In Florida, if you are the head of family and earn $750 a week or less in disposable wages, your earnings are completely exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. This protection comes from Florida Statutes section 222.11, and it is far stronger than the federal baseline. If your disposable earnings exceed $750 a week, a creditor still cannot garnish anything unless you have agreed to the garnishment in writing. This single rule is the most important thing to understand about wage garnishment in Florida, and it is why many Florida workers who support a family never have a dollar of their paycheck taken for consumer debt.
Florida's Head-of-Family Exemption Explained
Florida's wage protection turns on whether you qualify as a "head of family." Under section 222.11, a head of family is any person who provides more than one-half of the support for a child or other dependent. That dependent does not have to be your biological child; it can be a spouse, parent, grandchild, or anyone else you support more than halfway.
If you qualify, the rule works in two tiers:
- Disposable earnings of $750 per week or less are entirely exempt. A creditor with a money judgment for an ordinary debt cannot garnish any of it.
- Disposable earnings above $750 per week may not be garnished either unless you have signed a written agreement permitting the garnishment. Without that written consent, the protection effectively continues above the threshold.
"Disposable earnings" means your pay after legally required deductions such as federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. It does not subtract voluntary deductions like retirement contributions or insurance you elect.
How Florida Compares to the Federal Limit
Federal law sets a floor that applies in every state. Under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), a creditor can garnish the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, that 30-times figure is $217.50 per week. So under federal law alone, most of your check above that small floor would be exposed up to the 25% cap.
Florida layers its much more generous head-of-family exemption on top of that federal floor. The practical result is striking: a Florida worker who is the head of family and earns modest wages can be fully protected from consumer-debt garnishment, while the same worker in a state that only follows the federal rule could lose 25% of each paycheck.
If you are not a head of family, Florida does not give you the section 222.11 protection. In that case the federal CCPA limit governs, and a creditor may garnish up to 25% of your disposable earnings (or the amount over $217.50 per week, whichever is less).
What Income Is Exempt in Florida
Beyond wages, Florida law protects several other categories of income and property from creditors. These commonly include:
- Social Security, SSI, and most federal benefits are protected under federal law and remain exempt even after deposit, when properly identifiable.
- Veterans' benefits, workers' compensation, and most retirement and pension funds, which Florida and federal law shield from creditors.
- Wages already paid and traceable in a bank account. Under section 222.11, earnings of a head of family that are deposited into an account keep their exemption for up to six months, as long as they are traceable and not mixed with other, non-exempt money.
- Unemployment compensation and public assistance benefits.
Commingling exempt and non-exempt funds in one account can jeopardize the protection, so many Floridians keep exempt income in a separate account to make tracing easier if a creditor levies the account.
Debts That Can Still Reach Your Wages
The head-of-family exemption protects you from ordinary creditors, but it does not stop every kind of garnishment. Different rules apply to:
- Child support and alimony. Support obligations are not blocked by section 222.11. Under federal CCPA rules followed in Florida, up to 50% of disposable earnings may be withheld if you support another spouse or child, and up to 60% if you do not, with an additional 5% allowed when support payments are more than 12 weeks in arrears.
- Unpaid federal taxes. The IRS can levy wages under its own federal rules, which are not limited by Florida's exemption.
- Federal student loans. The U.S. Department of Education and its servicers can use administrative wage garnishment of up to 15% of disposable pay without first going to court.
- Court-ordered restitution and certain government debts, which follow separate federal or state collection rules.
How to Claim Your Exemption and Stop the Garnishment
Florida's protections are not automatic. A creditor who wins a judgment can ask the court to issue a writ of garnishment directed at your employer. To keep your wages, you generally must affirmatively claim your exemption.
Florida Statutes section 77.041 requires that when a wage garnishment is issued, you receive a Notice to Defendant along with a Claim of Exemption and Request for Hearing form. To assert the head-of-family exemption (or any other exemption), you complete that sworn form and file it with the court. The notice you receive states the deadline to respond; Florida law generally gives you a short window measured in days after you receive the notice, so do not wait. Confirm the exact deadline printed on your specific notice and file before it passes.
Practical steps to protect your pay:
- Read every document you receive from the court or the creditor's lawyer, and note the response deadline.
- File the Claim of Exemption form promptly, stating that you are head of family and that your earnings are exempt under section 222.11.
- Request the hearing if the form gives you that option, so a judge can rule on your exemption.
- Gather proof that you provide more than half the support for a dependent, such as tax returns, pay records, and household expense documentation.
- Act before any garnishment begins. Money withheld before you file can sometimes be recovered, but it is far easier to stop garnishment before it starts.
If you believe a debt collector is pursuing wages it has no right to, or is using abusive collection tactics, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives you additional rights against third-party collectors, separate from Florida's garnishment rules.
Where to Verify Florida's Rules
Because exemption amounts and procedures can change, confirm the current rules before you rely on them. The text of the head-of-family exemption is in Florida Statutes section 222.11, and garnishment procedure is in Chapter 77; both are available on the Florida Legislature's official Online Sunshine website. For consumer help and to report unlawful collection practices, contact the Florida Attorney General's Office, which operates a consumer-protection division and complaint hotline. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) also handles many consumer complaints. Note that while Florida's minimum wage rises each year under a 2020 constitutional amendment, federal wage garnishment caps use the federal minimum wage, not Florida's; if you need to calculate the federal floor, confirm the current federal minimum wage and the figures with an official source as of 2026. For your individual situation, consider speaking with a Florida consumer attorney or a legal aid office.
Official Florida Sources
This page is based on Florida law. Limits and deadlines change — verify the current details directly with the official Florida sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.
Federal law also applies. Federal laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act protect you nationwide, on top of Florida’s own rules.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most current law or the law in your jurisdiction. Laws vary by state and change over time. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.
