Nebraska Wage Garnishment Calculator

Pri Geens

Pri Geens

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Nebraska Wage Garnishment Calculator

How much a Nebraska paycheck can lose to a garnishment, support order, tax levy, student loan or Chapter 13 plan, including the 15% head of family cap. Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1558, 42-364.08, 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677. Estimates only.

Rules encoded (VERIFY): the maximum weekly garnishment is the least of three amounts: 25% of disposable earnings, the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50), and – when the debtor is a head of a family as defined by Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1558(4)(d) – 15% of disposable earnings. At or below the $217.50 floor nothing is withheld. The caps do not apply to court support orders, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, or debts due for state or federal taxes (25-1558(2)). Support withholding follows the CCPA tiers 50 / 55 / 60 / 65% (Neb. Rev. Stat. 42-364.08). Nebraska Department of Revenue levies and IRS levies sit outside the caps; DOR is modeled at 25% of disposable. Federal student loan AWG uses 15% with the federal floor. An employer may not discharge an employee for one garnishment (25-1558(6)). Judgment interest follows the variable rate published by the Nebraska Judicial Branch (5.970% effective July 16, 2026 – VERIFY).

1. Mode, county and pay date

Stack uses the order boxes in section 3.
Context only; the floor uses federal $7.25.
County or District Court venue.
25-1558 tests run weekly; the Commissioner of Labor prescribes multiples for other periods.
Select a county to see the venue note, the 15% head of family cap and the 30x federal floor.

2. Gross pay and legally required withholding

Includes bonuses and commissions; pensions count as earnings.
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

Variable judgment rate published by the Nebraska Judicial Branch (5.970% from 7/16/2026 – VERIFY current rate).

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); 25-1558 tests run weekly.
  • Floor = 30x $7.25 = $217.50 weekly; at or below it nothing is withheld.
  • Percentage cap = 25% of disposable, or 15% when the head of family checkbox is on.
  • Consumer cap = least of the percentage cap, the above-floor amount and the 25% aggregate room after other garnishments.
  • Support = lesser of ordered and the CCPA tier 50 / 55 / 60 / 65% of disposable; excepted from the state caps.
  • Student loan = lesser of 15% disposable and above the federal 30x floor.
  • IRS = disposable above Pub 1494 exempt; DOR = modeled at 25% of disposable; both excepted by 25-1558(2)(c).
  • Stack applies precedence in order and the 25% aggregate on non-support, non-tax orders.
  • Payoff amortizes at the entered variable judgment rate and flags non-amortizing or zero-withholding cases.

Sources

  • Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1558 (least of 25%, excess over 30x federal minimum wage, or 15% for head of family; exceptions for support, Chapter 13 and taxes; discharge prohibition): nebraskalegislature.gov
  • Neb. Rev. Stat. 42-364.08 and 42-364.06 (child support withholding limitations): nebraskalegislature.gov
  • Nebraska Judicial Branch judgment interest rate table (5.970% effective July 16, 2026): nebraskajudicial.gov
  • Neb. Rev. Stat. 45-103 and 45-104 (interest on judgments and written instruments): nebraskalegislature.gov
  • 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 and DOL Fact Sheet 30: dol.gov
  • Nebraska DOL minimum wage ($12.00 / $13.50 / $15.00 under Initiative 433): dol.nebraska.gov
  • IRS Pub 1494 and Form 668-W: irs.gov
  • 20 U.S.C. 1095a, 34 CFR 34.19: studentaid.gov

