New Mexico Wage Garnishment Calculator

Pri Geens

Pri Geens

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New Mexico Wage Garnishment Calculator

How much a New Mexico paycheck can lose to a writ of garnishment, support order, tax garnishment, student loan or Chapter 13 plan. NMSA 35-12-7, 40-4A-4.1, 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677. Estimates only.

Rules encoded (VERIFY): for ordinary judgments the debtor keeps the greater of 75% of disposable earnings or the amount up to 40 times the highest applicable minimum hourly wage (federal, state or local) at the place the wages were earned – so garnishment is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the weekly excess over that 40x floor ($480.00 weekly at the $12.00 state wage). Child support enforcement exempts 50% of disposable earnings, capping support withholding at 50%, and total support withholding plus other garnishment may not exceed 50% of income (NMSA 40-4A-4.1). The Patient Debt Collection Protection Act lets income-qualified patients stop medical debt collection by self-attestation (modeled with the checkbox), and the Medical Debt Protection Act caps medical debt interest at 3%. Taxation and Revenue Department wage garnishments and IRS levies sit outside the 25% cap; TRD is modeled at 25% of disposable. 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 floor wage unless a local rate is higher.
Magistrate, Metropolitan or District Court venue.
The 40x test runs weekly; scaled by 52 / periods.
0 uses the $12.00 state rate. Enter a higher city or county rate where the wages were earned (the statute uses the highest applicable – VERIFY local rates).
Select a county to see the venue note, the 40x floor and the 25% cap.

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.
Counts toward the 50% aggregate of 40-4A-4.1.
Shares the 25% ceiling.

4. Balance and payoff

NMSA 56-8-4 judgment interest placeholder 15% – VERIFY current rate and contract interaction.

How it works

  • Disposable = gross minus legally required withholding; voluntary shown separately.
  • Weekly conversion = 52 / periods (1, 2, 2.1667, 4.3333); the 40x test runs weekly.
  • Floor = 40x the highest applicable minimum wage ($480.00 weekly at $12.00); at or below it nothing is taken for ordinary debts.
  • Consumer cap = lesser of 25% of disposable and the above-floor amount, reduced by other non-support garnishments.
  • Medical debt with a qualifying self-attestation returns $0; otherwise the ordinary caps apply and interest is capped at 3%.
  • Support = lesser of ordered and 50% of disposable (35-12-7(A)), with the 40-4A-4.1 aggregate of 50% including other garnishment.
  • Student loan = lesser of 15% disposable and above the federal 30x floor.
  • IRS = disposable above Pub 1494 exempt; TRD = modeled at 25% of disposable; neither uses the state cap.
  • 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

  • NMSA 35-12-7 (greater of 75% of disposable or 40x highest applicable minimum wage exempt; 50% exempt for child support): law.justia.com
  • NMSA 40-4A-4.1 (support withholding plus other garnishment capped at 50% of income): law.justia.com
  • NM Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, Patient Debt Collection Protection Act and Medical Debt Protection Act (200% FPL self-attestation, 3% interest cap): osi.state.nm.us
  • NM Workforce Solutions minimum wage ($12.00 since January 1, 2023; Albuquerque and other local rates): dws.nm.gov and cabq.gov
  • 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 and DOL Fact Sheet 30: dol.gov
  • NMSA 56-8-4 (judgment interest): law.justia.com
  • IRS Pub 1494 and Form 668-W: irs.gov
  • 20 U.S.C. 1095a, 34 CFR 34.19: studentaid.gov

Test cases

TC1 Bernalillo County, 2026, weekly, state minimum wage. Gross $1,000.00; required $200.00; disposable $800.00. 25% cap $200.00; 40x floor room $800.00 minus $480.00 = $320.00. Withheld $200.00, take-home $600.00, 25.00%. $4,000 at 15% clears in 21 weeks, total $4,200.00, interest $200.00.
TC2 Santa Fe County, 2026, weekly. Gross $600.00; required $120.00; disposable $480.00, exactly at the 40x floor of $480.00. Withheld $0.00; the 75%-or-floor exemption shields the entire paycheck.
TC3 Doña Ana County, 2026, biweekly. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Child support ordered $1,000.00 against the 50% statutory ceiling $920.00 (35-12-7(A)). Withheld $920.00, take-home $920.00.
TC4 San Juan County, 2026, weekly, medical debt with 200% FPL self-attestation. Gross $1,200.00; required $240.00; disposable $960.00. Without the attestation the caps would allow $240.00; with it the Patient Debt Collection Protection Act stops collection. Withheld $0.00, take-home $960.00.
TC5 Lea County, 2026, biweekly, stack. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Support $300.00 (ceiling $920.00); no IRS or TRD order; consumer requested $400.00 within the $460.00 25% cap and $880.00 floor room. Consumer $400.00, total $700.00, take-home $1,140.00; combined withholding stays under the 50% aggregate of 40-4A-4.1.
Estimates only; not legal advice. All figures VERIFY, including the greater-of-75%-or-40x exemption of NMSA 35-12-7, which local minimum wage counts as highest applicable, the 50% support exemption and the 40-4A-4.1 aggregate, the Patient Debt Collection Protection Act self-attestation scope, the 3% medical debt interest cap, the TRD modeled 25%, magistrate and metropolitan court limits and the NMSA 56-8-4 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, and community property claims. Consult a New Mexico attorney or New Mexico Legal Aid. Deploy: replace the block, Update, purge cache, hard refresh; verify document.getElementById(“new-mexico-wage-garnishment-calculator”).getAttribute(“data-js-ready”) returns “true” with no SyntaxError.

