Tennessee Wage Garnishment Calculator

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Tennessee Wage Garnishment Calculator

Calculate wage garnishment limits under Tennessee law. Tenn. Code § 26-2-106, 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677. Estimates only.

Rules encoded (VERIFY): Tennessee follows federal CCPA limits: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50 weekly) per Tenn. Code § 26-2-106. Child support follows CCPA tiers 50/55/60/65% per Tenn. Code § 26-2-109. Federal student loan AWG uses 15%. Federal tax debts up to 25%. Post-judgment interest runs at 10% per year (Tenn. Code § 28-22-101). Tennessee has no state income tax.

1. Mode, county and pay date

Stack uses the order boxes in section 3.
Tennessee uses federal $7.25 minimum wage for garnishment calculations.
Circuit Court venue.
Federal 30x test runs weekly; scaled by 52 / periods.
Select a county to see the venue note and federal floor figures.

2. Gross pay and legally required withholding

Includes bonuses and commissions.
Tennessee has NO state income tax.
Voluntary 401(k) excluded.
Take-home only; not in the garnishment base.

3. Order type and amounts

0 applies the statutory maximum.
Reduces the 25% aggregate room.
Shares the 25% ceiling.

4. Balance and payoff

Tennessee post-judgment interest: 10% per year (Tenn. Code § 28-22-101 – VERIFY).

How it works

  • Disposable = gross minus legally required withholding; voluntary shown separately.
  • Weekly conversion = 52 / periods (1, 2, 2.1667, 4.3333).
  • Tennessee follows federal CCPA limits: lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or excess over 30× $7.25 weekly.
  • Consumer debts = up to 25% of disposable earnings per CCPA.
  • Support = lesser of ordered and CCPA tier 50/55/60/65% of disposable earnings per Tenn. Code § 26-2-109.
  • Federal tax = up to 25% of disposable earnings per CCPA.
  • Student loan AWG = lesser of 15% disposable and above the federal 30x floor.
  • Chapter 13 = the confirmed plan payment, capped at disposable earnings.
  • Stack applies precedence in order.
  • Payoff amortizes at the entered rate and flags non-amortizing or zero-withholding cases.

Sources

  • Tenn. Code § 26-2-106 (wage garnishment limits following CCPA): tn.gov/legislature
  • Tenn. Code § 26-2-109 (support withholding): tn.gov/legislature
  • Tenn. Code § 28-22-101 (post-judgment interest: 10% per year): tn.gov/legislature
  • 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 (Consumer Credit Protection Act): dol.gov
  • DOL Fact Sheet 30 (wage garnishment protections): dol.gov
  • Tennessee Department of Revenue (tn.gov/revenue)
  • IRS Pub 1494 and Form 668-W: irs.gov
  • 20 U.S.C. 1095a, 34 CFR 34.19 (student loan AWG): studentaid.gov

Test cases

TC1 Shelby County, 2026, weekly, consumer debt. Gross $1,000.00; required $200.00; disposable $800.00. 25% cap = $200.00. Withheld $200.00, take-home $600.00.
TC2 Davidson County, 2026, weekly, consumer debt. Gross $300.00; required $50.00; disposable $250.00. Floor $217.50 leaves $32.50 reachable; 25% cap is $62.50. Withheld $32.50, take-home $217.50.
TC3 Knox County, 2026, biweekly, child support. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. With no second family and no arrears, the CCPA tier is 60% = $1,104.00. Withheld $1,104.00, take-home $736.00.
TC4 Hamilton County, 2026, semimonthly, federal student loan AWG. Gross $2,600.00; required $600.00; disposable $2,000.00. The 15% AWG cap is $300.00. Withheld $300.00, take-home $1,400.00.
TC5 Rutherford County, 2026, monthly, medical debt. Gross $4,000.00; required $1,000.00; disposable $3,000.00. 25% cap = $750.00. Withheld $750.00, take-home $2,250.00.
Estimates only; not legal advice. All figures VERIFY, including the Tennessee wage garnishment limits under Tenn. Code § 26-2-106, the CCPA support tiers, the federal student loan 15% cap, and the 10% post-judgment interest rate. Not modeled: contested exemption hearings, automatic stays, self-employment income, bonuses, severance, pensions, unemployment or workers compensation. Consult a Tennessee attorney or Tennessee Legal Services. Deploy: replace the block, Update, purge cache, hard refresh; verify document.getElementById(“tennessee-wage-garnishment-calculator”).getAttribute(“data-js-ready”) returns “true” with no SyntaxError.

What Is a Tennessee Wage Garnishment Calculator?

A Tennessee wage garnishment calculator estimates withholding for one pay period by calculating disposable earnings and applying the coded limit for the selected order. Depending on the order type, the calculation may use a 25% cap, a protected earnings floor, a support percentage, an estimated federal tax exemption, or a converted Chapter 13 plan payment.

