Wage Garnishment in Texas: Is Your Paycheck Protected?
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Texas law generally protects your wages from garnishment for consumer debts like credit cards and medical bills. Only certain debts — including child support, unpaid taxes, and federal student loans — can lead to wage garnishment in the state. However, creditors may still try to collect by garnishing your bank account if they have a court judgment. If you're facing overwhelming debt or garnishment, options like bankruptcy or legal aid may offer relief and guidance.
Written by Upsolve Team.
Updated September 23, 2025
Can Creditors Garnish Your Wages in Texas?
No. Texas is one of four U.S. states that doesn’t allow wage garnishment for non-governmental obligations like credit card debt.
In Texas, your wages can only be garnished for child support, tax debt, and federal student loans.
What Is Wage Garnishment?
Wage garnishment allows creditors to collect a debt by taking money directly from your paycheck. It’s regulated mostly by state law. Section 28 of Article 16 of the Texas Constitution prohibits wage garnishment for consumer debt and most other kinds of debt. It states:
No current wages for personal service shall ever be subject to garnishment, except for the enforcement of court-ordered: (1) child support payments; or (2) spousal maintenance.
In states where creditors can garnish your paycheck for consumer debt, they usually have to get a money judgment from the court first. Creditors in those states are also limited by law on how much they can take each paycheck.
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Who Can Garnish My Wages in Texas?
The following are the only debts that can be collected through wage garnishment in Texas:
Unpaid court-ordered child support and spousal support (alimony)
Unpaid income taxes
Lenders, debt buyers, and other debt collectors trying to collect debts, other than those listed above, are powerless in Texas to use wage garnishment as a collection tool.
If the federal government wants to garnish your wages to collect past-due federal income tax debts or federal student loans, it must follow federal law. The state of Texas uses garnishment to collect debts like state taxes, alimony, and child support debts. Neither the federal government nor the state of Texas is required to file a lawsuit or get a judgment before garnishing your wages for these types of debts.
This article focuses on the typical wage garnishment process for a creditor trying to collect non-governmental debts after a court awards it a judgment.
Can My Wages Be Garnished From an Order in Another State?
Texas has some of the strongest wage protection laws in the country. In most cases, your wages can’t be garnished for consumer debts like credit cards or personal loans — even if a court in another state orders it.
But things can get more complicated if the creditor got a judgment in a different state. Let’s say you used to live elsewhere or the creditor is based outside Texas. That creditor might try to collect by taking that out-of-state judgment and bringing it to a Texas court. This is called "domesticating a foreign judgment." If the Texas court accepts it, the judgment becomes enforceable in Texas.
Even then, Texas law still protects your wages from garnishment for most consumer debts. However, the creditor might try to collect in other ways, like going after your bank account or other non-wage property.
Wage Garnishment vs. Account Garnishment
Even though creditors usually can’t take money directly from your paycheck in Texas, they may try another method: going after the money in your bank account.
This is called an account garnishment or bank levy. It works differently than wage garnishment. Instead of taking part of each paycheck, a creditor with a court judgment can ask a Texas court for permission to withdraw money straight from your bank account.
If the court grants the request, it issues a writ of garnishment. That order goes to your bank, which is required to freeze the funds in your account. You’ll also get a notice, but by then, the account may already be frozen.
There’s no legal cap on how much can be taken. If the money is available and not legally protected, the creditor may be able to take the full amount you owe. And this isn’t a one-time event. Creditors can request new garnishment orders and go after different accounts, even if you switch banks.
If you’re dealing with a judgment or worried about your bank account being garnished, you may want to consider talking to a bankruptcy attorney or contacting a local legal aid group to understand your rights.
How Much of My Paycheck Can Be Taken by Wage Garnishment?
Although wages can’t be garnished in Texas, typically, the total amount of money that may be garnished in any circumstance can’t exceed the amount of the judgment with the addition of interest, fees, and costs subject to state and federal exemptions.
All Texas court orders for child support include an automatic income withholding order. The custodial parent can also apply for an order to garnish wages if the other parent falls behind on making child support payments. But the amount that can be garnished is limited by state law.
The garnishment will come out of your disposable income rather than your gross earnings. Your disposable income is your total earnings minus any legally required deductions, such as taxes.
For Child Support Orders:
Up to 50% of an employee’s disposable earnings may be garnished for child support payments.
Up to 60% may be garnished if the employee is not supporting another spouse or child.
An additional 5% may be withheld for payments that are more than 12 weeks past due.
For student loans, the U.S. Department of Education or any loan servicer collecting on its behalf can garnish up to 15% of your wages or the amount your weekly disposable income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less.
This pencils out to $217.50/week (30 x $7.25). So if your weekly disposable income was $400, you’d compare the two numbers, and see which is smaller.
15% of $400 is $60.
$400 exceeds $217.50 by $182.50.
Since $60 is smaller, that’s how much can be garnished.
The IRS can garnish an unlimited amount of your wages and doesn’t need a court order to do it. The IRS will determine how much to garnish based on the number of dependents you have and your deduction rate.
How To Deal With Overwhelming Debt in Texas
If you're feeling overwhelmed by debt and creditors are actively trying to collect, you're not alone. Many people in Texas explore bankruptcy as a way to get relief from consumer debts like credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. Filing for bankruptcy may stop most collection efforts and can wipe out certain debts entirely.
Texas has its own set of bankruptcy exemptions, which are laws that help protect your property when you file. These exemptions can allow you to keep things like your home, car, and personal belongings — depending on your situation.
If your case is straightforward, and you're considering Chapter 7 bankruptcy, some people choose to file without a lawyer by using Upsolve’s free filing tool. But if your case is more complex or you're unsure, it’s a good idea to set up a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney. They can help you understand your rights and walk you through your options.
It’s important to know that not all debts are easy to eliminate through bankruptcy. If your wages are being garnished for unpaid taxes, child support, spousal support, or federal student loans, filing bankruptcy may only stop the garnishment temporarily. These types of debts are harder to erase in a Chapter 7 case. But many people choose Chapter 13 bankruptcy as a way to restructure payments over time and get breathing room from aggressive collections.
Are There Any Resources for People Facing Wage Garnishment in Texas?
Texas has several nonprofit legal aid organizations that can help you if you are losing income because of wage garnishment. The following are some that are available in Texas:
