Maine Wage Garnishment Calculator

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Maine Wage Garnishment Calculator

How much a Maine paycheck can lose to an installment payment order, support withholding, tax levy, student loan or Chapter 13 plan. 9-A M.R.S. 5-105, 14 M.R.S. 3121, 19-A M.R.S. 2356, 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677. Estimates only.

Rules encoded (VERIFY): for a judgment arising from a consumer credit transaction, garnishment is the lesser of 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the higher of the federal minimum wage or the Maine minimum wage (9-A M.R.S. 5-105(2)) – $604.00 weekly in 2026 at the $15.10 state wage. Other judgments use the federal CCPA floor of 30 times $7.25 ($217.50 weekly) with the same 25% cap. Support withholding follows the CCPA tiers 50 / 55 / 60 / 65% (19-A M.R.S. 2356) and takes priority. Maine Revenue Services wage levies and IRS levies sit outside the 25% cap; MRS is modeled at 25% of disposable. Federal student loan AWG uses 15% with the federal floor. Maine minimum wage: $14.15 (2024), $14.65 (2025), $15.10 (2026); Portland sets a higher local wage but the statute keys to the state rate. No court may enforce an order violating 5-105. No discharge for one garnishment (15 U.S.C. 1674).

1. Mode, county and pay date

Stack uses the order boxes in section 3.
Sets the 40x consumer-credit floor wage.
District or Superior Court venue.
5-105 tests run weekly; scaled by 52 / periods.
Select a county to see the District or Superior Court venue note and both protected floors.

2. Gross pay and legally required withholding

Includes bonuses and commissions.
Voluntary 401(k) excluded.
Take-home only; not in the garnishment base.

3. Order type and amounts

0 applies the statutory maximum.
Informational; support sits outside the 25% aggregate.
Shares the 25% ceiling.

4. Balance and payoff

Maine post-judgment interest follows 14 M.R.S. 1602-B (variable rate – VERIFY); 6% entered as a placeholder.

How it works

  • Disposable = gross minus amounts required by law to be withheld; voluntary shown separately.
  • Weekly conversion = 52 / periods (1, 2, 2.1667, 4.3333); 5-105 tests run weekly.
  • Consumer credit floor = 40x the higher of federal or Maine minimum wage ($604.00 weekly in 2026); other judgments use the 30x federal floor ($217.50).
  • Cap = lesser of 25% of disposable and the above-floor amount, reduced by other non-support garnishments within the CCPA 25% aggregate.
  • Support = lesser of ordered and the CCPA tier 50 / 55 / 60 / 65% of disposable.
  • Student loan = lesser of 15% disposable and above the federal 30x floor.
  • IRS = disposable above Pub 1494 exempt; MRS = modeled at 25% of disposable; neither uses the state caps.
  • Stack applies precedence in order and the 25% aggregate on non-support, non-tax orders.
  • Payoff amortizes at the entered rate and flags non-amortizing or zero-withholding cases.

Sources

  • 9-A M.R.S. 5-105 (25% cap; 40x the higher of federal or state minimum wage for consumer credit judgments; no court may enforce a violating order): legislature.maine.gov
  • 14 M.R.S. 3121 and chapter 502 (definitions, installment payment order procedure): mainelegislature.org
  • 19-A M.R.S. 2356 (support withholding maximums): legislature.maine.gov
  • Maine Department of Labor minimum wage ($14.15 / $14.65 / $15.10; Portland local rate): maine.gov/labor
  • Pine Tree Legal Assistance garnishment and child support guides: ptla.org
  • 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 and DOL Fact Sheet 30: dol.gov
  • Maine Revenue Services collections and wage levies: maine.gov/revenue
  • IRS Pub 1494 and Form 668-W: irs.gov
  • 20 U.S.C. 1095a, 34 CFR 34.19: studentaid.gov
  • 14 M.R.S. 1602-B (post-judgment interest): legislature.maine.gov