What Is a New Mexico Wage Garnishment Calculator?

A New Mexico wage garnishment calculator estimates withholding by starting with gross pay, subtracting legally required deductions, and applying the formula coded for the selected order type. For an ordinary judgment, this calculator compares 25% of disposable earnings with the amount above a 40-times-minimum-wage floor and the remaining room after other non-support garnishments.

The calculator has three modes. Single order calculates one selected order type. Stacking mode processes five entered order categories in a fixed sequence. Payoff mode applies the calculated single-order withholding to an entered debt balance and annual interest rate.

The ordinary judgment floor is based on the highest minimum wage recognized by the code. For the available 2024, 2025, and 2026 year choices, the stored New Mexico rate is $12.00 per hour. A higher local minimum wage override can replace that rate in the ordinary 40-times-floor calculation.

How the New Mexico Wage Garnishment Calculation Works

The calculator first determines disposable earnings. It adds federal income tax, New Mexico income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If those deductions exceed gross pay, the required-withholding total is limited to gross pay.

D=G−min⁡(G,R)D=G-\min(G,R)

Here, D is disposable earnings, G is gross pay for the period, and R is total legally required withholding. Voluntary deductions are not included in R.

The tool converts disposable earnings to a weekly amount because its protected-income tests run weekly. It uses 52 annual periods for weekly pay, 26 for biweekly pay, 24 for semimonthly pay, and 12 for monthly pay.

Dw=D×P52D_w=D\times\frac{P}{52}

In this formula, Dw is weekly disposable earnings and P is the number of pay periods per year.

Ordinary Judgment Formula

Consumer judgments, medical debt judgments, and private student loan judgments use the same ordinary cap calculation unless the medical-debt checkbox blocks collection. The protected weekly floor equals 40 times the highest applicable minimum wage used by the calculator.

F=40mF=40m
H=max⁡(0,Dw−F)×52PH=\max(0,D_w-F)\times\frac{52}{P}

Here, m is the minimum wage selected by the code, F is the weekly protected floor, and H is the pay-period amount above that floor.

The calculator also finds 25% of disposable earnings. It then subtracts the entered other non-support garnishments from that 25% amount to determine aggregate room.

C25=0.25DC_{25}=0.25D
Ragg=max⁡(0,C25−O)R_{agg}=\max(0,C_{25}-O)
Cordinary=min⁡(C25,H,Ragg)C_{ordinary}=\min(C_{25},H,R_{agg})

O is the amount entered for other non-support garnishments. The calculated ordinary cap is the smallest of the 25% amount, the income above the 40-times floor, and the remaining aggregate room. If a positive amount demanded is smaller, that lower amount becomes the withholding. Entering zero applies the calculated maximum.

Worked Example

One test case built into the calculator uses weekly gross pay of $1,000 and $200 of required withholding. Disposable earnings are $800. At the stored $12.00 minimum wage, the protected floor is 40 × $12.00, or $480 per week. That leaves $320 above the floor.

Twenty-five percent of $800 is $200. With no other non-support garnishments, aggregate room is also $200. The calculator therefore compares $200, $320, and $200. The withholding is $200. With no voluntary deductions, the displayed take-home amount is $600 and the withheld share is 25.00% of disposable earnings.

Medical Debt Self-Attestation

The medical-debt checkbox affects the calculation only when Medical debt judgment is the selected order type. If both conditions are true, the calculator sets the ordinary judgment cap to zero. Checking the box while another order type is selected does not zero that other calculation.

