Legally reviewed by Allen A. Kolber, Esq. - The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C.
Key Takeaways
- A creditor may take the lesser of ten percent of your gross income or 25 percent of your disposable earnings.
- Nothing can be withheld in a week when your disposable earnings fall below New York’s weekly floor.
- The automatic stay begins the moment you file, without anyone asking a judge for it.
- Child support and alimony garnishments are exceptions and continue during your case.
If you struggle to make ends meet as it is, the garnishing of your wages could not come at a worse time. You may especially feel the pressure if you have dependents you rely on your paycheck to cover their basic needs, as well. At this point, you may need to take matters into your own hands and regain control of your finances. So please read on to discover the measures you can take to stop wage garnishment and how a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. can help determine whether bankruptcy is viable.
How Much of My New York Paycheck Can Be Garnished?
Before deciding what you should do if your wages are being garnished, you should first determine if the amount coming out of your paycheck is even lawful. New York caps the garnishment more tightly than federal law does, and a surprising number of income executions are set far too high.
The Two Ceilings
An income execution cannot take more than ten percent of your gross income, and separately, cannot exceed 25 percent of your disposable earnings, which is what is left after all legally required deductions are made. Whichever of those two produces the smaller number is what a creditor can legally take.
The Floor Below Which Nothing Can Be Taken
Nothing may be withheld at all in a week where your disposable earnings do not exceed 30 times the minimum hourly wage, and the statute uses whichever is greater, the federal figure or New York’s. Because New York’s is far higher, the state number controls. At the $16.00 rate that applies in Rockland County as of January 2026, that floor works out to $480 per week. The rate rises on a schedule and then adjusts for inflation, so check the figure in force when your garnishment is calculated rather than relying on a number from an earlier year.
What Can I Do to Stop Wage Garnishment?
You may have every intention and desire to pay back your due creditors. However, paying them back through your garnished wages may not be a method sustainable for you. So instead of standing idly by and allowing this to happen, you must take the initiative to set up a better-suited repayment plan.
Namely, you may contact your due creditor directly and negotiate a personal repayment plan. This may be more easily accomplished if your original creditor sold your debt to a debt collection agency, rather than if your original creditor already won a wage garnishment court order against you. Nonetheless, it is something worth requesting. Or, you may sooner request a debt settlement plan. But with this, you must understand that you may be expected to settle this debt via a lump-sum payment.
Or, if you are in a position where you believe your due creditor unfairly ordered the garnishment of your wages, you may challenge it in court. Here, you may argue that your creditor and employer did not follow the right procedures to initiate wage garnishment. Or, your creditor requested an unreasonable amount of funds to be garnished from each paycheck.
How Can Bankruptcy Stop Wage Garnishment?
If your financial worries extend far beyond missing a portion of your wages each paycheck, a better long-term solution may be to file for bankruptcy.
When you file for bankruptcy, you will be granted protection from collection efforts under the automatic stay. This will take effect the moment your bankruptcy petition is filed, as it is required by federal law, so you will not have to petition a judge for this protection. Specifically, the automatic stay will bar the majority of creditors from pursuing collection actions, including wage garnishments. However, you should note that garnishments for domestic support obligations like child support or alimony are among the exceptions to the stay and will continue.
In the meantime, for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may relieve yourself from some debts that free you up for paying back your other due creditors. Or, for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may schedule a repayment plan that is at a pace better fitted for your given financial situation. All the while, you may receive the full extent of wages you have worked so hard to earn.
How Some Garnishments Begin
One important point you should know before filing: not every garnishment begins with a lawsuit. A creditor holding a standard debt, like a credit card balance or medical bill, must successfully sue and win a judgment before they can garnish your wages.
However, unpaid taxes, defaulted federal student loans, and domestic support obligations may be garnished from your paycheck without the creditor ever taking you to court.
Contact an Experienced New York Bankruptcy Attorney Today
We strongly encourage you to retain the services of a competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney. You may do so by scheduling a free initial consultation with The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. at your earliest convenience. Contact our firm today to learn how we can represent you during these complex matters.