Test cases

TC1 Cumberland County, 2026, weekly, consumer credit judgment. Gross $1,000.00; required $200.00; disposable $800.00. 25% cap $200.00; 40x floor room $800.00 minus $604.00 = $196.00. Withheld $196.00, take-home exactly $604.00. $4,000 at 6% clears in 21 weeks, total $4,116.00, interest $116.00.
TC2 Penobscot County, 2026, weekly, consumer credit judgment. Gross $700.00; required $140.00; disposable $560.00, at or below the $604.00 consumer floor. Withheld $0.00; the 25% cap would have allowed $140.00 had the floor not barred it.
TC3 York County, 2026, biweekly. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Child support, no second family, arrears 12 weeks or older: 65% tier $1,196.00; ordered $1,200.00. Withheld $1,196.00, take-home $644.00.
TC4 Kennebec County, 2026, weekly, non-consumer judgment. Gross $1,000.00; required $200.00; disposable $800.00. The 30x federal floor leaves $582.50 of room, so the 25% cap $200.00 binds instead. Withheld $200.00, take-home $600.00 – $4.00 more than the same paycheck would lose to a consumer credit judgment.
TC5 Androscoggin County, 2026, biweekly, stack, consumer credit judgment. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Support $300.00; no IRS or MRS order; consumer requested $400.00 but the 25% cap $460.00 binds below the $632.00 floor room. Consumer $400.00, total $700.00, take-home $1,140.00.
Estimates only; not legal advice. All figures VERIFY, including which judgments qualify as consumer credit transactions under 9-A M.R.S. 5-105, the 40x higher-minimum-wage floor and its annual wage values, the CCPA support tiers under 19-A M.R.S. 2356, the MRS modeled 25%, Portland and other local minimum wages, District Court small claims limits and the 14 M.R.S. 1602-B post-judgment rate. Pub 1494 estimate uses 2026 standard deductions ($16,100 / $24,150 / $32,200) plus $5,300 per dependent plus $1,600 per age-65 or blind box. Not modeled: service-date priority, contested exemption hearings, automatic stays, self-employment income, bonuses, severance, pensions, unemployment or workers compensation. Consult a Maine attorney or Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Deploy: replace the block, Update, purge cache, hard refresh; verify document.getElementById(“maine-wage-garnishment-calculator”).getAttribute(“data-js-ready”) returns “true” with no SyntaxError.

What Is a Maine Wage Garnishment Calculator?

A Maine wage garnishment calculator estimates withholding from a pay period after subtracting legally required deductions from gross pay. This tool then applies the calculation branch for the selected order, including Maine's consumer-credit floor, the federal floor for other judgments, support percentages, student loan limits, tax levies, or a Chapter 13 payment.

The calculator offers Single order, Stacking - five order types, and Payoff timeline modes. Its main result is Withheld per pay period. It also shows disposable earnings, both protected wage floors, the order-specific cap, weekly and annual withholding, estimated take-home pay, the percentage of disposable earnings withheld, and the factor that controlled the result.

How the Maine Wage Garnishment Calculation Works

The calculation starts with disposable earnings. The tool adds federal income tax, Maine income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If those deductions exceed gross pay, required withholding is limited to gross pay.

D=G−min⁡(G,R)D=G-\min(G,R)

D is disposable earnings, G is gross pay for the period, and R is total legally required withholding. Voluntary deductions are not removed when disposable earnings are calculated.

The calculator then converts disposable earnings to a weekly amount using 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, or 12 monthly pay periods per year.

Dw=D×P52D_w=D\times\frac{P}{52}

P is the number of pay periods per year. Maine consumer-credit judgments and private student loan judgments use a 40-times floor based on the higher of the federal minimum wage or the Maine minimum wage stored for the selected year.

F40=40×max⁡(Wf,Wm)F_{40}=40\times\max(W_f,W_m)

The calculator stores Maine minimum wages of $14.15 for 2024, $14.65 for 2025, and $15.10 for 2026. Those values produce weekly consumer-credit floors of $566.00, $586.00, and $604.00. Other judgments use a separate 30-times federal floor of $217.50.

F30=30×7.25=217.50F_{30}=30\times7.25=217.50

The amount above either floor is converted back to the selected pay period:

H=max⁡(0,(Dw−F)×52P)H=\max\left(0,(D_w-F)\times\frac{52}{P}\right)

Consumer Credit and Other Judgment Formula

For a consumer credit judgment or private student loan judgment, the calculator uses the 40-times floor. For Other judgment, it uses the 30-times federal floor. In either case, it compares 25% of disposable earnings, the applicable above-floor amount, and remaining room after other non-support garnishments.