The interface also mentions a 3% medical-debt interest cap. However, the payoff function does not automatically replace the entered annual interest rate with 3%. The payoff calculation always uses the value entered in the Interest per year field.

Support Withholding

For both child support and spousal support, the calculator uses 50% of disposable earnings as its single-order ceiling.

Csupport=0.50DC_{support}=0.50D

A positive demanded amount below that ceiling reduces the withholding. Otherwise, the calculator uses the full 50% amount. Although the interface discusses a 50% combined support-and-other-garnishment limit, the single-order support calculation does not subtract the Existing support or Other non-support garnishments fields from this ceiling.

Federal Student Loan AWG

For federal student loan administrative wage garnishment, the code compares 15% of disposable earnings with the amount above a weekly floor equal to 30 times $7.25, or $217.50.

Cstudent=min⁡(0.15D,max⁡(0,Dw−217.50)×52P)C_{student}=\min\left(0.15D,\max(0,D_w-217.50)\times\frac{52}{P}\right)

A lower positive demanded amount is used when applicable. This calculation uses the federal floor rather than the New Mexico 40-times-minimum-wage floor.

IRS Levy Estimate

If a positive IRS exempt-amount override is entered, the calculator uses it directly. Otherwise, it combines its stored amount for the selected year and filing status with $5,300 per dependent and $1,600 per age-65-or-blind box. The annual total is divided by the selected number of pay periods.

E=S+5300N+1600APE=\frac{S+5300N+1600A}{P}
CIRS=max⁡(0,D−E)C_{IRS}=\max(0,D-E)

Here, S is the calculator's stored filing-status amount, N is the entered dependent count, and A is the age-65-or-blind count. The calculator stores separate filing-status amounts for 2024, 2025, and 2026.

TRD Garnishment and Chapter 13

The New Mexico TRD option is modeled as 25% of disposable earnings. The ordinary 40-times-minimum-wage floor is not applied to that order type by the calculation code.

CTRD=0.25DC_{TRD}=0.25D

For Chapter 13, the entered monthly plan payment is converted to the selected payroll frequency. The resulting amount is limited to disposable earnings.

Cplan=min⁡(D,12MP)C_{plan}=\min\left(D,\frac{12M}{P}\right)

For either type, a positive demanded amount below the calculated cap reduces the final single-order withholding.

Payoff Timeline Formula

Payoff mode uses the calculated withholding as the payment made each pay period. For a positive annual interest rate, the calculator first converts the APR to a per-period rate.

i=APR/100Pi=\frac{\text{APR}/100}{P}
n=⌈−ln⁡(1−BiQ)ln⁡(1+i)⌉n=\left\lceil\frac{-\ln\left(1-\frac{Bi}{Q}\right)}{\ln(1+i)}\right\rceil

Here, B is the balance, Q is withholding per period, and n is the rounded-up number of pay periods. If the payment does not exceed one period's interest, the calculator reports that the balance does not amortize. At 0% interest, it divides the balance by the payment and rounds up.

How to Use the New Mexico Wage Garnishment Calculator

  1. Select Single order, Stacking - five order types, or Payoff timeline.
  2. Choose the wage year, a listed county or Other New Mexico county, and your pay frequency.
  3. Enter a local minimum wage override only when you want to supply a rate higher than the calculator's base wage.
  4. If applicable, check the medical-debt self-attestation box.
  5. Enter gross pay for the period, plus federal tax, New Mexico income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding.
  6. Enter voluntary deductions if you want them reflected in take-home pay. They do not reduce disposable earnings.
  7. Select the order type and enter an amount demanded per period if applicable. Zero applies the calculated maximum in Single order or Payoff mode.
  8. For an IRS levy, complete the filing status, dependent, age-65-or-blind, and optional exemption-override fields. For Chapter 13, enter the monthly plan payment.
  9. In Stacking mode, enter requested amounts for support, IRS levy, TRD garnishment, federal student loan AWG, and consumer judgment. Zero means no requested amount for that stack position.
  10. For Payoff mode, enter the balance owed and annual interest rate. The interest field is prefilled with 15%.
  11. Check the required acknowledgment and select Calculate.

The main result shows estimated withholding per pay period. Other displayed figures include weekly and annual withholding, gross and disposable earnings, the protected floor, applicable caps, remaining room, take-home pay, the withheld share of disposable earnings, and the factor identified as binding. Money values are formatted to two decimal places, and percentages are shown to two decimal places.

Understanding the Inputs and Results

The local minimum wage override can range from $0 to $100 per hour. The calculation ignores an override that is not higher than its base minimum wage. With the stored $12.00 rate, the ordinary protected floor is $480 per week.

