A Michigan wage garnishment calculator for ordinary consumer debts runs on a single rule: a creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed $217.50 (30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25).1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment Whichever number is smaller is the maximum. Child support, tax levies, and bank account seizures follow different rules with steeper limits, covered below.
Start With Disposable Earnings, Not Take-Home Pay
Every calculation begins with disposable earnings. Federal law defines that as gross pay minus only the deductions your employer is legally required to withhold.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1672 – Definitions Those mandatory deductions are:
- Federal income tax based on your W-4
- Michigan income tax and any city tax
- Social Security tax (6.2% up to the annual wage base)
- Medicare tax (1.45% of gross wages)
That list is short on purpose. Contributions to a 401(k), health insurance premiums, union dues, HSA and FSA amounts, and other voluntary payroll deductions are not subtracted. The money you route into those benefits still counts as part of your disposable earnings even though it never lands in your bank account. This is the detail that trips people up: the number the creditor works from is almost always higher than what you actually take home.
The Two-Part Formula
Once you have your weekly disposable earnings, run both calculations and use the smaller result.
Calculation 1. Multiply weekly disposable earnings by 25%.
Calculation 2. Subtract $217.50 from weekly disposable earnings. The remainder is what can be garnished under this prong.3U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wage
The creditor gets whichever is lower.
Example at $500 Weekly Disposable Earnings
25% of $500 is $125. $500 minus $217.50 is $282.50. The smaller number controls, so the cap is $125 per week. At this income level, the 25% prong almost always wins.
Example at $250 Weekly Disposable Earnings
25% of $250 is $62.50. $250 minus $217.50 is $32.50. Here the minimum-wage floor does the work: only $32.50 can be taken. If your weekly disposable earnings are $217.50 or less, nothing can be garnished at all.
Breakpoints by Pay Period
Most workers are not paid weekly, so the $217.50 floor scales up with the length of the pay period. The Department of Labor publishes these thresholds:4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act
- Weekly: nothing at $217.50 or less; only the excess between $217.50 and $290.00; 25% at $290.00 or more.
- Biweekly: nothing at $435.00 or less; only the excess between $435.00 and $580.00; 25% at $580.00 or more.
- Semimonthly: nothing at $471.25 or less; only the excess between $471.25 and $628.33; 25% at $628.33 or more.
- Monthly: nothing at $942.50 or less; only the excess between $942.50 and $1,256.66; 25% at $1,256.66 or more.
For most Michigan workers paid biweekly, the 25% prong becomes the binding limit once disposable pay clears $580 per check. Below that, the floor produces a smaller number.
Child Support and Alimony Use a Different Cap
The 25% ceiling covers credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. Support orders replace it with four higher tiers set by federal law:1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
- 50% if you are supporting another spouse or dependent child
- 55% if you are supporting another spouse or dependent child and are more than 12 weeks behind
- 60% if you are not supporting another spouse or dependent child
- 65% if you are not supporting another spouse or dependent child and are more than 12 weeks behind
The $217.50 floor does not apply here, so even very low earners can see a large share of the check withheld. Support orders also take priority over other garnishments.
Student Loans and IRS Levies
A defaulted federal student loan lets the Department of Education order up to 15% of your disposable pay without going to court first.5Federal Student Aid. Collections on Defaulted Loans As of early 2026, the Department has paused wage garnishment for defaulted borrowers while implementing legislative changes. The pause has no firm end date, so borrowers in default should monitor it rather than assume it is permanent.
An IRS wage levy ignores the 25% cap entirely. The IRS calculates an exempt amount from your filing status and number of dependents and takes everything above it. For a single filer with one dependent paid weekly, the 2026 exempt amount is $513.46 per week.6Internal Revenue Service. Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income For higher earners, this often produces withholding well above 25%.
Bank Accounts and Tax Refunds Are Not Capped Like Wages
The percentage limits above cover wages only. When a creditor obtains a writ against your bank account, the bank can freeze and turn over the whole balance up to the judgment amount in a single transaction. Michigan also lets creditors intercept state income tax refunds through the Treasurer’s office.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 600.4061a – Interception of State Tax Refund or Credit Both are one-time seizures with no 25% ceiling.
One automatic protection applies to accounts receiving direct-deposited federal benefits like Social Security or Veterans’ benefits. When a garnishment order arrives, the bank must review the account and shield an amount equal to two months of federal benefit deposits from being frozen or turned over.8eCFR. Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments You do not have to file anything; the bank runs the calculation. Anything above that protected amount is still exposed.
Income That Cannot Be Touched
Some sources are exempt regardless of what you owe:
- Social Security and disability benefits
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Veterans’ benefits
- Unemployment compensation
- Workers’ compensation
Most employer-sponsored 401(k) and pension plans covered by ERISA are also generally protected from ordinary judgment creditors while the money stays in the account. Once you withdraw retirement funds into a checking account, that protected status can be lost unless you keep the money segregated and can trace its source. Co-mingling exempt and non-exempt deposits is one of the most common ways people lose exempt money when a writ arrives.
How to Object Within 14 Days
Michigan gives you 14 days from receiving a writ of garnishment to file an objection with the court. Your employer or bank holds the money for 28 days before turning it over, which is the window in which you can act. Common grounds include arguing that the funds are exempt, the judgment has already been paid, the amount was miscalculated, or the writ was improperly served.
You can also file a motion asking the court to let you pay the judgment in installments. If approved, an installment plan stops periodic garnishment of wages, but it does not block a creditor from a non-periodic garnishment of your bank account or tax refund. Miss the 14-day deadline and the money goes to the creditor.
When More Than One Creditor Is Collecting
Employers process multiple garnishments in a set priority: child support and alimony first, then federal tax levies, then other creditor judgments. Total withholding still cannot exceed the applicable statutory cap. If a child support order is already taking 50% or 60% of your disposable earnings, an ordinary creditor may collect little or nothing until that withholding drops below the ceiling.
Your Job Is Protected From a Single Garnishment
Federal law forbids your employer from firing you because your wages are being garnished for any single debt.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1674 – Restriction on Discharge from Employment by Reason of Garnishment A violation carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year of imprisonment, or both. That protection covers only one debt. If a second, separate creditor also garnishes, the federal shield no longer applies and termination becomes legally permissible.
Interest Keeps Running on the Judgment
While garnishment reduces the balance, interest continues to accrue on what remains. Michigan calculates judgment interest at 1% plus the average interest rate paid at auctions of five-year U.S. Treasury notes, compounded annually, and the rate adjusts every six months.10Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 600.6013 On a large judgment, small periodic payments can be absorbed by accruing interest, which is why a lump-sum settlement, when possible, often costs less over the life of the debt.