Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois

Limits on Wage Garnishment in Illinois

There are laws that limit how much money your creditors can deduct from your paycheck. These laws exist to help ensure that you have enough income left to pay your own living expenses.

Federal law limits the amount of money creditors can garnish from your wages. Illinois, however, imposes even stricter limits. Wage deductions are taken from your �disposable income,� meaning the amount of money you earn after taxes and other mandatory deductions are taken out. In accordance with Illinois law the most that can be deducted from your wages is the lesser of the following two amounts:

up to 15% of your gross wages, or

the amount of disposable income that remains after deducting the Illinois minimum wage (or the federal minimum wage if it's greater than the Illinois minimum wage) multiplied by 45.

You can find this law at 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5. (To learn how to find state statutes, see our Laws and Legal Research area.)

Example. John earns $1,000 in disposable income per week. Calculation 1: 15% of his disposable earnings is $150. Calculation 2: His disposable income less the minimum wage multiplied by 45 is $628.75 ($1,000 - ($8.25 x 45)). Illinois wage deduction law requires the employer to take the lesser of the two amounts; $150 of John�s earnings will be garnished and sent to his creditor.

If you earn less than $371.25 in disposable income per week (as of April 2013), your consumer creditors cannot garnish any of your wages. In Illinois, the following types of income are not subject to wage deductions:

Public Aid and General Assistance

Social Security & Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

unemployment compensation

veteran's benefits

worker's compensation

Black Lung benefits

alimony and support (to the extent needed for support of self and dependents), and

pensions (to the extent needed for support of self and dependents).

Special Limits for Child Support, Student Loans, and Unpaid Taxes

If you have a child support obligation, student loans, or taxes, your wages can be garnished without a court judgment. The amount that can be garnished is different, as well.

Child Support

Since 1988, all court orders for child support include an automatic income withholding order. The other parent can also get a wage garnishment order from the court if you get behind in child support payments. Additionally, Illinois can deduct support from any form of periodic payments, including the above-listed sources that consumer creditors can�t touch, including unemployment benefits and workers� compensation (To learn about income withholding orders and other ways child support can be collected, see Child Support Enforcement Obligations).

Illinois uses the federal limits set forth under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA). Federal law limits what can be taken from your paycheck for this type of wage garnishment. Up to 50% of your disposable earnings may be garnished to pay child support if you are currently supporting a spouse or a child who isn't the subject of the order. If you are not supporting a spouse or child, up to 60% of your earnings may be taken. An additional five percent may be garnished for support payments over 12 weeks in arrears. (Learn more about wage garnishment for child support arrears.)

You may have more than one child support withholding order but not enough disposable income to pay your child support obligations in full. If this is the case, your total disposable income (from 50-65% as described above) will be split up amongst your child support orders, based upon how much is owed for each.