Cj=min⁡(0.25D,H,max⁡(0,0.25D−O))C_j=\min\left(0.25D,H,\max(0,0.25D-O)\right)

O is Other non-support garnishments. A positive Amount demanded per period below the calculated cap reduces the withholding. Entering $0 uses the full calculated maximum. Support already withheld is displayed for information but is not subtracted by this judgment formula.

Support Withholding

Child support and spousal support use a percentage of disposable earnings. The calculator uses 50% when Second family is selected and 60% when it is not. Selecting Arrears 12 weeks or older adds 5 percentage points.

Cs=rDC_s=rD

The implemented rate r can therefore be 50%, 55%, 60%, or 65%. A positive demanded amount below that ceiling reduces withholding to the entered amount. The 40-times and 30-times judgment floors do not limit this support branch.

Federal Student Loan, IRS, MRS, and Chapter 13

Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment uses the smaller of 15% of disposable earnings and the amount above the 30-times federal floor.

CAWG=min⁡(0.15D,H30)C_{AWG}=\min(0.15D,H_{30})

The IRS branch estimates an exempt amount from a stored value for the selected wage year and filing status. It adds $5,300 per dependent and $1,600 per age-65-or-blind box before dividing by the number of pay periods. A positive Override exempt amount replaces this calculation.

E=S+5300d+1600bPE=\frac{S+5300d+1600b}{P}
CIRS=max⁡(0,D−E)C_{IRS}=\max(0,D-E)

The Maine Revenue Services branch is modeled at 25% of disposable earnings. Chapter 13 converts the entered monthly payment into the selected pay frequency and limits it to disposable earnings.

CMRS=0.25DC_{MRS}=0.25D
CCh13=min⁡(D,12MP)C_{Ch13}=\min\left(D,\frac{12M}{P}\right)

Worked Example

Assume weekly gross pay of $1,000 and legally required withholding of $200. Disposable earnings are $800. Use the 2026 wage year, choose a consumer credit judgment, enter no other non-support garnishments, and leave Amount demanded at $0.

D=1000−200=800D=1000-200=800

The calculator's 2026 consumer-credit floor is $604.00. The amount above that floor is therefore $196.00. Twenty-five percent of disposable earnings is $200.00, and the aggregate room is also $200.00.

Cj=min⁡(200,196,200)=196C_j=\min(200,196,200)=196

The calculator therefore displays $196.00 withheld for the week. With no voluntary deductions, estimated take-home pay is $604.00. The same paycheck under the Other judgment branch would use the lower $217.50 floor, making the 25% cap of $200.00 the smaller limit.

How to Use the Maine Wage Garnishment Calculator

  1. Select Single order, Stacking - five order types, or Payoff timeline.
  2. Choose the wage year. This selects the stored Maine minimum wage for the consumer-credit floor and also affects the calculator's IRS exemption estimate.
  3. Select one of Maine's 16 counties and choose weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly pay.
  4. Enter gross pay plus federal tax, Maine tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and any other required withholding.
  5. Enter voluntary deductions separately. They affect estimated take-home pay but do not reduce disposable earnings.
  6. Select the order type and enter the demanded amount, existing support, and other non-support garnishments where relevant.
  7. For support, IRS, Chapter 13, or Stack mode, complete the additional fields shown by the calculator.
  8. For Payoff timeline mode, enter the balance owed and annual interest rate. The interest field starts at 6%, which the calculator labels as a placeholder to verify.
  9. Check the required acknowledgment and select Calculate. Use Reset to return the calculator to its initial values.

Gross pay must be greater than zero. The main output is Withheld per pay period. The calculator also displays the weekly and annual equivalents, estimated take-home pay, the order-specific cap, remaining room, and the binding factor identified by its calculation logic.

Understanding the Two Maine Wage Floors, Stack Mode, and Payoff Results

The most important distinction in the ordinary judgment calculation is which protected floor the selected order uses. Consumer credit judgments and private student loan judgments use the 40-times higher-minimum-wage floor. Other judgments use the 30-times federal floor. Because the 40-times floor is much higher in the values stored for 2024 through 2026, the order type can materially change the result.

The County field affects the District or Superior Court venue text shown by the calculator. It does not create a county-specific numerical garnishment formula.

How Stack Mode Works

Stack mode processes entered amounts in this order: support, IRS levy, Maine Revenue Services levy, federal student loan, and consumer credit judgment. Support is limited by its support percentage and the disposable earnings still available. The IRS step uses the amount remaining above the calculated IRS exemption.

