Knowledge is protection when the IRS is involved. I'm Darrin Mish, a tax attorney in Tampa with 32 years of experience representing taxpayers nationwide. Here's what I want you to understand.<\/p>\n
If a creditor or the IRS is threatening to garnish your income, here is the first thing you need to know. Not all income can be taken.<\/p>\n
Federal law and state law carve out entire categories of income that creditors cannot reach. Social Security. SSI. VA benefits. Workers’ compensation. Unemployment. And in Florida, head-of-household wages get protection that goes well beyond the federal floor.<\/p>\n
The catch is that exempt income does not protect itself. If you do not file the right claim of exemption within the right window, you can lose protections you were legally entitled to. And the IRS plays by a completely different rulebook than private creditors.<\/p>\n
After 32 years of working tax cases, I can tell you that the gap between what people assume the law says and what it actually says is enormous. Here is what the law actually says.<\/p>\n
Garnishment is a collection method where a creditor or government agency legally diverts income before it reaches you. But Congress and state legislatures recognized long ago that leaving someone with nothing creates real social harm. No Social Security check. No disability payment. No unemployment benefit. Total destitution does not serve anyone.<\/p>\n
The exemption rules are the legal floor below which collection cannot go.<\/p>\n
The primary federal statute governing wage garnishment is Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA). Beyond wages, separate federal statutes protect specific benefit programs entirely.<\/p>\n
These categories are the strongest protections in the law. Private creditors (credit card companies, medical debt collectors, personal loan lenders) cannot garnish any of the following.<\/p>\n
Social Security retirement and SSDI benefits.<\/strong> Under the Social Security Act, benefits are generally exempt from execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process. The Social Security Administration confirmed this in SSR 79-4. A private debt collector cannot reach your Social Security or Social Security Disability Insurance payments.<\/p>\n Supplemental Security Income (SSI).<\/strong> SSI receives the strongest protection of all. Per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, SSI is protected from garnishment even for government debts, child support, and spousal support. Those are categories that can reach other Social Security payments. SSI sits above them.<\/p>\n Veterans’ (VA) benefits.<\/strong> VA benefits are fully protected from private creditors under 38 U.S.C. Section 5301. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service confirms that VA payments are among the federally exempt benefit payments banks must protect when reviewing accounts.<\/p>\n Federal Railroad Retirement, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits.<\/strong> Explicitly protected under the Railroad Retirement Act.<\/p>\n Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) benefits.<\/strong> Federal civilian retirement income is shielded from private creditor garnishment.<\/p>\n Unemployment compensation.<\/strong> Federal law and virtually every state statute protect unemployment benefits. Creditors holding credit card judgments or medical debt cannot garnish your state unemployment checks.<\/p>\n Workers’ compensation benefits.<\/strong> Payments for work-related injury or illness are exempt from garnishment in all 50 states.<\/p>\n Federal student financial aid.<\/strong> Pell Grants, federal student loans, and other Title IV aid disbursements are protected from private creditors.<\/p>\n For regular wages and salary (income that is not a protected benefit), the CCPA sets a floor below which employers cannot garnish anything.<\/p>\n A creditor can only take the lesser of:<\/p>\n If your disposable earnings are $217.50 or less per week, nothing can be taken. Zero. That threshold has not moved with inflation since Congress set it, so low-wage workers have real protection.<\/p>\n “Disposable earnings” under the CCPA means what is left after legally required deductions. Federal, state, and local taxes. Social Security withholding. Medicare. State unemployment insurance. Voluntary deductions like health insurance, retirement contributions, or union dues do not reduce the calculation.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #30 on the CCPA is the authoritative reference if you want to work through the math on your own paycheck.<\/p>\n The IRS operates under a different set of rules than private creditors. This is where people get into serious trouble.<\/p>\n The CCPA’s 25%-and-30-times-minimum-wage calculation does not bind the IRS. Instead, the IRS uses its own tables found in Publication 1494, updated annually. The 2026 version was released in December 2025. These tables determine a small “exempt amount” based on your filing status, number of dependents, and pay frequency. Everything above that exempt amount can be taken. In some pay periods, that means more than 60% of a paycheck.<\/p>\n For example, Publication 1494 (Rev. 12-2025) indicates that a single taxpayer paid weekly claiming three dependents has approximately $615.38 per week exempt from levy. Everything above that amount is subject to seizure.<\/p>\n The IRS levy process requires your employer to give you a Statement of Dependents and Filing Status to complete. If you do not return it within three days, the IRS calculates your exemption as if you were married filing separately with zero dependents. That is the lowest possible protected amount. Always complete and return that form immediately.<\/p>\n Social Security is fully protected from private creditors. The IRS is a different story.<\/p>\n The IRS can garnish Social Security retirement and SSDI benefits through the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) under Internal Revenue Code Section 6331(h). Under this program, the IRS can take up to 15% of your monthly Social Security benefit to satisfy a federal tax debt.