Illinois Wage Garnishment Calculator

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Illinois Wage Garnishment Calculator

How much an Illinois paycheck can lose to a wage deduction order, support withholding, tax levy, student loan or Chapter 13 plan. 735 ILCS 5/12-803, 750 ILCS 28, 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677. Estimates only.

Rules encoded (VERIFY): a wage deduction order takes the lesser of 15% of gross wages for the period or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 45 times the applicable minimum wage (735 ILCS 5/12-803) – the applicable wage is the higher of federal, Illinois ($14.00 in 2024, $15.00 from 2025) or a local rate such as Chicago or Cook County, entered via the override. At or below that 45x floor nothing is deducted. The federal CCPA 25% aggregate still limits all non-support, non-tax withholding combined. Support withholding follows the CCPA tiers 50 / 55 / 60 / 65% under the Income Withholding for Support Act. An IDOR wage levy takes up to 15% of gross wages per the EDC-111 worksheet. IRS levies use Publication 1494. 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 45x floor wage unless overridden.
Circuit Court venue; 102 counties.
The 45x test runs weekly; 15% runs on the period gross.
0 uses the statewide rate. Enter a higher local rate (Chicago $17.05 or Cook $15.40 from July 2026) where it applies (VERIFY).
Select a county to see the Circuit Court venue note, the 45x floor and the 15% gross cap.

2. Gross pay and legally required withholding

Includes bonuses and commissions; the 15% cap applies to this figure.
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% CCPA aggregate.

4. Balance and payoff

Illinois post-judgment interest is 9% (735 ILCS 5/2-1303 – VERIFY; smaller judgments may use a different rate).

How it works

  • Disposable = gross minus legally required withholding; voluntary shown separately.
  • Weekly conversion = 52 / periods (1, 2, 2.1667, 4.3333); the 45x test runs weekly while the 15% cap runs on period gross.
  • Floor = 45x the higher of federal, Illinois or local minimum wage; at or below it no deduction.
  • Consumer cap = least of 15% of gross, the weekly excess over the floor, and the CCPA 25% aggregate room after other non-support garnishments.
  • 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, inside the 25% aggregate.
  • IRS = disposable above Pub 1494 exempt; IDOR = 15% of gross per the EDC-111 worksheet; 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

  • 735 ILCS 5/12-803 (15% of gross or excess over 45x applicable minimum wage, whichever is less): ilga.gov
  • 750 ILCS 28 (Income Withholding for Support Act) and HFS form 3683 employer instructions: ilga.gov and newhire.hfs.illinois.gov
  • Illinois Legal Aid Online, defending wage and non-wage garnishments: illinoislegalaid.org
  • IDOR collection process and EDC-111 wage levy worksheet (15% of gross): tax.illinois.gov
  • Illinois Department of Labor minimum wage ($14.00 in 2024, $15.00 from 2025) and Chicago / Cook local rates: labor.illinois.gov, chicago.gov, cookcountyil.gov
  • 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 and DOL Fact Sheet 30: dol.gov
  • IRS Pub 1494 and Form 668-W: irs.gov
  • 20 U.S.C. 1095a, 34 CFR 34.19: studentaid.gov
  • 735 ILCS 5/2-1303 (post-judgment interest): ilga.gov

Test cases

TC1 Cook County, 2026, weekly, statewide wage. Gross $1,000.00; required $200.00; disposable $800.00. 15% of gross $150.00; 45x floor room $800.00 minus $675.00 = $125.00. Withheld $125.00, take-home $675.00, 15.63%. $4,000 at 9% clears in 33 weeks, total $4,125.00, interest $125.00.
TC2 Winnebago County, 2026, weekly. Gross $800.00; required $160.00; disposable $640.00, at or below the 45x floor of $675.00. Withheld $0.00. The 15% cap would have allowed $120.00 had the floor not barred it.
TC3 DuPage 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% ceiling $1,196.00; ordered $1,200.00. Withheld $1,196.00, take-home $644.00.
TC4 Madison County, 2026, biweekly, stack. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Support $300.00; IDOR requested $200.00 against its 15%-of-gross cap $360.00; consumer requested $300.00 within the $360.00 15% cap, $490.00 floor room and $460.00 CCPA aggregate. Total $800.00, take-home $1,040.00.
TC5 Sangamon County, 2026, semimonthly. Gross $2,600.00; required $600.00; disposable $2,000.00. Federal student loan AWG 15% = $300.00; federal floor $471.25 per period leaves $1,528.75; the 45x state floor does not reduce a federal AWG (VERIFY). Withheld $300.00, take-home $1,700.00. $9,000 at 0% clears in 30 periods, about 1.25 years.
Estimates only; not legal advice. All figures VERIFY, including the 15% and 45x formula of 735 ILCS 5/12-803, which local minimum wage counts as applicable, the CCPA support tiers under 750 ILCS 28, the IDOR 15%-of-gross worksheet, objection and exemption practice, Circuit Court venue and the 735 ILCS 5/2-1303 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 objections, automatic stays, self-employment income, bonuses, severance, pensions, unemployment or workers compensation. Consult an Illinois attorney or Illinois Legal Aid Online. Deploy: replace the block, Update, purge cache, hard refresh; verify document.getElementById(“illinois-wage-garnishment-calculator”).getAttribute(“data-js-ready”) returns “true” with no SyntaxError.

