Tools · Wage Garnishment
Delaware Wage Garnishment Calculator (2026)
Enter your disposable pay to see the most a creditor could take in Delaware (15%), the pay that stays protected, and which rule sets the limit.
Delaware wage garnishment calculator
Disposable earnings is your pay after legally required deductions: federal and state taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. It is close to your take-home pay, before voluntary deductions like a 401(k) or health premiums.
The Delaware rule is the smaller figure here, so it governs: it protects more of your pay than the federal ceiling would.
These are the Delaware figures applied to what you entered: a plain summary of the limits, not a determination that any garnishment is correct or incorrect. Court orders set the actual withholding.
The figure above is the most the percentage caps allow. Delaware also protects a set amount of pay outright, and this calculator cannot pin that floor to one dollar figure. Eighty-five percent of your wages for labor or service is exempt outright under 10 Del. C. §4913, so at least 85% of every paycheck is protected. The federal rule (the lesser of 25% or the amount above $217.50 a week) still backstops this, but Delaware's flat 15% cap is more protective for most workers.
- Most a creditor could take
- Up to $120 per paycheck
- Disposable pay entered
- $800 weekly
- Delaware rule
- 15% cap: $120
- Federal ceiling
- 25% / $217.50 floor: $200
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.
Informational only, not legal advice. Garnishment limits carry exceptions this summary cannot weigh (support orders, taxes, student loans, existing court orders), and exemptions often must be claimed by a deadline. See the full rules, the exemption steps, and the citations on the Delaware wage garnishment reference, cited to 10 Del. C. §4913.
How wage garnishment works in Delaware
On an ordinary consumer judgment, a Delaware creditor can take no more than 15% of your wages, because 10 Del. C. §4913 makes 85% of your wages exempt, which is one of the lowest garnishment caps in the country.
The 15% cap comes from the statute making 85% of wages exempt. It applies to ordinary money judgments. Support obligations are handled separately and can reach a larger share of pay. Delaware has no general prejudgment wage attachment for consumer debt: a creditor needs a judgment first.
This calculator shows the Delaware figures applied to your own pay. It is informational only and not legal advice: support orders, taxes, and student loans follow their own rules, and exemptions often must be claimed by a short deadline. For the full rule, the exemption steps, and the citations, see the Delaware wage garnishment reference, cited to 10 Del. C. §4913.
Wage garnishment calculators for other states
Same tool, each with its own cap and protected floor.