Healthcare Practices: Payroll Garnishments: What You Need to Know (2026)

The federal limits

Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act caps ordinary garnishments at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, $217.50 a week at $7.25. Child support orders can reach 50 to 65 percent, and tax levies and bankruptcy orders have their own tables. Disposable earnings are gross pay less legally required deductions, not less voluntary ones like a 401(k) or health premium.

What counts as earnings in a healthcare practice

Shift differentials, on-call pay, credentialing-based pay tiers and multi-location clinic payroll are all earnings for garnishment purposes when they are paid as compensation for personal services, so the order applies to the whole check, not the base rate. Shift differentials and non-discretionary bonuses such as attendance, retention and supplementary shift bonuses must be added into the regular rate before the overtime premium is computed.

At the BLS May 2025 national median for registered nurses, $97,550 a year or $1,876 a week, a typical 25 percent cap on disposable earnings lands near $352 a week, and the exact figure depends on that employee's required deductions.

Processing rules that avoid employer liability

An employer that ignores an order can become liable for the amount it should have withheld. Orders are answered by their deadline, multiple orders are stacked in the priority the law sets (child support first), the employee is not disciplined for a single garnishment, and withheld amounts are remitted to the issuing agency on its schedule with the case number on every payment.