Wage garnishment in New Mexico

Most a card or medical judgment can take

25% of take-home pay or the part above $480 a week if that is lesssource

Pay you always keep

$480 a week (40 x $12.00), more where a local minimum wage is highersource

Time to claim a bank or property exemption

10 days after the notice is served on yousource

Exempt wages

Protected automatically; no claim form needed for wagessource

What a creditor can take from your pay in New Mexico

The state’s writ of garnishment form 4-806 tells your employer which part of your disposable earnings is exempt (disposable means pay left after the deductions the law requires). You keep the larger of:

• 75% of your disposable earnings, or
• 40 times the highest minimum hourly wage that applies where you earned the pay.

New Mexico’s minimum wage is $12.00 an hour, as listed in the U.S. Department of Labor state table, so the weekly floor is $480. If your city or county has a higher local minimum wage, that rate counts instead. It does not matter whether your employer itself must pay that rate.

On $600 a week of take-home pay, at most $120 can go to the creditor. On $900, up to $225 can. At $480 or less, nothing can be taken.

The writ goes to your employer, who must answer

In New Mexico the creditor asks the court for a writ of garnishment and your employer is called the garnishee. The writ orders the employer to file a written answer under oath within 20 days of receiving it.

On the answer by garnishee form, your employer lists your weekly net wages, the 75% figure and the minimum wage figure. If it withholds pay, it must mail you the creditor’s application, the writ and a copy of that answer. Compare those numbers with your pay stub. If more than one creditor is garnishing you, they are paid in the order served and the total for ordinary debts still cannot pass 25% of net pay.

How to stop or challenge a garnishment in New Mexico

For wages, the notice of right to claim exemptions says you do not need to file a claim form. The limits apply on their own, so the task is making sure your employer used the right numbers.

For other money, like a bank account, you have 10 days after the notice is served on you to file a claim of exemption from garnishment with the court clerk. Serve copies on the creditor and on the bank or other garnishee. If the creditor disputes your claim, the court sets a hearing and you must bring proof such as an award letter. Miss the 10 days and the money can be turned over. Call and a garnishment specialist can walk through the writ, the answer and the dates with you.

Bank accounts and the 10-day exemption claim

Yes. A writ served on your bank catches money that is in the account when it is served and money that comes in before the bank files its answer. So a deposit made a few days later can be held too.

Many kinds of money are exempt, including Social Security and SSI, public assistance, unemployment, workers’ compensation, veterans’ benefits and pensions or retirement funds. You must claim them on the form within the 10-day window. Keep bank records that show where each deposit came from.