Wage Garnishment in Pennsylvania

What Is Wage Garnishment?

Wage garnishment is when money is taken directly from your paycheck to pay off a debt. In Pennsylvania, this is sometimes called wage attachment.

Pennsylvania has stronger protections than many other states. In most cases, creditors can’t garnish wages to collect regular debts like credit cards or medical bills. There are only a few types of debts that can be collected this way in Pennsylvania.

Creditors usually need a court order before they can take this step. But there are exceptions. For example, if you owe money to the government, like back taxes or federal student loans, a court order isn’t always required.

Both state and federal laws control how wage garnishment works. The federal law is called the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA). In Pennsylvania, Title 42 of the state law also applies. If the state and federal rules are different, the law that protects more of your paycheck is the one that applies. In most cases, Pennsylvania’s laws give workers more protection than federal law does.

Who Can Garnish My Wages in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania is unique in that it doesn't allow creditors or debt collectors to garnish your wages for consumer debts like credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, payday loans, car loans, or mortgage payments in default.

In Pennsylvania, your wages can only be garnished for these types of debt:

• Unpaid residential rent

• Child support

• Spousal support or divorce-related payments

• Certain state and federal taxes

• Federal student loans

• Restitution ordered in a criminal case

It’s also possible for more than one creditor to garnish your wages at the same time if the debt qualifies.

Some types of debt — like public student loans, back taxes, and child support — don’t require a court order for garnishment. Government agencies can usually collect these directly from your paycheck.

This article focuses on wage garnishment cases that go through Pennsylvania courts. These are mostly for unpaid rent owed to a landlord.

Pennsylvania Wage Garnishment Process 

A landlord, creditor, debt collector, or debt buyer must get a Pennsylvania court order with a judgment to garnish your wages. To get a court order, the creditor must follow certain steps. 

Creditor Serves a Summons and Complaint

The lawsuit process begins with a creditor filing official court documents in a civil court. These are called a summons. These documents must be delivered to you in a process called service.

The lawsuit procedure must follow Pennsylvania’s Rules of Civil Procedure. This outlines the steps for civil lawsuits.

You can go to the court’s website or call the court’s clerk if you have questions about the lawsuit process. Many lawsuits for debt are held in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court.

You Answer the Summons and Complaint

Once you’re served with the summons and complaint, you must file your answer to it with the court within 20 days.

If you receive a summons and complaint, you can represent yourself or hire an attorney to learn more about your legal rights. 

If you're worried about responding on your own, but you can't afford a lawyer, you can draft an answer letter for a small fee using SoloSuit. They've helped over 300,000 people respond to debt lawsuits, and they have a 100% money-back guarantee.

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You Can Raise Objections and Defenses

You may be able to object to the claim for judgment. Common objections include:

• You don’t owe the debt.

• You were improperly served.

• The debt amount is wrong.

• The debt was discharged in bankruptcy.

• The landlord incorrectly calculated the application of your security deposit or your residential lease was invalid. 

In Pennsylvania, there are also special rules that limit landlord wage garnishments for victims of abuse.

Regardless of whether you have an objection or not, you’ll want to show up in court. If you don’t, the creditor will win a default judgment, and it will be harder for you to stop the wage garnishment. 

The Judge Makes a Decision at a Court Hearing

During court, the judge will examine the lease and receipts along with the laws, legal documents, and testimonies. Then, they'll make a decision and write a court order.

If the judge decides in favor of the creditor, the judgment will contain the debt amount that is owed, plus costs, interest, and fees. 

The Creditor Serves the Notice of Intent to Attach Wages

Once the creditor has a judgment, they can fill out more forms to start the wage garnishment process. One of the forms is the Praecipe for Notice of Intent to Attach Wages. Praecipe is just an old-fashioned legal term for a written form requesting an action. 

The court clerk will attach the notice with a paper showing the most recent federal poverty guidelines. The creditor will have these papers served on you.

If you’re exempt from the debt based on your income and federal guidelines for poverty, you must file an exemption claim within 30 days to claim the exemption, so don’t ignore that Notice of Intent!

Rule 3312 in the Civil Procedures has the form to file the claim. 

You Can Make a Claim for Exemption

If you file the claim within 30 days, the clerk will notify the creditor that you are exempt. If you wait until after your wages are garnished, then you’ll have to go back to court and get a court order to stop the wage garnishment. 

Your Employer Is Served and Withholds Money From Your Paycheck

If you do nothing, the clerk will send a Writ for Attachment of Wages to your employer. Then, your employer must legally withhold a certain amount of your wages to pay your debt and send that money to the court clerk for your debt.

How Much of My Paycheck Can Be Taken by Wage Garnishment?

Fortunately, a creditor can’t take your whole paycheck to pay your debt. They also can’t take more than the judgment amount including the fees, costs, and interest. Wage garnishment laws are created with the intent of giving you enough money to survive. There are federal and state laws with formulas that determine how much of your paycheck can be garnished. 

This starts by calculating your disposable income.

Disposable income is your income after legally required deductions are taken out. A creditor-landlord in Pennsylvania can only deduct 10% of your disposable wages for past-due debt. 

If your wages are below federal poverty guidelines, or if your wages will be below federal poverty guidelines when your wages are garnished, then you are exempt from the garnishment. That means your wages and bank account can’t be garnished. In Pennsylvania, your wages are also exempt if the judgment was for damaged rental property and you were the victim of abuse. 

There are different limits to how much of your wages can be garnished for child support, alimony, federal taxes, and student loans.

How To Stop a Garnishment in Pennsylvania

There are only a few ways to stop a wage garnishment if you aren't exempt.

You can:

• Pay the debt,

• Negotiate a payment plan

• File bankruptcy

When you file bankruptcy, a judge issues an automatic stay, which orders all collection activity to stop, including garnishment.

In Pennsylvania, you can use federal or state exemptions during bankruptcy to protect your property, but you must have lived in Pennsylvania for at least two years to claim the state exemptions. If you file bankruptcy, you may get all of your debt discharged, including your debt for the wage garnishment. That means you will no longer owe the debt and the debt collectors can no longer try to collect it.

If you want to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can take our two-minute screener to see if you qualify to use our free filing tool.

Are There Any Resources for People Facing Wage Garnishment in Pennsylvania?

If you’re facing wage garnishment in Pennsylvania, the following resources may be helpful:

• Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network: Contact information for statewide legal aid offices.

• Pennsylvania Free Legal Answers: An online service from the American Bar Association where you can ask a legal question and get a response from a volunteer attorney.

• PALawHelp.org: Phone numbers, legal clinic locations, and a handbook on creditor lawsuits. Also has helpful info for military members and veterans owing child support and facing wage garnishment.

• Allegany County Law Library – Free information for the public to understand court processes, links to forms, and numerous pro bono resources.