<\/p>\n SSI benefits remain completely exempt even from the IRS. SSDI levies through the automated FPLP system were largely suspended as of October 2015, though the IRS retains manual authority.<\/p>\n The FPLP operates automatically once triggered. No court order required. This surprises people who assumed their Social Security was untouchable. It is. Unless you owe the IRS.<\/p>\n Child support and alimony orders operate outside the CCPA’s normal 25% cap. Under Title III of the CCPA:<\/p>\n These are the highest garnishment rates permitted under federal law. Congress treated family support obligations as a higher priority than unsecured commercial debt.<\/p>\n Florida provides additional protections that go beyond federal law, particularly for heads of household. This is one of the most generous wage exemptions in the country.<\/p>\n Under Florida Statutes Section 222.11, if you provide more than half the financial support for a dependent child or other dependent:<\/p>\n A Florida head of household earning $900 per week has full protection from consumer creditors. The federal rule alone would allow garnishment of up to $225 of that paycheck. Florida law shields the rest.<\/p>\n Florida law also expressly exempts from garnishment:<\/p>\n When exempt wages are deposited into a bank account, they remain exempt for six months under Florida law. Even if commingled with other funds. As long as the account holder can trace the source.<\/p>\n There is a catch: if you receive a garnishment notice, you must file a Claim of Exemption with the court within 20 days. Missing that deadline can waive protections you were otherwise entitled to. Twenty days is not generous.<\/p>\n Exempt income does not automatically stay protected once it lands in a bank account. At least not without some procedural steps.<\/p>\n Federal banking rules require financial institutions to review the account before freezing any funds when they receive a garnishment order. Specifically, banks must calculate the “two-month protected amount.” That is the total of federally exempt benefit deposits made in the preceding two months. That amount must remain available to you regardless of the garnishment order.<\/p>\n This rule covers Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, federal railroad retirement, CSRS, and FERS deposits. It does not automatically protect funds beyond the two-month lookback. And it does not apply to state benefits like state unemployment, which may require you to file a separate exemption claim.<\/p>\n Knowing what is exempt matters. So does knowing when exemptions do not apply.<\/p>\n Federal tax debt (IRS levies):<\/strong> The IRS can reach Social Security (except SSI), federal retirement, and wages beyond the Publication 1494 exempt amount. Private creditor rules do not apply.<\/p>\n Federal student loan debt:<\/strong> The Department of Education can garnish up to 15% of disposable income through administrative wage garnishment without a court order.<\/p>\n Child support and alimony:<\/strong> As discussed above, these can claim up to 60-65% of disposable wages.<\/p>\n State tax debt:<\/strong> State revenue agencies have collection powers that vary, but most can garnish wages and may reach some benefit payments.<\/p>\n If a creditor is garnishing income you believe is exempt, you have the right to challenge it. The process varies by state, but the core steps are the same.<\/p>\n Step 1: File a Claim of Exemption<\/strong> with the court that issued the garnishment order. In Florida, you have 20 days from notice.<\/p>\n Step 2: Document the source of funds.<\/strong> Bank statements showing direct deposits of Social Security, VA benefits, or other exempt income. Pay stubs. Whatever proves the money is protected.<\/p>\n Step 3: Keep exempt funds in a separate account<\/strong> to simplify the tracing argument. Commingling with non-exempt funds creates documentation problems.<\/p>\n Step 4: Respond immediately to any IRS notice.<\/strong> If it is an IRS levy, contact a tax professional before the response deadline passes. The IRS will not wait.<\/p>\n If the IRS is the one garnishing your income, the options are different. An installment agreement<\/a> stops the levy. An Offer in Compromise<\/a> can resolve the underlying debt entirely. If you are in genuine financial hardship, Currently Not Collectible<\/a> status suspends collection activities while you stabilize.<\/p>\n Garnishment law is one of those areas where the gap between what people assume and what the law actually says is enormous.<\/p>\n Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, workers’ compensation, and unemployment compensation are protected from private creditors. Florida head-of-household wages above $750 per week are protected from private creditors. The CCPA’s 25% cap and $217.50 floor apply to all regular wage garnishments from private creditors.<\/p>\n The IRS plays by different rules. The Federal Payment Levy Program reaches Social Security up to 15%. Publication 1494 governs wage levies. The exemptions that work against credit card companies do not work against the IRS.<\/p>\n Knowing the difference is the difference between keeping protected income and losing it.<\/p>\nWage Garnishment Limits Under the CCPA<\/h2>\n
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What the IRS Can Do Differently<\/h2>\n
Social Security and the IRS: The Critical Exception<\/h2>\n
Child Support and Alimony: A Different Set of Rules<\/h2>\n
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Florida-Specific Protections<\/h2>\n
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Bank Account Garnishment and the Two-Month Lookback Rule<\/h2>\n
When Garnishment Happens Anyway<\/h2>\n
What to Do If Protected Income Is Being Garnished<\/h2>\n
The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n
Get Help Now<\/h2>\n