Wage garnishment in Kentucky

Most a card or medical judgment can take

25% of disposable pay or the part above $217.50 a week if lesssource

Time to challenge a withholding

13 days from the date on the garnished paychecksource

Bank account garnishment

10 days from the bank’s date of receipt to ask for a hearingsource

Job protection

No firing over a garnishment for any one debtsource

How much of my paycheck can be garnished in Kentucky?

KRS 427.010 copies the federal formula. A creditor can take the smaller of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage. Kentucky’s own rate is also $7.25, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s state list, so the floor stays low.

On the court form, disposable earnings are your gross pay minus federal income tax, state income tax, local occupational tax and Social Security. The part you keep for each pay schedule:

• Weekly: $217.50
• Every two weeks: $435.00
• Twice a month: $471.25
• Monthly: $942.50

On $600 of weekly disposable pay, up to $150 can go to the creditor. On $260, the most is $42.50. Child support, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders and tax debts are not bound by these limits.

The Order of Wage Garnishment, form AOC-150

After a creditor wins a judgment, the Circuit Clerk issues an Order of Wage Garnishment, form AOC-150. It tells your employer to hold back the non-exempt part of each check and send it to the creditor’s attorney or to the clerk, until the balance plus interest and costs is paid. It is continuous unless it names only certain pay periods.

The order comes with a Notice of Rights to Assert Exemption. Read it for three things:

• You are entitled to a copy of your employer’s first Affidavit and Answer of Garnishee, which shows the math.
• Your employer must send you a new copy any time the amount withheld changes. If it refuses, you can ask the court for a hearing.
• If you are not the person named or the judgment is already paid, contact the creditor’s attorney right away.

How to challenge a wage garnishment in Kentucky

If you think your employer kept pay that should have been exempt, the AOC-150 notice lists the steps:

1. Within 13 days of the date on the paycheck that was garnished, go to the Circuit Clerk’s office that issued the order.
2. Fill out an Affidavit to Challenge Garnishment.
3. File the original with the clerk and keep a copy.

The clerk then sets a hearing. Go to it, because missing it ends your challenge to that withholding. The judge checks the employer’s figures and orders any wrongly taken pay returned to you.

The garnished money is held for 15 days from the date on the employer’s check before it is paid out, which is the window to raise an exemption. Each new paycheck starts a new 13-day clock. Call and a garnishment specialist goes through the order and the date on your latest check with you.

Can my bank account be garnished in Kentucky?

Yes. A bank account is reached with a separate Order of Garnishment (Non-Wage), form AOC-150.1. The sheriff serves the bank and the bank must freeze the funds and try to let you know by mail or in person. If the court sends no further notice within 14 days, the bank answers and forwards the money.

The form says some money may be exempt, including income tax refunds, Social Security, workers’ compensation, unemployment, public assistance or TANF and some government benefits. You have to claim it. File a notarized Affidavit, form AOC-150.2, with the court clerk within 10 days of the date the bank received the order. The bank keeps holding the funds until the hearing.