Missouri wage garnishment laws may protect a resident from losing money to back local or state taxes, depending on the source of the resident's money. A local municipality or state agency may have a tough time garnishing a consumer's income if the income does not come directly from wages earned.
Pursuing Wage Garnishment
A local municipality attempting to pursue collection of back taxes in Missouri must obtain a court judgment to legally garnish the debtor's wages. This is different from the Internal Revenue Service, which does not need to ask the court's permission to seize a taxpayer's wages to pay federal taxes owed. Missouri permits wage garnishment of up to 25 percent of a debtor's weekly disposable income if the debtor is single without any dependents. The garnishment amount decreases to 10 percent of disposable weekly income for a debtor who files taxes as a head of household. Disposable earnings means all income after required federal and state tax deductions.
Social Security Benefits
Federal law only allows garnishment of Social Security benefits for child support payments, federal taxes and spousal support. According to the Debt Settlement Lawyers website, Missouri law totally exempts Social Security benefits from wage garnishment of any kind. This means a local government attempting to secure payment for back taxes is unable to garnish the Social Security benefits of a Missouri resident. This may mean the taxes go unpaid if the taxpayer only receives income through Social Security.
Pensions and Retirement Benefits
Missouri law protects the pension and retirement benefits of most state workers, including firefighters, teachers and police officers, from garnishment due to owing back local or state taxes. State law also protects retirement benefits and pension plans of non-state workers up to the finances necessary for debtors to meet obligations for living expenses and maintaining a quality of life. A state or local government agency may pursue debtors for amounts exceeding this variable limit. A court order is still necessary to secure wage garnishment in cases of retirement benefits and pension plans.
Public Assistance and Life Insurance
Missouri completely exempts several forms of public assistance from wage garnishment, including unemployment benefits, workers' compensation payments and assistance to families with dependent children. Missouri is less restrictive when it comes to income from life insurance policies or annuities. The state's wage garnishment rules applying to wages usually applies to money obtained through life insurance policies, though some fraternal annuities and policies generated by a nonprofit organization may enjoy limited protection from garnishment under the law.
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