Which States Garnish Wages?

If you have had a judgment against you or are afraid you may be sued, or if you are suing someone, you may wonder which states garnish wages. Wage garnishment occurs when the court mandates that your employer take money directly out of your paycheck in order to satisfy a legal judgment against you. It is appropriate if you haven't paid money owed.

If you are being sued, the bad news is that the answer to which states garnish wages is that all of the 50 states of the United States do. Wage garnishment is a public policy decision designed to ensure that legal judgments are collectible and that they do not remain unpaid. If a person owes money, the US court system has decided that the money can be taken out of his paycheck if he does not pay on his own. This ensures fairness and means that a person does not become judgment-proof simply because he flouts the law and refuses to pay.

The laws do, however, vary on a state-by-state basis as to when and whether garnishment is appropriate and as to how much of a person's paycheck can be garnished.

When Is Garnishment Appropriate?

If you are wondering which states garnish wages, you may also be wondering when a court may garnish wages. A court garnishes wages after a person has a legal judgment against him. Common reasons for wage garnishment include unpaid child support, owing back taxes, an unpaid legal judgment against a person, unpaid debts, or unpaid student loans.

Once the court decides you owe money under the law, a separate legal action is usually required to garnish wages. The person to whom you owe money must prove first that you owe the money and second that you aren't paying it on your own.

How Much Is Garnished?

The amount of money that is garnished or taken from your paycheck depends on how much you make. The court will not create undue hardship through wage garnishment. In other words, if you only make $1000 a month, the court will not garnish the full $1000 no matter how much you owe.

The court will generally look at how much you make, what your required monthly expenses are, and what the poverty level and reasonable living expenses are in your area. They will then garnish a percentage of your monthly income.

How Does Garnishment Work?

After the court determines how much is appropriate, they will notify your employer of the garnishment order. Your employer then becomes legally obligated to take the portion of your paycheck instructed by the court and to deposit it to the person to whom the money is owed, or to deposit it to a trustee appointed by the court who will then give it to the person or people to whom it is owed.

This prevents you from spending the money on something else and ensures that before the money even comes home with you, the money is sent to satisfy the judgment.

The amount garnished is generally not tax deductible, unless it is money that would be deductible anyway. For example, child support payments may be tax deductible in some cases, so if money is being garnished for child support you may be able to deduct the amount paid in child support. Otherwise, you will have to pay taxes on the money even though it is taken from your paycheck.

The garnishment generally continues until the unpaid judgment or debt is paid in full.