Massachusetts Wage Garnishment Calculator

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Massachusetts Wage Garnishment Calculator

How much a Massachusetts paycheck can lose to a trustee process wage attachment, support withholding, DOR levy, student loan or Chapter 13 plan. M.G.L. c. 246 s. 28, c. 119A, c. 62C, 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677. Estimates only.

Rules encoded (VERIFY): for ordinary debts the debtor keeps the greater of 85% of gross wages or 50 times the higher of the Massachusetts or federal minimum wage per week (M.G.L. c. 246 s. 28) – so the attachment is the lesser of 15% of gross wages or the amount by which weekly gross wages exceed 50 times $15.00 ($750.00 weekly), and nothing attaches at or below that floor. The federal CCPA 25% aggregate still limits all non-support, non-tax withholding. Support withholding caps at 60% of disposable earnings, or 50% when the employee supports a spouse or other children in the household (mass.gov employer guide). DOR tax levies cap at 25% of disposable income under Comptroller policy, subject to the 830 CMR 62C.55A.1 personal exemptions. IRS levies use Publication 1494. Federal student loan AWG uses 15% of disposable pay with the federal floor. Post-judgment interest runs at 12% per year. 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 50x minimum wage floor.
District, Boston Municipal or Superior Court venue.
The 15% and 50x tests run weekly; scaled by 52 / periods.
Select a county to see the court venue note and the statewide protected floor.

2. Gross pay and legally required withholding

The 15% cap and 85% exemption run on GROSS wages in Massachusetts.
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 ceiling.

4. Balance and payoff

Massachusetts post-judgment interest is 12% (M.G.L. c. 231 s. 6B / c. 235 s. 7 – VERIFY).

How it works

  • Massachusetts tests run on GROSS wages: the debtor keeps the greater of 85% of gross or 50x the higher minimum wage per week.
  • Attachment = lesser of 15% of gross and the weekly gross excess over 50x $15.00 ($750.00), then within the CCPA 25% aggregate room.
  • Weekly conversion = 52 / periods (1, 2, 2.1667, 4.3333).
  • At or below the $750 weekly gross floor nothing attaches for ordinary debts.
  • Support = lesser of ordered and 60% of disposable (50% with a spouse or other children in the household).
  • DOR levy = up to 25% of disposable income under Comptroller policy, subject to 830 CMR 62C.55A.1 exemptions.
  • IRS = disposable above Pub 1494 exempt; AWG = 15% of disposable above the federal 30x floor.
  • Stack applies precedence in order and the 25% aggregate on non-support, non-tax orders.
  • Payoff amortizes at the entered 12% default and flags non-amortizing or zero-withholding cases.

Sources

  • M.G.L. c. 246 s. 28 (greater of 85% of gross or 50x higher minimum wage exempt; 15% / excess caps): malegislature.gov
  • mass.gov employer guide to child support income withholding (60% / 50% caps): mass.gov
  • 830 CMR 62C.55A.1 (DOR levy exempt amounts) and Comptroller wage garnishment policy (25% of disposable): mass.gov and public.powerdms.com
  • mass.gov minimum wage ($15.00 since January 1, 2023): mass.gov
  • 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 and DOL Fact Sheet 30: dol.gov
  • Consumer law summaries of the 15% gross and 50x minimum wage formula: brineconsumerlaw.com and weinkaufpc.com
  • IRS Pub 1494 and Form 668-W: irs.gov
  • 20 U.S.C. 1095a, 34 CFR 34.19: studentaid.gov
  • M.G.L. c. 231 s. 6B and c. 235 s. 7 (12% post-judgment interest): malegislature.gov

Test cases

TC1 Suffolk County, 2026, weekly. Gross $1,000.00; required $200.00; disposable $800.00. 15% of gross $150.00; gross excess over the $750.00 floor $250.00. Withheld $150.00, take-home $650.00, 18.75% of disposable. $4,000 at 12% clears in 28 weeks, total $4,200.00, interest $200.00.
TC2 Worcester County, 2026, weekly. Gross $700.00; required $140.00. Weekly gross $700.00 is at or below the 50x floor of $750.00, so the greater-of-85% exemption shields everything. Withheld $0.00.
TC3 Middlesex County, 2026, biweekly. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Child support, employee not supporting a spouse or other children: 60% ceiling $1,104.00; ordered $1,200.00. Withheld $1,104.00, take-home $736.00.
TC4 Essex County, 2026, biweekly, stack. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Support $300.00; no IRS or DOR order; consumer requested $400.00 but 15% of gross = $360.00 binds below the $900.00 excess and the $460.00 aggregate. Consumer $360.00, total $660.00, take-home $1,180.00.
TC5 Bristol 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 state 15%-of-gross cap does not limit 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 85%-of-gross / 50x-minimum-wage exemption of M.G.L. c. 246 s. 28 and whether the excess prong uses gross or disposable wages, the 60% / 50% support caps and any arrears addition, the DOR 25% policy and 830 CMR 62C.55A.1 exemption tables, District Court jurisdiction limits, trustee process disclosure deadlines and the 12% 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 Massachusetts attorney or MassLegalHelp. Deploy: replace the block, Update, purge cache, hard refresh; verify document.getElementById(“massachusetts-wage-garnishment-calculator”).getAttribute(“data-js-ready”) returns “true” with no SyntaxError.

