How much can credit card companies legally garnish from my salary?

A wage garnishment involves a creditor, in this case a credit card company, suing you and gaining access to your wages directly from your employer. It is important to understand the rules for garnished wages credit card company actions. Your wages can only be garnished if you have such a judgment against you and if your weekly income is more than minimum wage multiplied by 30.

If your weekly income is over minimum wage multiplied by 30, the court will have the employer take out the lesser of the following to numbers:

• One-quarter (25%) of one week's take home pay OR
• The total amount that your weekly income is, over the amount of minimum wage multiplied by 30.

Take this example. If minimum wage is $7.25, multiply that by 30, for a total minimum weekly income of $217.50. You must make at least $217.50 every week to have your wages garnished.

Then the court can decide, if one quarter of your income OR the amount you make over $217.50 each week is garnished. The court will choose the lesser of these two amounts, and that is the amount that a credit card company can legally garnish from your weekly salary at any time.

If you find yourself facing wage garnishments, you should consider communicating directly with your lender, consider filing for bankruptcy, or consulting with an attorney about your rights.