What Is an Illinois Wage Garnishment Calculator?

An Illinois wage garnishment calculator estimates paycheck withholding by calculating disposable earnings and then applying the formula for the selected order type. For an ordinary judgment, this tool compares 15% of gross wages, earnings above a 45-times-minimum-wage floor, and remaining room under a 25% disposable-earnings aggregate.

The main result is “Withheld per pay period.” The calculator also shows disposable earnings, gross and disposable pay per week, the 15% gross calculation, income above the 45-times floor, remaining 25% aggregate room, weekly and annual withholding, estimated take-home pay, and the percentage of disposable earnings withheld.

Three modes are available. Single order calculates one selected order. Stacking mode processes five entered order amounts in sequence. Payoff timeline mode treats the calculated withholding as a recurring payment against an entered balance.

How the Illinois Wage Garnishment Calculation Works

The calculator starts by determining disposable earnings. It adds federal income tax, Illinois income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If required withholding exceeds gross pay, the program limits it to gross pay.

D=G−min⁡(R,G)D=G-\min(R,G)

Here, D is disposable earnings, G is gross pay for the period, and R is total legally required withholding. Voluntary deductions do not reduce this base. They are subtracted later when take-home pay is calculated.

The calculator converts each pay period to a weekly basis. If N is annual pay periods, the number of weeks represented by one period is:

w=52Nw=\frac{52}{N}

The program uses 52 periods for weekly pay, 26 for biweekly, 24 for semimonthly, and 12 for monthly pay.

Applicable minimum wage and the 45-times floor

The calculator stores an Illinois minimum wage of $14.00 for 2024 and $15.00 for 2025 and 2026. It compares that value with its $7.25 federal value. A local minimum-wage override is used only when the entered override is higher than the resulting base rate.

m=max⁡(7.25,Illinois rate,local override)m=\max\left(7.25,\text{Illinois rate},\text{local override}\right)

The ordinary wage-deduction floor is 45 times that applicable hourly rate. For the selected pay period, the amount of disposable earnings above the floor is:

H=max⁡(0,D−45mw)H=\max\left(0,D-45mw\right)

Here, m is the applicable minimum wage and w is weeks per pay period.

Consumer and private student loan judgments

For a consumer or contract judgment, the calculator determines three separate limits. The first is 15% of gross pay.

C15=0.15GC_{15}=0.15G

The second is the amount above the 45-times minimum-wage floor. The third is the remaining 25% aggregate room after other non-support garnishments.

Q=max⁡(0,0.25D−O)Q=\max\left(0,0.25D-O\right)

In this equation, O is the entered amount of other non-support garnishments. The implemented ordinary judgment ceiling is:

C=min⁡(0.15G,H,Q)C=\min\left(0.15G,H,Q\right)

The “Private student loan judgment” option follows this same calculation branch in the current code. If “Amount demanded per period” is positive and lower than the calculated ceiling, the calculator uses that lower demanded amount. Entering zero uses the calculated maximum.

Child and spousal support

Support uses a separate percentage of disposable earnings. The calculator applies 50% when the second-family box is checked and 60% otherwise. Checking the arrears box adds five percentage points.

Cs=rDC_s=rD

The rate r is therefore 0.50, 0.55, 0.60, or 0.65. The ordinary 15% gross and 45-times minimum-wage limits are not applied to this branch. A lower positive demanded amount can reduce the withholding below the support ceiling.

Federal student loan garnishment

Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment uses 15% of disposable earnings rather than 15% of gross pay. It also uses a separate federal floor based on 30 times the calculator's $7.25 federal value.

