Wage Garnishment in Tennessee: How It Works and What You Can Do

Kylene Ross

Oct 2

5 min read

In Tennessee, a creditor on an ordinary consumer debt usually needs a court judgment before it can garnish your wages. Even then, it can take no more than 25% of your weekly disposable earnings, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106; 15 U.S.C. § 1673). You also have tools to protect exempt money, fix an over-withholding, and ask the court for a payment plan.

It starts with a judgment

Most garnishments on credit cards, medical bills and personal loans follow a lawsuit. In General Sessions Court, that lawsuit starts with a civil warrant. If you do not show up, the creditor can get a default judgment. Our article on being served with a civil warrant in General Sessions explains that first step.

After a General Sessions judgment, either side has 10 days to appeal to Circuit Court for a new trial (Tenn. Code Ann. § 27-5-108). If no appeal is taken in that time, execution may issue (Tenn. Code Ann. § 27-5-108). Garnishment is one form of execution.

How much can be taken from a paycheck

"Disposable earnings" means what is left after deductions the law requires, like taxes. The garnishment cannot be more than the smaller of:

25% of your disposable earnings for the week; or
The amount over 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage for the week.

(Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106; 15 U.S.C. § 1673.) With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, that floor is $217.50 a week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. If your weekly disposable pay is $217.50 or less, none of it can be garnished for an ordinary debt. Other pay periods use an equal amount.

Children. Tennessee adds $2.50 per week to your protected amount for each dependent child under 16 who lives in Tennessee. You must tell your employer about each child, or this does not apply (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-107).

Different limits apply to support orders and to tax debts (15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)).

What the notice from your employer means

Your employer must pay you the exempt part of your earnings and give you a copy of the garnishment summons with a notice of your rights (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-214). That notice says:

Too much taken? You may apply to the court, at the clerk's office listed on the notice, within 20 days of any improper withholding, for a motion to stop the garnishment. The court must hear it within 14 days of filing (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216).
How long it lasts. A wage garnishment is a lien on your pay until the judgment and costs are paid, or for about six months after it is served, whichever comes first. It ends sooner if you leave that job or the judgment is vacated (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-214).
More than one creditor. An earlier wage garnishment has priority over a later one (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-214).

Income that is protected

Some money cannot be taken for an ordinary debt:

Social Security benefits are protected from garnishment under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 407).
Tennessee law also protects unemployment benefits, Families First and local public assistance, veterans' benefits, and certain disability and retirement benefits (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-111).

If federal benefits such as Social Security or VA benefits are directly deposited, your bank must look back two months and leave the benefits deposited in that time available to you. It may not freeze that protected amount (31 C.F.R. §§ 212.3 and 212.6).

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Your bank account and the $10,000 exemption

Tennessee residents may exempt up to $10,000 in personal property, and that can include money in a bank account (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-103). This exemption is not automatic. You claim it by filing a sworn list of the items you choose to exempt, with their values, in the court that has the case (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-114).

Timing matters. The list can be filed before or after the judgment becomes final. But a list filed after the judgment is final does not cover an execution issued before you filed it (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-114). Filing early protects you better.

Our page on defending a lawsuit in Gallatin has a short summary of these same limits.

Ways to stop or reduce a garnishment

Ask for a payment plan. After the time to appeal has passed, you can file a written motion asking the court to order weekly, biweekly or monthly payments to the clerk instead. The motion needs an affidavit about your income and employer. Filing it stays the garnishment while you keep up with the court's order. You get one motion per judgment (Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216).
Act inside 10 days. A General Sessions judgment can be appealed to Circuit Court within 10 days (Tenn. Code Ann. § 27-5-108). A motion to set aside a judgment for mistake, excusable neglect, fraud or similar reasons must also be filed within 10 days (Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-15-727).
Negotiate. A creditor may agree to a settlement or payment schedule. Get any deal in writing. If a creditor is still at the letter stage, see our article on your options after a demand letter.
Bankruptcy. If debts are more than you can manage, that is an option to ask a bankruptcy lawyer about.

Your job is protected for one garnishment

Federal law says an employer may not fire you because your pay has been garnished for any one debt (15 U.S.C. § 1674).

Where to go in Sumner County

General Sessions civil cases in Sumner County run through the Circuit Court Clerk at 155 East Main Street, Gallatin. Check the case number on your garnishment notice so you file in the right court.

How we can help

Attorney Kylene Ross handles civil cases from our office on the Gallatin Public Square, serving Sumner, Wilson, Robertson, Williamson and Davidson counties. We can review the judgment and the garnishment, check whether the right amount is being taken, help you claim exemptions, and ask the court for a payment plan when it fits. See our lawsuit defense page and our civil matters page.

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