How Much Can a Creditor Garnish in Virginia?

The general cap for ordinary judgments

For most ordinary creditor judgments — credit cards, medical bills, contract debts — Virginia adopts the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act limits through Va. Code § 34-29. The maximum that can be withheld from a debtor's earnings in any one pay period is the lesser of:

• 25% of disposable earnings for the week, or
• The amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage under 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1).

Disposable earnings are gross earnings minus deductions required by law (income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare). Voluntary deductions like 401(k) contributions or insurance premiums do not reduce disposable earnings for garnishment purposes.

How child support is different

Child support and spousal support garnishments fall under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act exception. The cap is generally 50% of disposable earnings if the debtor supports another spouse or child not covered by the order, and up to 60% if not. An additional 5% can be added if the debtor is more than twelve weeks behind on support payments.

The Virginia Division of Child Support Enforcement and private support orders both use these expanded limits.

Federal debts have their own rules

Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment is generally capped at 15% of disposable earnings. IRS levies on wages do not follow the standard garnishment cap at all — the IRS applies its own exemption table based on filing status and dependents, often leaving substantially less take-home pay than ordinary garnishments would.

Different defenses and procedures apply to each. A federal student-loan or tax matter is not handled the same way as a credit-card judgment.

The procedure in Virginia

1. The creditor must first have a judgment — a warrant in debt or a Circuit Court suit must be reduced to judgment before any garnishment can issue.
2. The creditor files a garnishment summons under Va. Code § 8.01-511, naming the employer as garnishee; the summons is served together with the statutory notice of exemptions and claim-for-exemption form required by § 8.01-512.4.
3. The garnishment summons is served on the employer, who must begin withholding the statutory percentage.
4. The garnishment continues until the judgment, interest, and costs are paid — or for up to 180 days, after which the creditor must renew.

Challenging a garnishment

Real challenges to a garnishment include:

• The underlying judgment is invalid (improper service, wrong defendant, expired)
• The debt was discharged in bankruptcy
• The garnishment is calculated incorrectly
• The earnings being garnished are exempt under the Virginia homestead exemption or another specific exemption
• The debtor has filed bankruptcy — the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 stops most garnishments immediately

Bank account garnishments work similarly but the procedure is different and exemptions can be asserted to protect Social Security, certain veterans' benefits, retirement accounts, and other protected funds.

What PLDR does about garnishments

PLDR represents both creditors pursuing collection and debtors facing garnishment. On the debtor side, the question is often whether bankruptcy, exemption claims, settlement, or simply waiting out the cap is the right move. On the creditor side, the question is structuring collection so it actually produces recovery without wasting steps.

This page provides general information about Virginia wage garnishment. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutory caps, exemption amounts, and procedural rules update periodically; verify current values with counsel.