CAWG=min⁡(0.15D,max⁡(0,D−30(7.25)w))C_{AWG}=\min\left(0.15D,\max\left(0,D-30(7.25)w\right)\right)

The Illinois 45-times minimum-wage floor is not used in this branch. The single-order calculation also does not subtract the “Other non-support garnishments” field from the federal student loan result.

IRS, IDOR, and Chapter 13 calculations

For an IRS levy, the calculator estimates an exempt amount using an encoded filing-status value for the selected year. It adds $5,300 for each dependent and $1,600 for each age-65-or-blind box, then divides the annual total by the number of pay periods.

EIRS=B+5300d+1600aNE_{IRS}=\frac{B+5300d+1600a}{N}

Here, B is the calculator's filing-status amount, d is dependents, and a is the age-65-or-blind count. A positive exemption override replaces this estimate. The levy is disposable earnings above the exemption, never below zero.

The Illinois Department of Revenue wage-levy branch calculates 15% of gross pay and caps that result at disposable earnings.

CIDOR=min⁡(0.15G,D)C_{IDOR}=\min\left(0.15G,D\right)

Chapter 13 converts the entered monthly plan payment to the selected pay frequency and caps the result at disposable earnings.

C13=min⁡(D,12PmN)C_{13}=\min\left(D,\frac{12P_m}{N}\right)

Worked Illinois wage garnishment example

Suppose a hypothetical 2026 biweekly paycheck has $2,000.00 of gross pay, $400.00 of required withholding, $100.00 of voluntary deductions, no local minimum-wage override, and no other non-support garnishments. Select a consumer judgment and leave the demanded amount at zero.

Disposable earnings are $2,000.00 − $400.00 = $1,600.00. Biweekly pay represents two weeks. With the calculator's $15.00 applicable minimum wage, the weekly floor is 45 × $15.00 = $675.00. The two-week floor is therefore $1,350.00.

The amount above that floor is $1,600.00 − $1,350.00 = $250.00. Fifteen percent of gross pay is $300.00. Twenty-five percent of disposable earnings is $400.00, and with no other garnishments the full $400.00 remains available under that aggregate calculation.

The calculator chooses the smallest amount: $250.00. Weekly withholding is $125.00 and annual withholding is $6,500.00 over 26 pay periods. After required withholding, $100.00 of voluntary deductions, and garnishment, displayed take-home pay is $1,250.00. The withheld share of disposable earnings is 15.63%.

How the payoff timeline works

Payoff mode treats the calculated withholding as a recurring payment. The periodic interest rate equals the entered annual percentage rate divided by 100 and by annual pay periods.

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, P is the payment per period, i is the periodic interest rate, and n is the number of periods rounded up. If the payment does not exceed one period of starting interest, the calculator reports that the balance does not amortize.

At a 0% entered interest rate, the calculator divides the balance by the periodic payment and rounds up. It displays the starting balance as total paid and zero interest. With a positive rate, total paid equals the rounded number of periods multiplied by the full recurring payment.

How to Use the Illinois Wage Garnishment Calculator

  1. Select Single order, Stacking, or Payoff timeline mode.
  2. Choose the wage year, Illinois county, and pay frequency.
  3. Enter a local minimum-wage override if you want the calculator to use a rate higher than its statewide and federal values.
  4. Enter gross pay and the amounts for federal income tax, Illinois income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding.
  5. Enter voluntary deductions separately. They affect take-home pay but not disposable earnings.
  6. Select the order type and enter the demanded amount, support already withheld, and other non-support garnishments when applicable.
  7. Complete any support, IRS, Chapter 13, or stacking fields that appear.
  8. For payoff mode, enter the balance owed and annual interest rate.
  9. Check the required acknowledgment and select Calculate.

The main result shows withholding for the selected single order. In stacking mode, the separate Priority waterfall panel shows each stack amount, total withholding, and take-home after the waterfall. The calculator also shows which programmed factor it identifies as binding.

Important Assumptions and Calculator Behavior

Input or featureHow the calculator uses it
Pay yearSets the stored Illinois minimum wage used by the 45-times floor and selects the encoded IRS exemption table.
Local minimum-wage overrideChanges the 45-times floor only when the entered value is higher than the calculator's statewide and federal base rate.
CountyControls venue wording. Selecting Cook County by itself does not automatically change the numerical minimum wage.
Support already withheldIs displayed in the results but is not subtracted by the ordinary single-order formula.
Other non-support garnishmentsReduce the 25% aggregate room for consumer and private student loan judgments.
Voluntary deductionsReduce displayed take-home pay but do not reduce disposable earnings.
Private student loan judgmentUses the same ordinary branch as a consumer judgment in the current implementation.