Test cases

TC1 Douglas County, 2026, weekly, not head of family. Gross $1,000.00; required $200.00; disposable $800.00. 25% cap $200.00; floor room $800.00 minus $217.50 = $582.50. Withheld $200.00, take-home $600.00, 25.00%. $4,000 at 5.97% clears in 21 weeks, total $4,200.00, interest $200.00.
TC2 Lancaster County, 2026, weekly, head of family. Same paycheck: the 15% cap of 25-1558(1)(c) replaces 25%, giving $120.00 against floor room $582.50. Withheld $120.00, take-home $680.00, 15.00%.
TC3 Sarpy County, 2026, weekly. Gross $260.00; required $50.00; disposable $210.00, at or below the $217.50 floor. Withheld $0.00 regardless of head of family status.
TC4 Hall 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; support is excepted from the 15% head of family cap.
TC5 Buffalo County, 2026, biweekly, stack, head of family. Gross $2,400.00; required $560.00; disposable $1,840.00. Support $300.00; no IRS or DOR order; consumer requested $400.00 but the 15% head of family cap limits it to $276.00 (floor room $1,405.00 is higher). Consumer $276.00, total $576.00, take-home $1,264.00.
Estimates only; not legal advice. All figures VERIFY, including the three-prong least-of formula and head of family definition of Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1558, the Commissioner of Labor multiples for non-weekly periods, the CCPA support tiers under 42-364.08, the DOR modeled 25%, county court jurisdiction and small claims limits, exemption claim practice and the current variable judgment rate published by the Nebraska Judicial Branch. 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, unemployment or workers compensation, and non-periodic pension payments. Consult a Nebraska attorney or Legal Aid of Nebraska. Deploy: replace the block, Update, purge cache, hard refresh; verify document.getElementById(“nebraska-wage-garnishment-calculator”).getAttribute(“data-js-ready”) returns “true” with no SyntaxError.

What Is a Nebraska Wage Garnishment Calculator?

A Nebraska wage garnishment calculator estimates paycheck withholding from disposable earnings, pay frequency, order type, existing garnishments, and selected exemptions. For an ordinary judgment, this tool compares 25% of disposable earnings, the amount above a 30-times-federal-minimum-wage floor, and, when selected, a 15% head-of-family cap.

The calculator works with weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. Its main output is withholding per pay period. It also displays weekly and yearly withholding, gross and disposable earnings, the protected floor, applicable percentage caps, remaining garnishment room, take-home pay, and the share of disposable earnings withheld.

The tool provides estimates rather than legal determinations. Its interface marks legal rules, procedures, tax-levy assumptions, exemptions, and interest information for verification.

How the Nebraska Wage Garnishment Calculation Works

The calculator starts by finding disposable earnings. It adds federal income tax, Nebraska income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If the total exceeds gross pay, required withholding is capped at gross pay. Voluntary deductions are not part of this calculation.

D=G−min⁡(G,R)D=G-\min(G,R)

G is gross pay for the period, R is total legally required withholding, and D is disposable earnings.

Ordinary consumer and private student loan judgments

The ordinary calculation uses an encoded federal minimum wage of $7.25 and a multiplier of 30. This produces a $217.50 weekly protected floor. The calculator scales that amount to the selected pay frequency.

s=52p,F=30(7.25)ss=\frac{52}{p},\qquad F=30(7.25)s

p is annual pay periods, s is the number of weeks represented by one paycheck, and F is the protected amount for that pay period. The calculator uses 52 periods for weekly pay, 26 for biweekly, 24 for semimonthly, and 12 for monthly pay.

The disposable earnings available above the floor are:

H=max⁡(0,D−F)H=\max(0,D-F)

The standard percentage cap is 25% of disposable earnings. If the “Head of a family” checkbox is selected, the calculator instead uses 15% of disposable earnings for an ordinary consumer or private student loan judgment.

P={0.15D,head of family selected0.25D,otherwiseP=\begin{cases}0.15D,&\text{head of family selected}\\0.25D,&\text{otherwise}\end{cases}

The calculator also reduces its 25% aggregate room by the amount entered as other non-support garnishments.

A=max⁡(0,0.25D−O)A=\max(0,0.25D-O)

O is other non-support garnishments. The ordinary cap is the smallest of the applicable percentage cap, the amount above the protected floor, and the remaining aggregate room.

C=min⁡(P,H,A)C=\min(P,H,A)

If the amount demanded per period is zero, the calculator uses this calculated cap. If a positive demanded amount is below the cap, it uses the lower demanded amount.

Worked example

Assume weekly gross pay of $1,000 and $200 of required withholding. Disposable earnings equal $800. With no other garnishments and no head-of-family selection, the 25% cap is $200. The amount above the $217.50 weekly floor is $582.50.