What Is a Massachusetts Wage Garnishment Calculator?

The Massachusetts wage garnishment calculator estimates how much may be withheld from one paycheck based on gross pay, required deductions, pay frequency, order type, and encoded exemption or cap rules. It can also model five-order stacking and a payoff timeline. Results are estimates because the calculator itself marks its legal figures for verification.

For ordinary consumer and private student-loan judgments, the tool compares several limits and uses the smallest available amount. Other order types use separate formulas. The county selection supplies a venue note but does not change the numeric withholding calculation. Pay year and pay frequency can affect the calculation because they control the encoded wage floor, IRS exemption estimate, and periods per year.

How the Massachusetts Wage Garnishment Calculation Works

The calculator first determines disposable earnings. It adds federal income tax, Massachusetts income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If that total exceeds gross pay, the code caps required withholding at gross pay. Voluntary deductions are not subtracted when calculating disposable earnings.

D=G−min⁡(G,R)D=G-\min(G,R)

Here, G is gross pay for the period, R is the total legally required withholding entered, and D is disposable earnings. Voluntary deductions are used later only for the displayed take-home amount.

Ordinary consumer and private student-loan judgments

For these two order types, the calculator uses the lesser of three limits: 15% of gross pay, gross pay above the scaled 50-times-minimum-wage floor, and remaining room under 25% of disposable earnings after other non-support attachments.

Wmax⁡=min⁡(0.15G,max⁡(0,G−50Ms),max⁡(0,0.25D−O))W_{\max}=\min\left(0.15G,\max(0,G-50Ms),\max(0,0.25D-O)\right)

M is the higher minimum wage used by the code, s is weeks per pay period, and O is other non-support attachments entered by the user. The tool uses s = 52/p, where p is 52, 26, 24, or 12 periods per year for weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly pay. For every selectable year, 2024 through 2026, the code uses a $15.00 Massachusetts minimum wage, producing a $750 weekly floor.

If “Amount demanded per period” is greater than zero, the final withholding is the lesser of that demand and the calculated cap. If it is zero, the calculator uses the full calculated maximum. The “Support already withheld” field is displayed in results but does not reduce this ordinary-debt calculation; the “Other non-support attachments” field does reduce the 25% room.

Other order types

Support withholding uses 60% of disposable earnings, or 50% when the “supports a spouse or other children” box is checked. Checking arrears of 12 weeks or older adds 5 percentage points, with the rate capped at 65%.

Csupport=rD,r=0.60 or 0.50, plus 0.05 for the arrears box, capped at 0.65C_{support}=rD,\quad r=0.60\text{ or }0.50\text{, plus }0.05\text{ for the arrears box, capped at }0.65

Federal student loan AWG uses the lesser of 15% of disposable earnings and disposable earnings above a federal floor of 30 times the encoded $7.25 federal minimum wage per week. In single-order mode, this branch does not reduce the result for the “Other non-support attachments” field or separately apply the 25% aggregate-room calculation.

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

For an IRS levy, the calculator takes disposable earnings above an estimated exempt amount. A positive override replaces the estimate. Otherwise, the estimate is the selected year's encoded standard deduction plus $5,300 per dependent and $1,600 per age-65-or-blind box, divided by periods per year. The DOR branch caps withholding at 25% of disposable earnings. Chapter 13 converts the entered monthly plan payment to the selected pay frequency and caps it at disposable earnings.

CIRS=max⁡(0,D−E),CDOR=0.25D,CCh13=min⁡(D,12Pmp)C_{IRS}=\max(0,D-E),\qquad C_{DOR}=0.25D,\qquad C_{Ch13}=\min\left(D,\frac{12P_m}{p}\right)

Worked example for an ordinary judgment

Assume biweekly gross pay of $2,000, required withholding of $450, voluntary deductions of $100, and no other non-support attachments. Disposable earnings are $1,550. Biweekly pay represents two weeks, so the encoded $750 weekly floor becomes $1,500 per period. The three caps are $300 for 15% of gross, $500 above the floor, and $387.50 for 25% of disposable. The calculator therefore withholds $300. Take-home after required withholding, voluntary deductions, and garnishment is $1,150. The displayed withholding rate is 19.35% of disposable earnings.

Payoff timeline formula

Payoff mode uses the calculated withholding as the payment per period. With a positive APR, it converts the annual percentage rate to a periodic rate and calculates the number of periods needed. If the payment does not exceed one period of interest on the balance, the tool reports that the balance never amortizes.

i=APR100p,n=⌈−ln⁡(1−BiP)ln⁡(1+i)⌉i=\frac{APR}{100p},\qquad n=\left\lceil\frac{-\ln\left(1-\frac{Bi}{P}\right)}{\ln(1+i)}\right\rceil

B is the balance, P is withholding per period, and n is the number of periods. For positive APR, the displayed total paid is n × P and displayed interest is that total minus the starting balance. The code does not reduce the last payment in this positive-interest estimate. With 0% APR, periods are the ceiling of balance divided by payment, total paid is shown as the balance, and interest is zero.

