For What Reasons Can Wages Be Garnished?
- If you owe taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, it can garnish your wages to collect the money it is owed. The IRS states that it will release levies on wages and salaries when you pay your tax debt or the time to collect the tax expires. The IRS can also levy bank accounts to collect taxes you owe. Willfully failing to pay taxes or avoiding taxes can result in criminal prosecution.
- Your wages may be garnished if you fail to pay student loans. Students typically graduate from college with debt from student loans, which can make it difficult for them to afford normal living costs. The U.S. Department of Education states that it can garnish up to 15 percent of disposable income from wages to collect money owed on federal student loans, and other nonfederal lenders may attempt to garnish wages.
- Wage garnishment can arise from debts related to back child support and spousal support. If you fail to pay child support that you owe, the party owed child support may seek a judgment against you to garnish your wages. Similarly, if owe alimony to a former spouse and fail to make your payments, she may attempt to collect the money you owe through wage garnishment.
- Wages may be subject to garnishment because of failure to pay a variety of other debts. For instance, lenders like credit card companies and banks can potentially sue you and earn a judgment against you to garnish your wages. Wage garnishment is limited based on how much income you earn; certain allowances are made for normal living expenses. In other words, your wages cannot be garnished to the point where you have no income left to pay for basic necessities.