Creditors

• Creditors and other individuals or entities with a judgment claim against you may garnish your wages providing they obtain a court-ordered "writ of execution." Under Chapter 4A Section 17-56 of the New Jersey Permanent Statutes, 10 percent of your wages may be garnished if your income does not exceed 250 percent of the poverty level based on your family size. For incomes of more than 250 percent of the poverty level, 25 percent wage garnishment may apply. At the time of publication, if your weekly earnings do not exceed $217.50, your wages may be exempt from garnishment.
  
  

Support Orders

• In cases of court-ordered child or spousal support, you may be subject to a 50 percent wage garnishment order if you currently support another spouse or child not subject to the order. A 60 percent garnishment applies to orders without other child or spousal support obligations. If you are more than 12 weeks behind in support payments, garnishment amounts may increase by five percent.
  
  

Taxes

• Garnishment limits do not apply to delinquent taxes. The Internal Revenue Service establishes garnishment amounts and exemptions based on your wages, family size, tax filing status, age and applicable disability factors. Periodically updated and published IRS levy tables show general garnishment calculations. For example, as of 2011, a married individual under age 65 filing jointly, may exclude $650 from garnishment during each pay period if they qualify for six exemptions. Additionally, while most garnishment procedures require a court order, the IRS may garnish your wages without an order.
  
  

Exemptions

• Most government benefits are exempt from garnishment. Federal law protects Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, some retirement incomes and Veteran's compensation. New Jersey law protects welfare benefits and unemployment benefits from garnishment. Adversely, protection from garnishment laws do not protect against tax debt, support payments and some other forms of government debts.
  
  

Considerations

• Federal and state garnishment limits apply regardless of multiple orders. Generally, wages for multiple cases are garnished in the order received. Additionally, where federal and state laws differ, the lesser garnishment amount applies.