C=min⁡(0.25×800,800−217.50,0.25×800)=min⁡(200,582.50,200)=200C=\min(0.25\times800,800-217.50,0.25\times800)=\min(200,582.50,200)=200

The calculator therefore shows $200.00 withheld if no smaller positive amount is demanded. With no voluntary deductions, take-home pay is $600.00 and withholding equals 25.00% of disposable earnings.

If the head-of-family box is selected with the same paycheck, the percentage cap falls to 15% of $800, or $120.00. The calculator then withholds $120.00 because that is lower than both the floor room and the remaining 25% aggregate room.

Support, student loan, tax, and Chapter 13 calculations

Child and spousal support use separate percentage limits. The calculator uses 60% of disposable earnings when the second-family box is not checked and 50% when it is checked. Selecting arrears of 12 weeks or older adds five percentage points.

Csupport=rD,r∈{0.50,0.55,0.60,0.65}C_{support}=rD,\qquad r\in\{0.50,0.55,0.60,0.65\}

A lower positive amount demanded reduces the support result. The 15% head-of-family cap is not applied to these support calculations.

Federal student loan AWG uses the smaller of 15% of disposable earnings and disposable earnings above the calculator's federal floor.

An IRS levy uses disposable earnings above an estimated exempt amount. A positive exempt-amount override replaces the estimate. Otherwise, the calculator uses its built-in standard deduction for the selected year and filing status, adds $5,300 per dependent and $1,600 per age-65-or-blind box, then divides by annual pay periods.

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

The Nebraska DOR branch is modeled as 25% of disposable earnings. Chapter 13 converts the entered monthly plan payment to the selected pay frequency and caps that amount at disposable earnings.

CDOR=0.25D,CCh13=min⁡(D,12Mp)C_{DOR}=0.25D,\qquad C_{Ch13}=\min\left(D,\frac{12M}{p}\right)

Payoff timeline formula

Payoff mode uses the calculated withholding as the recurring payment. The interest field defaults to 5.97% and allows values from 0% through 40%. For a positive interest rate, the calculator converts APR into a periodic rate and uses an amortization formula.

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 entered balance, P is withholding per pay period, i is the periodic interest rate, and n is the calculated number of payments. If the payment does not exceed one period of interest, the calculator reports that the balance never amortizes.

At 0% APR, the calculator uses the ceiling of balance divided by payment and displays the exact balance as total paid. With positive interest, total paid equals the rounded-up number of periods multiplied by the full recurring payment, so the final modeled payment is not reduced to the exact remaining balance.

How to Use the Nebraska Wage Garnishment Calculator

  1. Select Single order, Stacking, or Payoff timeline mode.
  2. Choose the wage year, Nebraska county, and pay frequency.
  3. Select the head-of-family checkbox if you want the ordinary calculation to use its 15% cap.
  4. Enter gross pay and any federal tax, Nebraska tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding.
  5. Enter voluntary deductions separately if you want them reflected in take-home pay.
  6. Select the order type and enter an amount demanded per period when applicable. Zero uses the calculated maximum in single-order mode.
  7. Complete any support, IRS, Chapter 13, stacking, debt-balance, or interest fields that apply.
  8. Check the required acknowledgment and select Calculate.

The main result is “Withheld per pay period.” The calculator also shows weekly and annual equivalents, gross and disposable earnings, 25% and 15% caps, protected-floor room, remaining garnishment room, take-home pay, and the percentage of disposable earnings withheld. Currency values are formatted with two decimal places, while the displayed withholding percentage uses two decimal places.

Important Inputs and Calculation Details

Pay frequency changes the protected amount for each paycheck. Weekly pay represents one week, biweekly pay two weeks, semimonthly pay about 2.1667 weeks, and monthly pay about 4.3333 weeks.

The year selector includes Nebraska minimum-wage values of $12.00 for 2024, $13.50 for 2025, and $15.00 for 2026. Those values are context only for the ordinary garnishment calculation. The protected floor continues to use the calculator's encoded federal $7.25 rate. The selected year does affect the built-in IRS exemption estimate.

