Wage garnishment is one of the debt-collection tools covered by Arizona’s consumer protection laws. This article explains how much of a paycheck a creditor can take, which earnings are protected, how the garnishment process starts, and the ways a debtor can stop or reduce it.
How much of your paycheck Arizona can garnish
Arizona sharply limits how much of an employee’s pay a judgment creditor can take. Under A.R.S. § 33-1131(B), the maximum subject to a garnishment for an ordinary debt is the lesser of 10% of disposable earnings for a workweek, or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 60 times the highest applicable federal, state, or local minimum wage. Disposable earnings are what remain after legally required deductions such as taxes and mandatory withholdings.
The 10% figure is recent. Arizona voters approved Proposition 209 in November 2022, and it took effect December 5, 2022, lowering the ordinary garnishment cap from 25% to 10% of disposable earnings. Because the highest of the federal, state, or local minimum wage applies, a city wage can matter: the Arizona Judicial Branch notes that Flagstaff’s local minimum wage is used in the calculation for garnishments there when it exceeds the state figure.
Support orders are the major exception. Under A.R.S. § 33-1131(C), one-half of disposable earnings is exempt from a garnishment for the support of a person, so up to 50% can be reached for child support or spousal maintenance. And under A.R.S. § 33-1131(D), the ordinary and support limits do not apply to a debt for state or federal taxes or to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy order, which carry their own rules.
Which earnings and income are protected
The second half of the cap protects low-income workers. Because a garnishment cannot reach the portion of weekly disposable earnings at or below 60 times the highest applicable minimum wage, a worker earning near the minimum wage may have nothing withheld for an ordinary debt. The federal floor works the same way: 15 U.S.C. § 1673 caps garnishment at 25% of disposable earnings or the amount over 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less. Arizona’s lower 10% cap applies because the rule that leaves the debtor with more takes precedence.
Some income is not “earnings” that an ordinary creditor can garnish at all. Federal law generally protects Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, veterans’ benefits, and similar federal payments from ordinary creditors, though separate rules allow some of those funds to be reached for child support or federal debts.
Proposition 209 also raised the exemptions that shield property from collection, which matters once wages are paid and sitting in a bank account. As summarized in the Proposition 209 information sheet, the homestead exemption rose to $400,000 under A.R.S. § 33-1101; the exemption for one motor vehicle rose to $15,000, or $25,000 for a debtor or dependent with a physical disability, under A.R.S. § 33-1125; and the exemption for household goods and furnishings rose to $15,000 under A.R.S. § 33-1123.
How a wage garnishment starts
A wage garnishment in Arizona does not happen until a creditor already holds a money judgment. As the Arizona Judicial Branch’s garnishment self-service center explains, garnishment is a method of collecting a judgment, an order signed by a judicial officer awarding money to one party against another. A creditor collecting an unpaid consumer debt generally must first sue and win. Whether the debt is still legally collectible turns on Arizona’s time limits, covered in the statute of limitations on debt in Arizona; a lawsuit filed on a time-barred debt can be challenged before any judgment or garnishment issues.
To garnish earnings, the judgment creditor obtains a writ of garnishment and serves it on the employer, who becomes the “garnishee.” The employer withholds the nonexempt portion of each paycheck and gives the debtor a nonexempt earnings statement showing the calculation, using the forms prescribed in A.R.S. § 12-1598.16. Once the court enters an order, the garnishment becomes a continuing lien on earnings under A.R.S. § 12-1598.10, meaning it applies to future paychecks until the judgment is paid or the writ ends.
How to stop or reduce a garnishment
A debtor has several ways to challenge or unwind a garnishment. The most time-sensitive is the right to a hearing: the notice to the judgment debtor and request-for-hearing form must be delivered with the garnishee’s answer, and a request generally must be filed within 10 days of receiving it.
Request a court hearing on time
Within 10 days of receiving the garnishment notice and the garnishee’s answer, a debtor can file a written request for hearing with the court and deliver copies to the creditor and the employer, under
A.R.S. § 12-1598.16. Recognized grounds include an invalid or already-paid judgment, an incorrect nonexempt-earnings calculation, or earnings already subject to another garnishment or a support order.Ask the court to reduce the amount for hardship
If the standard calculation would cause extreme economic hardship, the court may reduce the amount withheld under a continuing lien. This requires clear and convincing evidence of hardship to the debtor or the debtor’s family, as noted in the Proposition 209 information sheet and
A.R.S. § 12-1598.10.Pay or settle the underlying judgment
A continuing lien ends once the judgment is satisfied in full. Paying the balance or negotiating a lump-sum settlement with the creditor stops future withholding.
Consider a bankruptcy stay
Filing a bankruptcy petition triggers an automatic stay that halts collection, including an active wage garnishment, while the case proceeds.
When a garnishment ends
A continuing lien on earnings does not last forever. Under A.R.S. § 12-1598.10, the lien becomes invalid when the underlying judgment is satisfied in full, vacated, or expires; when the creditor releases the garnishment; when a court quashes it; or when a bankruptcy or other court stays the proceedings. It also ends if the debtor leaves the employer for more than 60 days, or earns no nonexempt wages for at least 60 days (90 days for certain school employees paid only during the school year).
The same statute sets a deadline on the creditor. If no objection is filed and the court does not enter an order of continuing lien within 45 days after the garnishee files its answer, any earnings the employer is holding are released to the debtor and the employer is discharged from the garnishment.
Frequently asked questions
Can a creditor garnish my wages in Arizona without going to court first?
For an ordinary consumer debt, no. A private creditor must sue, obtain a money judgment, and then get a writ of garnishment. Some obligations are different: child support enforcement, unpaid state or federal taxes, and defaulted federal student loans can be collected through administrative or income-withholding processes that do not require a separate civil judgment.
How much can be garnished for child support in Arizona?
Up to 50% of disposable earnings. Under A.R.S. § 33-1131(C), one-half of disposable earnings is exempt from a garnishment for the support of a person, so the other half can be reached. This is higher than the 10% cap that applies to ordinary debts.
Can my bank account be garnished too?
Yes. Money already deposited in a bank account is reached through a non-earnings garnishment rather than a wage garnishment. Exemptions still apply, for example, Social Security and certain other protected funds retain their exempt status, and Proposition 209 raised several property exemption amounts.
What if the debt came from a deceptive sale or scam?
A debtor who believes the underlying obligation arose from a deceptive or unfair business practice has separate remedies under state consumer law. See suing under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act for how those claims and defenses work; consumer-fraud issues are generally raised in the underlying lawsuit, not for the first time at a garnishment hearing.
Can I be fired for having my wages garnished?
Federal law under the Consumer Credit Protection Act generally prohibits an employer from firing an employee because earnings are garnished for any one debt. Protection can be lost if a worker’s pay is garnished for a second, separate debt, so the shield applies per single indebtedness rather than without limit.
Sources
- A.R.S. § 33-1131 (Definition; wages; salary; compensation)
- A.R.S. § 12-1598.10 (Continuing lien on earnings; order)
- A.R.S. § 12-1598.16 (Garnishment forms; notice to judgment debtor)
- Arizona Judicial Branch, Garnishment Self-Service Center
- Arizona Judicial Branch, Proposition 209 Information Sheet
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673 (Restriction on garnishment)