How Much Can a Creditor Garnish From My Paycheck in Maryland?

I have read about 500 of these. The stub always tells the same story. Gross pay looks fine. Net pay is unrecognizable. And the line in between is not a mistake, it is a court order that a creditor obtained and sent to a payroll department that had no choice but to comply.

What This Pay Stub Shows

Here is the stub, line by line.

• Gross pay: $2,189.40

• Social Security tax: minus $134.62

• Medicare tax: minus $31.48

• Wage garnishment: minus $505.83

• Union dues, pension, and other deductions

• Net pay: $1,338.12, sent entirely to the bank

• Net check to the worker: $0.00

What a Garnishment Really Is

A wage garnishment is the end of a process, not the beginning. Before a dollar leaves your check, a creditor sued you, won a judgment, and asked the court to issue a writ of garnishment. Your employer received that writ and became legally obligated to withhold. In Maryland that process runs through the District Court under Maryland Rule 3-646. Filing a bankruptcy petition triggers the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. 362, which stops the garnishment. Not in thirty days. On the day the case is filed, once notice reaches the employer and the creditor.

How Much Can Actually Be Taken

Maryland limits how much can be taken, and the protection is generous. Under Commercial Law 15-601.1, the law exempts the greater of two things: 75 percent of your disposable wages, or 30 times the state minimum hourly wage for each week in the pay period. Disposable wages are what is left after legally required withholdings. Maryland's state minimum wage is $15.00 an hour in 2026, so the second figure works out to $450 for each week of the pay period, and whichever of the two is larger is what stays protected. Any medical insurance premium your employer deducts is also fully exempt. On top of this, federal law caps any garnishment at 25 percent of disposable wages. In plain terms, a creditor can never take more than a quarter of your disposable pay, and for lower earners the protected floor often means they can take even less, or nothing at all.

Two Things People Get Wrong

First, people assume a garnishment means they ignored something. In my experience that is almost never true. Most people were served, tried to resolve it, and ran out of options before the judgment entered. Second, they assume it has to run its course. It does not. The automatic stay stops it the day you file. There is also a lookback worth knowing. If a creditor collected more than $600 from you in the 90 days before you file, that money may be recoverable as a preferential transfer under 11 U.S.C. 547.

Common Questions

How much of my paycheck can be garnished in Maryland?

Maryland protects the greater of 75 percent of your disposable wages or 30 times the state minimum wage for each week of the pay period, which is $450 a week at the 2026 state minimum of $15 an hour, plus any medical insurance premium your employer deducts. Federal law also caps a garnishment at 25 percent of disposable wages, so a creditor reaches whichever limit is smaller.

Can my employer fire me because of a garnishment?

Federal law (15 U.S.C. 1674) protects you from being fired because your wages were garnished for one debt. It does not protect you if a second, separate debt is also garnished.

Does filing bankruptcy stop a garnishment immediately?

Yes. The automatic stay takes effect the day the petition is filed.

Can I get back money already garnished?

Sometimes. If more than $600 was taken in the 90 days before you file, it may be recoverable as a preferential transfer.

Related guides: Chapter 13 in Maryland and Chapter 7 in Maryland. Or book a free consult.