Wage garnishment in Missouri

Most a card or medical judgment can take

25% of take-home pay or the part above $217.50 a week if lesssource

Head of family living in Missouri

10% of take-home pay at mostsource

How long it lasts

Until the judgment is paid or that job endssource

Bank accounts

Benefits are exempt, plus $1,700 of any other propertysource

Missouri wage garnishment limits

The caps are in Revised Statutes of Missouri section 525.030. Your employer starts with your weekly earnings after the deductions the law requires, such as taxes. Then it may hold back only the smallest of three amounts:

• 25% of that pay,
• the part above 30 times the federal minimum wage, which is $217.50 a week, or
• 10% of that pay, if you are the head of a family and a resident of Missouri.

On $700 a week of take-home pay, that means $175 for a single worker but $70 for a head of family. Missouri’s own minimum wage is $15.00 on the U.S. Department of Labor state chart, yet the garnishment floor is still figured on the $7.25 federal rate.

Supporting a family? Check that the 10% rate is being used

The 10% cap is one of the three limits written into the statute, but payroll cannot apply it if it does not know your situation. If 25% is coming out and you are the head of a family, tell your employer’s payroll office and the clerk of the court that issued the garnishment.

Missouri also requires every garnishment notice, summons or writ to print the wage limits on it, so the rule should be right there on the paper you received. Compare it with your pay stub line by line. Court orders for support, bankruptcy court orders and state or federal tax debts are outside these caps.

How long does a garnishment last in Missouri?

Missouri allows a continuous wage garnishment. Under section 525.040, it holds onto your pay until the judgment is paid in full or your job with that employer ends, whichever happens first.

If two creditors serve writs on the same paycheck, the one served first has priority. Your employer must tell the later creditor the case number of the earlier garnishment. A call to us puts you through to a garnishment specialist who checks the writ, the balance left and whether you qualify for the lower family rate.

Can my bank account be garnished in Missouri?

Yes. A garnishment served on your bank can reach money sitting in your account. Section 513.430 protects your right to Social Security, unemployment, public assistance, veterans’ and disability benefits, most retirement accounts and up to $1,700 of any other property, which can include cash.

A head of family may also claim property or wages worth up to $1,250, plus $350 for each unmarried dependent child under 21, under section 513.440. Free legal help comes from the four local programs listed by Missouri Legal Services.