The calculator displays the estimated amount withheld per pay period, disposable earnings, applicable caps, weekly and yearly withholding, take-home pay, and the percentage of disposable earnings withheld. Stacking mode adds a priority waterfall. Payoff calculations use the resulting withholding amount to estimate how many pay periods a balance may take to satisfy.

The tool describes its figures as estimates and marks its legal assumptions for verification. Actual withholding can depend on the governing order, agency calculations, exemptions, court procedures, and other facts outside this calculator. The result is not legal advice or a legal determination.

How the Tennessee Wage Garnishment Calculation Works

The calculator begins by finding disposable earnings. It adds federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If that total exceeds gross pay, the code limits required withholding to gross pay.

D=G−min⁡(G,R)D=G-\min(G,R)

In this formula, 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 calculator uses them later when it displays take-home pay.

The tool converts the selected payroll period to a weekly basis. If p is annual pay periods, the code uses 52 for weekly, 26 for biweekly, 24 for semimonthly, and 12 for monthly pay.

w=52pw=\frac{52}{p}

The code uses a protected weekly figure of 30 times $7.25, or $217.50. The amount of disposable earnings above that floor for the selected pay period is:

H=max⁡(0,D−217.50w)H=\max\left(0,D-217.50w\right)

Consumer and Medical Debt

Consumer and medical debt use the same branch. The calculator compares the amount above the protected floor with the remaining portion of 25% of disposable earnings after the Other garnishments entry is deducted.

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

Here, O is Other garnishments. If Amount demanded per period is $0, the code uses the full calculated cap. A positive demanded amount below that cap becomes the withholding amount.

Child Support and Alimony

Child support and alimony use the same support formula. The rate is 50% when the second-family box is checked and 60% when it is not. Checking the arrears box adds five percentage points.

Csupport=rDC_{support}=rD

The possible coded rates are 50%, 55%, 60%, and 65%. A positive demanded amount below the applicable ceiling reduces the calculated withholding to that amount.

Federal Student Loan AWG

The federal student loan AWG calculation uses the smaller of 15% of disposable earnings and the disposable earnings above the encoded federal floor.

Cstudent=min⁡(0.15D,H)C_{student}=\min(0.15D,H)

A positive demanded amount can reduce the result when it is lower than this calculated cap.

Federal Tax Debt

Federal tax debt follows a separate calculation. The calculator estimates an exempt amount for each pay period and treats disposable earnings above that amount as available for the levy.

Ctax=max⁡(0,D−E)C_{tax}=\max(0,D-E)

If Override exempt amount is greater than $0, the code uses that value as E. Otherwise, it starts with a stored amount for the selected year and filing status, adds $5,300 for each dependent and $1,600 for each age-65-or-blind box, then divides by annual pay periods.

E=B+5300d+1600apE=\frac{B+5300d+1600a}{p}

Here, B is the calculator's stored base amount, d is the dependent count, and a is the age-65-or-blind count. The code includes stored values for 2024, 2025, and 2026 and labels this calculation as an estimate that should be verified.

Chapter 13 Plan

The Chapter 13 branch converts the entered monthly plan payment to the selected payroll frequency. The converted payment is capped at disposable earnings.

CCh13=min⁡(D,12Mp)C_{Ch13}=\min\left(D,\frac{12M}{p}\right)

In this formula, M is the monthly plan payment. A positive Amount demanded below the converted amount further reduces withholding.

Take-Home Pay and Withholding Rate

After calculating withholding, the tool subtracts required withholding, voluntary deductions, and garnishment from gross pay. A negative result is displayed as $0.

T=max⁡(0,G−R−V−C)T=\max(0,G-R-V-C)

Here, V is voluntary deductions and C is the calculated garnishment. The displayed share of disposable earnings withheld is the garnishment divided by disposable earnings when disposable earnings are greater than zero.

Payoff Timeline

For payoff calculations, the withholding amount becomes the recurring payment. The interest input defaults to 10% per year. When the entered annual rate is above zero, the calculator converts it to a rate per pay period.

i=APR100pi=\frac{APR}{100p}

If the payment exceeds the interest accruing during one period, the code calculates the required number of payments and rounds upward.

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

Here, B is the balance and P is withholding per period. If the payment does not exceed one period of interest, the calculator reports that the balance never amortizes. At 0% interest, it divides the balance by the payment and rounds the number of periods upward.

Worked Example

Suppose weekly gross pay is $300 and legally required withholding is $50. For consumer debt with no other garnishments, disposable earnings are $250.

D=300−50=250D=300-50=250

Twenty-five percent of $250 is $62.50. The amount above the $217.50 weekly protected floor is only $32.50.

C=min⁡(62.50,32.50)=32.50C=\min(62.50,32.50)=32.50

The calculator therefore displays $32.50 withheld for the period. With no voluntary deductions, the resulting take-home amount is $217.50.