Required and voluntary deductions have different effects. Federal tax, New Mexico tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding reduce disposable earnings. Voluntary health deductions, 401(k) contributions, and dues are deducted only when the tool calculates take-home pay.

Take-home=max⁡(0,G−R−V−W)\text{Take-home}=\max(0,G-R-V-W)

In this formula, V is voluntary deductions and W is calculated withholding.

The Existing support field is displayed in the result but is not used to reduce the single-order ordinary judgment cap in the JavaScript calculation. Other non-support garnishments do reduce the ordinary 25% aggregate room. This is an important difference between the labels shown in the interface and the arithmetic actually implemented.

How Stacking Mode Works

Stacking mode processes orders in this sequence: support, IRS levy, TRD garnishment, federal student loan AWG, and consumer judgment. Support is capped at 50% of the original disposable earnings and at the remaining disposable amount. The IRS step then uses the earnings remaining after support and subtracts its calculated exemption.

TRD is limited to 25% of the original disposable earnings and to the remaining earnings. Federal student loan AWG is then calculated from the original disposable earnings and federal 30-times floor. In the implemented stack function, that student-loan step is not separately capped to the current remaining earnings before it is subtracted.

The final consumer judgment is limited by the ordinary consumer cap, the remaining 25% non-support room after the student loan amount, and the remaining earnings. Because the code does not apply a separate final 50% aggregate clamp to the entire waterfall, unusual combinations of entered orders can behave differently from the explanatory 50% aggregate note shown in the interface.

In Stacking mode, the primary result at the top still comes from the selected single Order type. The combined stacking amount appears separately as Total withheld in the Priority waterfall panel. The payoff panel also appears in Stacking mode and uses the stacked total as its periodic payment.

The balance field is required only when Payoff mode is selected. Stacking mode can still display the payoff panel with a zero balance, in which case the calculator reports that a balance should be entered.

Most dollar inputs accept values from $0 through $10,000,000. Balance owed accepts up to $100,000,000. The annual interest rate accepts 0% through 40%. IRS dependents allow 0 through 20, and the age-65-or-blind input allows 0 through 2. Gross pay must be greater than zero, a county must be selected, and the acknowledgment checkbox must be checked before results are calculated.

The 15% default interest figure, legal caps, medical-debt rules, tax assumptions, procedure notes, and other legal figures are explicitly marked for verification in the calculator. Real withholding can depend on the controlling order, current law, exemptions, court procedure, and facts outside this model. The result is an estimate, not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the calculator withhold for an ordinary New Mexico judgment?

It uses the smallest of 25% of disposable earnings, the amount above the 40-times-minimum-wage floor, and remaining 25% aggregate room after other non-support garnishments. A smaller positive demanded amount can reduce the result further. A medical-debt self-attestation can reduce a selected medical judgment to zero.

How does a higher local minimum wage change the result?

A higher override raises the ordinary protected-income floor because the calculator multiplies the selected minimum wage by 40. That can reduce the amount available for a consumer, medical, or private student loan judgment. An override at or below the calculator's base wage is ignored.

Do voluntary deductions reduce the garnishment base?

No. Voluntary deductions do not reduce disposable earnings in this calculator. They affect only the displayed take-home amount. Mandatory retirement is different because it is included with federal tax, New Mexico tax, Social Security and Medicare, and other required deductions before disposable earnings are calculated.

What does entering zero for Amount demanded mean?

In Single order and Payoff modes, zero tells the calculator to use the full cap produced by the selected formula. If you enter a positive demanded amount below that cap, the calculator uses the smaller amount. In the separate stacking order fields, zero means no amount is requested for that order.

Does the medical-debt checkbox automatically change the interest rate to 3%?

No. The checkbox can set withholding to zero when Medical debt judgment is selected, but it does not alter the Interest per year input. The payoff calculation uses whatever APR is entered in that field, including the calculator's 15% default unless the user changes it.

How does the calculator estimate an IRS levy?

It uses a positive exemption override when provided. Otherwise, it combines a stored filing-status amount for the selected year with $5,300 per dependent and $1,600 per age-65-or-blind box, then divides by the number of annual pay periods. Disposable earnings above that estimate are treated as available for the levy.

Can the calculator estimate how long a debt will take to pay off?

Yes. Payoff mode uses the calculated withholding, balance, APR, and pay frequency to estimate pay periods and calendar time. It also displays total paid and interest paid. If withholding is zero, no payoff is calculated. If a positive-interest payment does not cover one period's interest, the calculator reports that the balance does not amortize.

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