How to Use the Massachusetts Wage Garnishment Calculator

  1. Select Single order, Stacking, or Payoff timeline mode, then choose the wage year, Massachusetts county, and pay frequency.
  2. Enter gross pay for the period and any legally required withholding. Add voluntary deductions separately if you want the take-home result to reflect them.
  3. Select the order type. Enter the amount demanded if there is a specific per-period amount; zero uses the calculated maximum in single-order mode.
  4. Complete any fields that appear for support, IRS levy, or Chapter 13. In stacking mode, enter each of the five order amounts in the priority section.
  5. For payoff mode, enter the debt balance and APR. The balance is required in payoff mode; the APR defaults to 12% and accepts values from 0% through 40%.
  6. Check the required acknowledgment, then select Calculate. Use Reset to restore the original defaults.

The main result is withheld per pay period. The calculator also shows weekly and annual equivalents, disposable earnings, the encoded protection floor, several cap amounts, take-home pay, the share of disposable earnings withheld, and a text description of the binding factor. Currency outputs are formatted to two decimal places, and the withholding share is displayed to two decimal places.

Understanding the Inputs, Modes, and Limits

Several fields affect only certain branches. County is required, but it changes the venue text rather than the dollar result. Pay frequency changes the weekly-to-period conversion and the number of payoff periods per year. Pay year changes the encoded IRS standard-deduction estimate and selects the minimum-wage table, although all three available years use $15.00 for Massachusetts.

Most money inputs accept values from $0 through $10,000,000. Debt balance accepts up to $100,000,000. APR accepts 0% through 40%. IRS dependents are bounded from 0 through 20, and the age-65-or-blind field from 0 through 2. The calculation floors those two count fields to whole numbers. Gross pay must be greater than zero, a county must be selected, and the acknowledgment must be checked before results are shown.

Stacking mode applies the order boxes in this sequence: support, IRS levy, DOR levy, federal student loan AWG, then consumer judgment. It limits the combined AWG and consumer portion through a 25%-of-disposable ceiling, while tax and support steps are handled separately. The current stack code does not additionally cap the AWG step to disposable earnings remaining after earlier support and tax deductions, so extreme combinations can drive its internal “remaining” value below zero. Treat stacked results as an estimate that needs review.

Stacking mode also displays a payoff panel using the total stacked withholding as the payment. A debt balance is not required in stacking mode, so a zero balance produces the panel's “Enter a balance” state. Existing-support and existing-other-attachment fields are not used by the stack calculation; stacking relies on its five dedicated order boxes instead.

This is a legal and financial estimate, not a determination of what an employer, court, taxing authority, loan holder, or bankruptcy trustee must withhold. The calculator itself labels many legal statements “VERIFY.” Actual orders, exemptions, procedural rules, fees, releases, and later legal changes can affect a real paycheck.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the calculator estimate an ordinary Massachusetts wage attachment?

It calculates 15% of gross pay, gross pay above the scaled 50-times-minimum-wage floor, and remaining room under 25% of disposable earnings after other non-support attachments. It uses the smallest of those amounts, then applies a lower positive amount demanded if one was entered.

What does the calculator subtract to get disposable earnings?

It subtracts entered federal income tax, Massachusetts income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding from gross pay. If those entries total more than gross pay, the code caps required withholding at gross pay. Voluntary health, 401(k), and dues entries affect take-home only.

Does the county change the garnishment amount?

No. In the current code, the county selection is required and is used for the displayed venue and procedure text. It does not change the numeric wage floor, cap, disposable earnings, or withholding formula.

What happens if I enter zero for the amount demanded?

In single-order mode, zero means the calculator uses the maximum amount allowed by that order type's encoded formula. In stacking mode, the five order boxes work differently: zero means no amount is entered for that order, so that step contributes $0 to the waterfall.

How are existing garnishments handled?

For an ordinary consumer or private student-loan judgment, “Other non-support attachments” reduces the available 25% disposable-earnings room. “Support already withheld” is displayed but does not reduce the ordinary-debt result. The single-order federal student-loan branch also does not use the existing-other field. Stack mode uses its separate order inputs.

Why can the payoff calculator show no payoff period?

It shows no payoff period if the balance is zero, the calculated payment is zero, or a positive-interest payment is no greater than one period of accrued interest. In the last case, the code treats the balance as non-amortizing because the payment cannot reduce principal.

Is the displayed take-home pay the same as disposable earnings?

No. Disposable earnings subtract the required-withholding fields from gross pay. Displayed take-home subtracts required withholding, voluntary deductions, and the calculated garnishment. If that arithmetic would be negative, the code displays take-home as $0.00.

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