that ceiling, and a couple bar wage garnishment for ordinary judgments outright. Each state's result cites the specific statute behind its number — check it if the figure surprises you.
Can more be garnished if I have more than one judgment against me?
This calculator estimates the limit for a single garnishment order. Multiple garnishments generally can't combine to exceed the same overall percentage cap, but the order they're paid in and how a second one stacks against the first varies by state — that's outside what a single-judgment estimate like this can show.
Related tools
See how much interest has accrued on an unpaid small claims judgment, using each state's statutory postjudgment interest rate.
Open tool →Total Cost to Sue CalculatorThe full out-of-pocket cost to sue in small claims court — filing fee plus service of process, added together and cited to each court's own fee schedule.
Open tool →Judgment Renewal CalculatorSee when your small claims judgment expires and what it costs to renew it, by state — cited to each state's own judgment-renewal statute.
Open tool →Judgment Collection Cost CalculatorSee what it costs to have a bank levy served to collect an unpaid small claims judgment, by state — cited to each state's own fee schedule and sheriff/marshal fee statute.
Open tool →