---
title: "Work out the federal cap on wage garnishment before an earnings execution"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/debt-recovery-and-civil-enforcement/work-out-the-protected-earnings-and-exempt-property-before-an-income-or/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A46-X20260927-5-US"
practice_area: "Debt Recovery & Civil Enforcement"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Work out the federal cap on wage garnishment before an earnings execution

> From the pay figures the lawyer supplies, compute 25 percent of disposable earnings for the workweek and the amount by which those earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum wage the lawyer supplies.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/debt-recovery-and-civil-enforcement/work-out-the-protected-earnings-and-exempt-property-before-an-income-or/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Debt Recovery & Civil Enforcement](https://ailawframework.com/practice/debt-recovery-and-civil-enforcement.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the pay figures the lawyer supplies, compute 25 percent of disposable earnings for the workweek and the amount by which those earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum wage the lawyer supplies. Show both figures. Do not apply a state exemption and do not prepare the writ. |
| What the lawyer must review | 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a) limits the part of disposable earnings for a workweek that may be garnished. It states the 25 percent limit and the thirty-times-minimum-wage limit. Read the section for how those limits combine, and use the federal minimum wage in 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) in effect when the earnings are payable. Subsection (b) sets different percentages for a support order, including an extra five percentage points for arrears older than the twelve-week period the statute describes. You sign any garnishment paper. State law may protect more of the earnings, and property exemptions are state law. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Work out the protected earnings and exempt property before an income or property enforcement step](https://ailawframework.com/practice/debt-recovery-and-civil-enforcement/work-out-the-protected-earnings-and-exempt-property-before-an-income-or.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the pay figures the lawyer supplies, compute 25 percent of disposable earnings for the workweek and the amount by which those earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum wage the lawyer supplies. Show both figures. Do not apply a state exemption and do not prepare the writ.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Section 1673(a) is subject to subsection (b) and to 15 U.S.C. § 1675. This check did not open § 1675.
- How a judgment is executed is state procedure unless a federal statute you have opened says otherwise. This check opened § 1673 only.

## Sources

- [15 U.S.C. § 1673 (restriction on garnishment)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1673) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_11) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Warrant to seize property (Magistrates' Court Form 68A)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/debt-recovery-and-civil-enforcement/form-vic-mcv-68a-warrant-seize-property.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to Magistrates' Court Form 68A, the warrant that authorises the sheriff to attend a judgment debtor's home or business in Victoria and demand payment. |
| [Attachment of earnings summons (Magistrates' Court Form 72A)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/debt-recovery-and-civil-enforcement/form-vic-mcv-72a-attachment-earnings.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to Magistrates' Court Form 72A, the summons for an attachment of earnings order. A debtor whose only income is Centrelink cannot be forced onto that order. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*