Tools · Wage Garnishment
West Virginia Wage Garnishment Calculator (2026)
Enter your disposable pay to see the most a creditor could take in West Virginia (20%), the pay that stays protected, and which rule sets the limit.
West Virginia 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 West Virginia rule is the smaller figure here, so it governs: it protects more of your pay than the federal ceiling would.
These are the West Virginia 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.
- Most a creditor could take
- $160 per paycheck
- Disposable pay entered
- $800 weekly
- West Virginia rule
- 20% cap: $160
- 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 West Virginia wage garnishment reference, cited to W. Va. Code §38-5A-3.
How wage garnishment works in West Virginia
On an ordinary consumer judgment a West Virginia creditor can take at most 20% of your after-tax wages, and only when your weekly after-tax pay exceeds 50 times the federal minimum wage, which is $362.50 at $7.25.
West Virginia is more protective than the federal baseline in two ways. It measures the protected floor against 50 times the federal minimum wage, not the federal 30 times, so about $362.50 a week of after-tax pay is off limits before a creditor can garnish anything. And the continuing lien is capped at 20% of after-tax wages, below the federal 25%. West Virginia calls the wage-garnishment device a "suggestee execution." The statute measures the floor against wages after all state and federal taxes are deducted.
This calculator shows the West Virginia 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 West Virginia wage garnishment reference, cited to W. Va. Code §38-5A-3.
Wage garnishment calculators for other states
Same tool, each with its own cap and protected floor.