County is required but does not change the numerical withholding formula. The selection is used for displayed venue and procedure information. Gross pay must be greater than zero, and the acknowledgment checkbox must be selected before the calculator will show results.

Most money inputs accept values from $0 through $10,000,000. The debt-balance field accepts up to $100,000,000. IRS dependents accept 0 through 20, while the age-65-or-blind input accepts 0 through 2. The calculator floors those IRS count values to whole numbers before calculation.

The “Support already withheld” field is informational in the single-order calculation. It does not reduce the ordinary consumer result. “Other non-support garnishments” does reduce the ordinary 25% aggregate room. Voluntary deductions affect take-home pay but do not reduce disposable earnings.

How stacking mode works

Stacking mode processes five dedicated order amounts in this sequence: support, IRS levy, Nebraska DOR levy, federal student loan AWG, and consumer judgment. A zero in one of these fields means that order contributes nothing.

Support is limited by its support percentage and remaining disposable earnings. The IRS step uses the remaining earnings above the estimated exempt amount. DOR is limited to 25% of original disposable earnings and the amount still remaining.

The student-loan step uses the smaller of 15% of original disposable earnings and the federal floor-room amount. It is not separately limited to disposable earnings remaining after the support and tax steps. In an extreme combination, the internal remaining amount can therefore become negative, although displayed take-home pay is floored at $0.00.

The consumer step uses the ordinary consumer cap, so the head-of-family selection and the entered other non-support garnishments can reduce it. The code also limits consumer withholding to the 25% non-support room left after AWG and to whatever disposable earnings remain at that point.

Stack mode also displays the payoff panel and uses total stacked withholding as the recurring payment. A positive balance is not specifically required in stack mode. If the balance remains zero, the payoff panel reports that a balance should be entered.

One implementation detail affects the federal student loan explanation. The numerical AWG calculation uses the correct floor-room value, but its driver-note text references a weekly-floor property that is not created in the base calculation. That explanatory note can therefore display $0.00 for the weekly floor even when the withholding amount itself was calculated from the proper floor.

This calculator covers legal and financial withholding, so its results should be treated as estimates. Actual court orders, exemptions, support rules, tax levies, interest rates, priority rules, and procedures can produce different outcomes. The calculator itself marks these legal assumptions for verification.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the calculator estimate an ordinary Nebraska wage garnishment?

It compares the applicable percentage of disposable earnings with the amount above its $217.50 weekly protected floor and the remaining 25% aggregate room. The percentage is normally 25%, but selecting the head-of-family option changes the ordinary percentage cap to 15%.

What does the head-of-family checkbox change?

It changes the percentage cap used for ordinary consumer and private student loan judgments from 25% to 15% of disposable earnings. The calculator still compares that amount with the protected-floor room and the remaining 25% aggregate room. The option does not reduce support, IRS, DOR, federal AWG, or Chapter 13 calculations.

What counts as disposable earnings in this calculator?

Disposable earnings equal gross pay minus the entered federal income tax, Nebraska income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If required deductions exceed gross pay, the calculator caps them at gross pay. Voluntary deductions are handled separately.

What happens when disposable earnings are at or below $217.50 per week?

For the ordinary consumer and private student loan calculation, the floor-room amount becomes zero when weekly disposable earnings do not exceed the calculator's $217.50 weekly floor. Because the ordinary result uses the smallest applicable cap, the calculated ordinary withholding becomes $0.00.

What does zero in the amount demanded field mean?

In single-order mode, zero tells the calculator to use the maximum amount produced by the selected order type's formula. A positive amount below that cap reduces withholding. In stacking mode, the five dedicated order fields use zero differently: zero means that order contributes no withholding.

How does the calculator handle support withholding?

The support branch starts at 60% of disposable earnings without a second-family selection and 50% when that box is checked. Selecting arrears of 12 weeks or older adds five percentage points. The programmed support rates are therefore 50%, 55%, 60%, and 65%.

Why might payoff mode show no payoff period?

The payoff calculation produces no positive period count when the balance is zero, withholding is zero, or a positive-interest payment does not exceed one period of accrued interest. In the last case, the calculator reports that the recurring payment is not large enough for the balance to amortize.

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