The MRS step is limited to its requested amount, 25% of the original disposable earnings, and the amount still remaining. Federal student loan withholding is limited to the entered order, 15% of original disposable earnings, and the federal 30-times floor.

In the implemented stack code, the student-loan amount is not separately capped by the remaining-income variable before it is subtracted. The final consumer credit judgment is limited by its ordinary judgment cap, remaining 25% non-support room after the student-loan amount, and remaining earnings.

How the Payoff Timeline Works

The payoff calculation treats withholding as a recurring payment. The periodic interest rate equals the entered annual rate divided by 100 and then by the number of pay periods per year.

i=APR100Pi=\frac{APR}{100P}

For a positive interest rate, the periodic payment must exceed one period of interest on the starting balance. If it does, the calculator estimates the number of periods and rounds upward to a whole payment.

n=⌈−ln⁡(1−BiQ)ln⁡(1+i)⌉n=\left\lceil\frac{-\ln\left(1-\frac{Bi}{Q}\right)}{\ln(1+i)}\right\rceil

B is the balance, Q is withholding per period, and n is the number of pay periods. If the payment is less than or equal to one period of interest on the starting balance, the calculator reports that the balance never amortizes.

With positive interest, displayed Total paid equals the rounded number of pay periods multiplied by the full periodic payment. Interest paid equals that total minus the starting balance. At 0% interest, the calculator rounds balance divided by payment upward, displays the balance as Total paid, and shows $0.00 interest.

Stack mode also renders the payoff panel using total stacked withholding as the periodic payment. Balance owed is required only by the form's Payoff timeline mode, so a stack calculation can display a payoff panel with no payoff periods when the balance remains zero.

Most dollar inputs allow values from $0 through $10,000,000. Balance owed allows up to $100,000,000, and Interest per year accepts 0% through 40%. IRS dependents accept 0 through 20, while Age 65 or blind accepts 0 through 2.

Estimated take-home pay subtracts required withholding, voluntary deductions, and the calculated garnishment from gross pay. If that result is below zero, the calculator displays zero instead.

T=max⁡(0,G−R−V−W)T=\max(0,G-R-V-W)

This tool provides a legal and financial estimate based on its encoded assumptions and the values entered. Actual withholding may depend on the specific order, exemptions, court proceedings, tax documents, applicable wage figures, and other facts. The calculator itself marks legal rules and rates for verification, so its output should not be treated as legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the calculator determine disposable earnings?

It subtracts entered federal income tax, Maine income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding from gross pay. If the required deductions exceed gross pay, the calculator caps them at gross pay. Voluntary deductions do not reduce disposable earnings.

Why does Maine use two different protected wage floors in this calculator?

The calculator assigns different floors to different judgment categories. Consumer credit and private student loan judgments use 40 times the higher stored minimum wage. Other judgments use 30 times the $7.25 federal amount. The selected order type decides which floor is used in the withholding formula.

What are the consumer-credit floors for 2024, 2025, and 2026?

The values encoded in the calculator are $566.00 per week for 2024, $586.00 for 2025, and $604.00 for 2026. They come from multiplying the calculator's stored Maine minimum wages of $14.15, $14.65, and $15.10 by 40.

How are the 50%, 55%, 60%, and 65% support rates selected?

The calculator uses 50% when Second family is selected and 60% when it is not. Selecting Arrears 12 weeks or older adds 5 percentage points. This produces the four implemented support ceilings of 50%, 55%, 60%, and 65% of disposable earnings.

What does entering $0 for Amount demanded per period mean?

In Single order mode, $0 tells the calculator to use the maximum produced by the selected order type's formula. If a positive demanded amount is lower than the calculated cap, the calculator uses the smaller entered amount instead.

Does Support already withheld reduce an ordinary judgment?

No. The calculator reads and displays Support already withheld, but its ordinary judgment function does not subtract that value. Other non-support garnishments do reduce available room because they are subtracted from the calculator's 25% aggregate ceiling.

What happens if the payoff payment does not cover interest?

The calculator reports that the balance never amortizes when withholding per period is less than or equal to the interest accruing on the starting balance during one period. If withholding is zero, it also produces no payoff-period estimate because there is no recurring payment to reduce the balance.

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