Stacking mode processes orders in this sequence: support, IRS levy, IDOR levy, federal student loan, and consumer judgment. A zero in a stack-order field means no amount is requested for that step.

Support is limited to its 50%, 55%, 60%, or 65% ceiling and to remaining disposable earnings. The IRS calculation preserves its estimated exemption from the amount remaining after support. The IDOR step is limited to 15% of gross pay and to the amount still remaining.

The federal student-loan stack step uses the smaller of its entered order amount, 15% of original disposable earnings, and earnings above the federal 30-times-$7.25 floor. The current code does not separately limit this step to the earnings remaining after support, IRS, and IDOR withholding. Large earlier orders can therefore make the internal remaining amount negative.

The final consumer step calculates 25% aggregate room by subtracting the stack's federal student-loan amount from 25% of original disposable earnings. It then compares that room with 15% of gross and the Illinois 45-times-floor room. The separate “Other non-support garnishments” field is not subtracted in this stack calculation.

Stack mode automatically displays the payoff panel using total stacked withholding as the recurring payoff payment. Because the balance is required only when Payoff timeline mode is selected, a stack calculation with a zero balance can show the payoff message asking for a balance.

A positive demanded amount correctly reduces an ordinary single-order garnishment when it is below the calculated ceiling. However, the displayed “Binding factor” logic for consumer and private student loan judgments does not contain a separate demanded-amount branch. The binding description may therefore name one of the statutory calculation limits even when the lower demanded amount actually determines the final withholding.

Most money fields accept values from $0 through $10,000,000. Balance accepts up to $100,000,000. The local minimum-wage override accepts $0 through $100. The annual interest input 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. County selection and the acknowledgment checkbox are required, while balance becomes required in Payoff timeline mode. Money results are displayed with two decimal places, and the share of disposable earnings withheld is displayed with two decimal places as a percentage.

The visual withholding meter is scaled to a 65% reference point. Its appearance changes at 10% and 25% of disposable earnings. These are display thresholds only and do not create additional withholding limits.

This calculator provides a legal and financial estimate based on the rules and assumptions programmed into the tool. Actual withholding may depend on the governing order, current minimum wage, exemptions, court or agency action, payroll treatment, and other facts that are not represented by the calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are disposable earnings in this calculator?

Disposable earnings are gross pay minus the legally required withholding entered into the calculator. The code includes federal and Illinois income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. Voluntary deductions are excluded from this base and are subtracted later when displayed take-home pay is calculated.

How does the Illinois 45-times minimum-wage floor work?

The calculator multiplies its applicable hourly minimum wage by 45 to create a weekly floor. Disposable earnings at or below that level produce no ordinary wage deduction under this branch. For biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly pay, the program scales the weekly calculation to the number of weeks represented by the pay period.

Does selecting Cook County automatically use a local minimum wage?

No. County selection affects the venue information but does not automatically change the rate used in the numerical formula. A higher local rate must be entered in the calculator's minimum-wage override field. An override below the calculator's statewide or federal base is ignored by the calculation.

Is an ordinary Illinois garnishment based on gross or disposable earnings?

Both figures are used. One limit is 15% of gross wages. Another uses disposable earnings above the 45-times minimum-wage floor. The calculator also limits the ordinary result to remaining room within 25% of disposable earnings after entered other non-support garnishments.

How does support withholding differ from an ordinary judgment?

Support uses 50%, 55%, 60%, or 65% of disposable earnings based on the second-family and arrears checkboxes. The calculator does not apply the ordinary 15%-of-gross or 45-times-minimum-wage limits to this support branch. A lower positive demanded amount can reduce the calculated withholding.

How does the IDOR wage levy calculation work?

The calculator models the Illinois Department of Revenue wage levy as 15% of gross pay. It then limits the amount to disposable earnings if necessary. This branch does not use the ordinary Illinois 45-times floor or the calculator's consumer-judgment 25% aggregate room.

What does the payoff timeline estimate?

The payoff timeline estimates the number of pay periods and approximate calendar time needed to satisfy the entered balance using calculated withholding as a recurring payment. It also shows total paid and interest paid. A zero payment or a payment that does not cover one period of starting interest prevents a normal amortized payoff result.

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