A wage garnishment is the required withholding of an employee's income by an employer for the payment of a debt. Such requirements may be the result of a court order or may be in accordance with an IRS or state tax collection effort. While laws governing wage garnishments can vary from state to state, federal law generally supercedes state law unless state law grants extra protections to the debtor.

Federal law protects debtors from being discharged by their employers due to the required garnishment for any one debt. It does not protect debtors from being discharged by their employers if their wages are garnished for more than one debt. Federal law also dictates that under most circumstances wage garnishments cannot exceed more than 25% of a debtor's disposable income, this limit applies regardless of how many wage garnishments are in effect. Exceptions to this include garnishments for child support payments, tax payments and/or payments associated with a bankruptcy ruling.

Creditors typically only use wage garnishment as a last resort collection effort, because of the legal hurdles involved. In most states, a wage garnishment can only be imposed after a court has rendered a judgement that says the debtor owes the money and then issues a court order imposing the garnishment. These are often separate court decisions.

In order to avoid a potentially embarrasing wage garnishment, a debtor might want to consider negotiating a settement with the creditor. Creditors are required to notify a debtor of impending legal action prior to initiating a lawsuit and generally prefer to work directly with a debtor rather than go to court. In many cases, a debtor may wish to consult with an attorney to determine whether the debt is legitimate and the extent of his/her options. An attorney knowledgable in debt collection and bankruptcy law can advise the debtor on the applicable statute of limitations, the maximum garnishment amounts, and the best way to manage the debt.

There are other types of garnishments besides wage garnishments, including bank garnishments. A creditor may seek to have a debtor's bank account garnished if he/she is not gainfully employed. In the cases where a debtor is employed and a lawsuit has been initiated by the creditor, wage garnishments are the most common method of collection.