Your paycheck
Before anything is taken out — the top line of your pay stub.
Federal & Virginia income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. Health insurance, 401(k), and other voluntary deductions do not count here.
Based on Va. Code § 34-29 and the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. § 1673), for an ordinary consumer-debt judgment. Uses Virginia’s $12.77/hr minimum wage, in effect for 2026.
Enter your paycheck details and press Calculate my protected pay. The protected and at-risk portions of your pay will appear here.
Reading your paycheck…
Applying Va. Code § 34-29 and the federal 25% cap
A creditor with an ordinary judgment could take up to
$0per paycheck
- Taxes & required deductions
- Protected by law
- At risk of garnishment
- Disposable earnings
- Test 1 — 25% of disposable earnings
- Test 2 — amount above the minimum-wage floor ()
- The law applies the lesser of the two
- Over a full year, that is up to
This paycheck appears fully protected. Your disposable earnings are at or below the legal floor, so an ordinary judgment creditor should not be able to garnish anything from it.
Email the math to yourself — useful when you talk to an attorney, your employer’s payroll office, or the court clerk.
What this calculator does — and doesn’t — tell you
The numbers above are the legal maximum for the most common situation: a creditor or debt buyer that won an ordinary money judgment — usually through a Warrant in Debt — and then filed a Garnishment Summons. Two protections work together. A creditor can never take more than 25% of your disposable earnings, and it can never reach the portion of your pay protected by the minimum-wage floor — 40 times the minimum hourly wage for each week of the pay period, using the greater of the federal or Virginia minimum wage. With Virginia’s minimum wage at $12.77 in 2026, that shields the first $510.80 of weekly disposable earnings — a far stronger floor than federal law alone provides.
Some situations follow different rules entirely:
- Child and spousal support — up to 50–65% of disposable earnings can be withheld, depending on circumstances.
- Defaulted federal student loans — up to 15% by administrative wage garnishment, without a court judgment.
- Federal and state tax debts — the IRS and Virginia Tax use their own levy formulas, also without a court judgment.
And remember: some money is off-limits entirely. Social Security, SSI, veterans’ benefits, unemployment, workers’ compensation, and most public assistance are exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts. Virginia’s homestead exemption can shield more if claimed in time. Our guide to wage garnishment in Virginia walks through all of it.
If money is already coming out of your paycheck — or you’ve received a Garnishment Summons — the math is only half the story. The judgment behind the garnishment may be vulnerable: wrong person, wrong amount, never served, already paid, or past the statute of limitations. We attack the judgment, claim your exemptions, and correct the math. Start a free case review or call 804.592.0792.
Questions about garnishment math
For an ordinary consumer debt, Virginia law (Va. Code § 34-29) caps a wage garnishment at the lesser of two numbers: 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your disposable earnings exceed 40 times the minimum hourly wage — and Virginia uses the greater of the federal or Virginia minimum wage, which is Virginia's $12.77 per hour in 2026. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions such as taxes and Social Security. Different limits apply to child support, spousal support, defaulted federal student loans, and certain tax debts.
No. For ordinary consumer debts the law always protects a floor of your earnings. If your disposable earnings are at or below 40 times the minimum wage per week ($510.80 as of 2026, using Virginia's $12.77 minimum wage), nothing can be garnished from that paycheck at all. Even above that floor, the garnishment can never exceed 25% of disposable earnings, and multiple garnishments cannot stack past the same cap.
Some income is exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts no matter how much is owed, including Social Security and SSI, veterans' benefits, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, most public-assistance benefits, and many pension and retirement payments. Virginia's homestead exemption can also protect additional money if the right paperwork is filed in time. If exempt money has been taken, there is a legal process to claim it back — but the deadlines are short.
Have the math checked right away. Employers and collectors do sometimes withhold more than the law allows, stack multiple garnishments past the cap, or garnish exempt income. Bring a recent pay stub and the Garnishment Summons to a consumer attorney. Krumbein Consumer Legal Services reviews garnishment paperwork for Virginia residents at no charge — call 804.592.0792.
More free tools
Statute of Limitations Checker
Is the old debt past Virginia’s deadline to sue? Check before you pay a penny.
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Useful terms, credit-bureau dispute addresses, the Virginia court directory, and every free tool in one place.
Browse resourcesThis calculator is educational and gives estimates only, based on the figures in effect for 2026. It is not legal advice, it does not cover every situation (support orders, student loans, tax levies, and multiple garnishments follow different rules), and using it does not create an attorney–client relationship. For advice about your own paycheck, talk to a lawyer.
Talk to a Virginia consumer lawyer — at no cost
Tell us what happened and we’ll tell you whether you have rights worth enforcing — and exactly what to do next. The first case review is free and confidential.
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