In Wisconsin, a creditor with a money judgment for an ordinary consumer debt can garnish only 20% of your disposable earnings — meaning Wisconsin law shields 80% of your take-home pay. That is more protective than the federal ceiling of 25%. Even better, if your household income falls below the federal poverty line for your household size, all of your earnings are exempt and nothing can be taken. These rules come from Wisconsin's earnings garnishment statute, Wis. Stat. § 812.34, and they apply to the routine debts most people face: credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, and similar judgments.
Wisconsin's 20% cap, explained
“Disposable earnings” means your gross pay minus the deductions your employer is legally required to withhold — federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and similar mandatory items. Voluntary deductions like a 401(k) contribution or health insurance premium generally do not reduce the figure. Once disposable earnings are calculated, the creditor may reach the lesser-favorable of two limits, but Wisconsin's flat 80% protection is what controls for almost everyone above the poverty line.
The federal baseline is set by the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. § 1673), which limits garnishment to the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. When state law is more generous to the debtor, the state rule wins — and Wisconsin's is more generous, leaving you with 80% rather than 75%.
The poverty-line exemption: when nothing can be taken
Wisconsin's strongest protection is its income floor. Under Wis. Stat. § 812.34(2)(b), if your household income is below the federal poverty line, 100% of your disposable earnings are exempt. Household income includes the earnings of everyone in your household, and the poverty figure is based on the federal poverty guidelines for your household size, published each year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Because those guidelines change annually, you should confirm the current poverty figure for your household size before relying on it.
Between the full exemption and the 20% cap, Wisconsin uses a sliding calculation so that garnishment cannot push a household below the poverty line. In practice, lower earners often have far less than 20% taken — and many have nothing taken at all.
Wisconsin's minimum wage and the math
As of 2026, Wisconsin's minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal minimum wage. Because Wisconsin has not adopted a higher state minimum, the federal 30-times-minimum-wage formula uses $7.25. Always confirm the current Wisconsin minimum wage with the state before doing your own calculation, because that figure can change if the legislature acts.
How long a garnishment lasts
A Wisconsin earnings garnishment is not permanent. Under Wis. Stat. § 812.35, an earnings garnishment is generally effective for 13 weeks after it is served on your employer. To keep collecting beyond that, the creditor must serve a new earnings garnishment. The creditor also must pay a fee to your employer (a garnishee fee) when starting one, and only one creditor's garnishment is satisfied at a time — later garnishments line up behind earlier ones.
Debts that follow different rules
The 20% cap is for ordinary judgment debts. Several categories are treated differently and can take more:
- Child support and maintenance (alimony): These follow the federal CCPA limits, which allow up to 50% to 65% of disposable earnings depending on whether you support another family and whether you are behind on payments. Support orders are enforced through income withholding rather than a standard earnings garnishment.
- Unpaid taxes: Federal and Wisconsin tax authorities have their own collection powers and are not bound by the 20% consumer cap.
- Federal student loans: The U.S. Department of Education can use administrative wage garnishment of up to 15% of disposable pay without a court judgment.
What other income is protected
Many forms of income are exempt from garnishment entirely, separate from the wage rules. These commonly include Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' benefits, unemployment compensation, and most public assistance. Federal law also protects a baseline amount of directly deposited Social Security and certain federal benefits in your bank account from being frozen by a levy. If exempt funds are mixed into a bank account, you may still need to assert the exemption to get them released.