How to Use the Tennessee Wage Garnishment Calculator

  1. Choose Single order, Stacking, or Payoff timeline mode.
  2. Select the year wages are payable, your Tennessee county, and pay frequency.
  3. Enter gross pay, federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding.
  4. Enter voluntary deductions separately. They affect displayed take-home pay but not the disposable-earnings calculation.
  5. Select the order type and enter any Amount demanded, Support already withheld, and Other garnishments.
  6. Complete the additional fields that appear for support, federal tax debt, Chapter 13, or stacking mode.
  7. For payoff mode, enter the balance owed and annual interest rate.
  8. Check the required acknowledgment and select Calculate.

The main result is Withheld per pay period. The calculator also displays weekly and annual withholding, disposable earnings, the 25% figure, earnings above the protected floor, the order-specific cap, take-home pay, the share of disposable earnings withheld, and the factor identified by the code as binding.

Understanding the Inputs and Results

Pay frequency matters because the calculator starts with a weekly protected figure and scales it to the selected payroll period. Pay frequency also affects yearly withholding, federal tax exemptions per period, Chapter 13 conversions, and payoff calculations.

The county field is required, but the selected county does not change the numerical garnishment formula. The code uses it for the displayed Circuit Court venue text. The year selection mainly affects the stored figures used for the federal tax exemption estimate.

The calculator has no Tennessee state income tax deduction field. Its required-withholding calculation uses federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. The interface itself also states that Tennessee has no state income tax.

The Support already withheld field and the actual consumer-debt calculation do not interact in the same way the displayed Room remaining result may suggest. Room remaining subtracts both existing support and other garnishments from 25% of disposable earnings. The consumer and medical cap itself subtracts only Other garnishments.

Stacking mode has four dedicated entered categories even though its mode label says “Stacking - five order types.” The implemented priority order is support, federal tax, federal student loan AWG, and consumer debt. A $0 entry means that category contributes no withholding.

Support is limited by its support ceiling and remaining disposable earnings. Federal tax is then limited to the remaining amount above the estimated exemption. The student-loan step uses its 15% and federal-floor cap based on the original disposable earnings and is not separately capped to the amount remaining after earlier stack items. Consumer debt is processed last and is limited by the remaining amount.

The stack total is the sum of the four calculated amounts. Take-home after the waterfall is prevented from displaying below $0. In stacking mode, the calculator also runs the payoff calculation using the stack total as the recurring payment, even though a balance is required only when Payoff timeline mode is selected.

For a positive payoff interest rate, displayed Total paid is the rounded-up number of periods multiplied by the full recurring payment. Interest paid is that amount minus the original balance. At 0% interest, Total paid is the balance, and the note shows the calculated final payment.

Currency results are formatted to two decimal places. The main withholding share is displayed as a percentage with two decimal places. Gross pay must be greater than $0. Most money fields allow $0 through $10,000,000, balance owed allows up to $100,000,000, and annual interest allows 0% through 40%.

The IRS dependent input allows 0 through 20, and the age-65-or-blind input allows 0 through 2. The acknowledgment checkbox must be selected before the calculation runs. In payoff mode, the balance field is required, but entering $0 produces a payoff note asking for a balance rather than a normal payoff period count.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are disposable earnings in this calculator?

Disposable earnings are gross pay minus the legally required withholding entered in the calculator. The code includes federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. Voluntary health deductions, 401(k) contributions, and dues are kept separate and do not reduce the garnishment base.

What happens if Amount demanded per period is $0?

In the single-order calculation, $0 tells the code to use the full calculated cap for the selected order type. A positive demand below that cap reduces withholding. The dedicated stacking fields behave differently: a $0 stack order means that category contributes nothing to the priority waterfall.

Does Support already withheld reduce the consumer-debt cap?

Not in the implemented consumer and medical debt formula. The code subtracts Other garnishments when calculating the remaining 25% room for those orders. Support already withheld is included in the separately displayed Room remaining figure, which means that displayed amount can differ from the cap actually used for consumer debt.

How does the federal tax calculation work?

The calculator subtracts an exempt amount from disposable earnings. A positive override is used directly. Otherwise, the code estimates the exemption from its stored year and filing-status figure, the entered number of dependents, age-65-or-blind boxes, and the selected number of annual pay periods.

Why does pay frequency change the estimate?

The tool applies its $217.50 protected figure on a weekly basis and scales it to the chosen pay period. Weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay therefore produce different period-level floors. The frequency also changes annual totals, federal tax exemption amounts per period, Chapter 13 conversions, and payoff timing.

What happens if the payoff payment is too small to cover interest?

The calculator does not return a normal payoff period count. If the recurring payment is less than or equal to the interest accruing during one pay period, the code reports that the balance never amortizes. A withholding amount of $0 also prevents a normal payoff timeline.

How does the calculator display the payoff time?

The code converts the calculated number of pay periods into years and months using the selected payroll frequency. Months are rounded to the nearest whole month. If the calculated duration is shorter than one month, the display says “under 1 mo” and also shows the number of pay periods.

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