New Hampshire Wage Garnishment Laws: How Much Can They Take?

New Hampshire is one of a small number of states where an ordinary creditor generally cannot garnish your wages to collect on a typical consumer debt such as a credit card, medical bill, or personal loan. Unlike most states, which let a judgment creditor take up to the federal maximum of 25% of your disposable pay, New Hampshire does not provide a routine post-judgment wage-garnishment process for private debts. The state's collection device, called trustee process under RSA chapter 512, treats wages as largely protected, and crucially it cannot reach wages you earn after the writ is served. This means most New Hampshire workers do not face the continuing paycheck deductions that consumers in other states experience after a default judgment.

The federal baseline, and why New Hampshire protects more

Federal law sets a floor that applies in every state. Under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), a creditor with a money judgment generally cannot take more than the lesser of 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which your disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. That federal rule is a ceiling, not a guarantee that garnishment is allowed. States are free to protect more, and New Hampshire does.

New Hampshire's approach is to make wages exempt from attachment by trustee process in the hands of an employer, and to bar attachment of earnings not yet paid. Because a private creditor cannot order your employer to withhold a slice of every future paycheck, the practical effect is that ordinary consumer-debt garnishment of wages does not function the way it does in most other states. A creditor who wins a judgment against you in New Hampshire is far more likely to pursue a bank account, a tax refund, or a lien on real estate than your paycheck.

What income and property New Hampshire exempts

New Hampshire's exemption statutes (chiefly RSA 511:2 for personal property and RSA 512:21 for trustee process) shield a range of income and assets from creditors. While you should confirm current figures with the official statute, categories that New Hampshire law protects include:

• Earned wages, which are broadly exempt from trustee process, including a portion tied to a multiple of the federal minimum hourly wage.
• Wages earned after service of the writ on the employer, which cannot be reached at all.
• Public benefits such as Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' benefits, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation. Many of these are also protected by separate federal law.
• Wages of a spouse and the earnings of minor children.
• A statutory homestead exemption and exemptions for household furniture, tools of your trade, a motor vehicle up to a set value, and certain retirement funds.

Funds that are exempt at the source generally stay exempt after they are deposited, but tracing them in a commingled bank account can be difficult. Keeping protected income such as Social Security in a separate account makes it easier to prove the money is exempt if a creditor tries to levy your bank account.

The important exceptions: when wages can still be taken

New Hampshire's protection covers ordinary private debts. It does not stop several categories of garnishment that arise under separate state and federal law:

• Child support and alimony. Domestic-support obligations are enforced through income withholding orders. Under the CCPA, support orders can reach a much larger share of disposable earnings, up to 50% to 65% depending on whether you support another family and how far behind you are.
• Federal and state taxes. The IRS can levy wages administratively without a court judgment, leaving you only a limited exempt amount, and the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration has its own collection powers.
• Federal student loans. The U.S. Department of Education and its servicers can use administrative wage garnishment to take up to 15% of disposable pay without going to court.
• Other government debts and court-ordered restitution may have special collection rules.

If your garnishment falls into one of these categories, the New Hampshire consumer exemptions described above will not by themselves stop it, though you may still have defenses, hardship reductions, or repayment options under the relevant program.

How to claim an exemption or challenge a collection action

Even though wage garnishment for consumer debts is uncommon in New Hampshire, creditors do try to collect through trustee process against bank accounts and other property, and mistakes happen. To protect exempt income:

• Respond to any court papers. If you are served with a trustee process writ or a notice that your account has been attached, do not ignore it. There are deadlines, and missing them can let a default stand.
• File a claim of exemption. New Hampshire procedure lets you assert that the money or property a creditor is trying to seize is exempt. Identify the exempt source (wages, Social Security, unemployment, etc.) and cite the applicable statute.
• Ask for a hearing. The court can release exempt funds and correct an improper attachment. Bring pay stubs, benefit award letters, and bank statements that trace the protected money.
• Watch for abusive collector conduct. Threats to garnish wages that the law does not actually allow may violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which lets you sue collectors for illegal threats and misrepresentations.
• Consider professional help. A New Hampshire consumer attorney or New Hampshire Legal Assistance can advise you, and bankruptcy stops most collection immediately through the automatic stay if your situation warrants it.

Where to verify New Hampshire's rules

Because exemption amounts and minimum-wage figures can change, confirm the current details before you rely on them. The primary sources are New Hampshire's own statutes, available through the General Court's website, particularly RSA chapter 512 (trustee process) and RSA 511:2 (property exempt from attachment). For consumer help and to report unlawful collection practices, contact the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, the consumer-protection arm of the state Attorney General's office. As of 2026 New Hampshire has not set a state minimum wage above the federal $7.25 per hour, so any wage-based exemption calculation tied to the minimum wage uses that federal figure, but confirm the current rate with the state before calculating an exact number. For federal garnishment limits, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division explains the CCPA caps.

The bottom line for New Hampshire residents: an ordinary creditor usually cannot take a cut of your paycheck the way collectors can in most states, but support orders, taxes, and federal student loans remain powerful exceptions, and bank levies are still a real risk. Knowing which protections apply, and acting quickly to claim them, is the key to keeping your income.

Official New Hampshire Sources

This page is based on New Hampshire law. Limits and deadlines change — verify the current details directly with the official New Hampshire sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• File a Consumer Complaint - NH Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau (online form)
• New Hampshire RSA Chapter 358-A: Regulation of Business Practices for Consumer Protection (Consumer Protection Act)

Federal law also applies. Federal laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act protect you nationwide, on top of New Hampshire’s own rules.