Can You Go From Getting Your Wages Garnished to Paying Monthly?

It takes a judge to reverse a wage garnishment. By the time a person or company sues you and wins a judgment resulting in garnishment of your wages, the creditor has likely exhausted all other methods of collecting the debt from you. After convincing a judge to reverse a garnishment, you'll need to convince the creditor to accept a payment arrangement in order to repay the debt on a monthly basis.

Garnishment Law

Federal law puts a cap on wage garnishment by credit card companies and other creditors. The maximum amount your wages can be garnished each week is either 25 percent of your disposable income or an amount of your disposable income equal to 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is greater. The law allows for a much higher percentage of your disposable income to be garnished if the reason is paying off delinquent taxes or child support.

Challenging Garnishments

Every state allows you to file a form called a Claim of Exemption, Garnishment Exemption Form or some equivalent. You should receive, by law, a copy of this form once a garnishment is made against you. In some states, you'll have up to 45 days to appeal. You'll be given a hearing date and you can contact an attorney to represent you. At your hearing, you'll be asked to prove your financial situation with past tax forms, pay stubs, rent receipts, bank statements and anything else the court asks for. You, or your attorney, will have to plead your case as to why the wage garnishment should be reversed and why the court, and the creditor, should accept a new payment arrangement from you.

IRS Levy Appeal

The Internal Revenue Service can garnish, or levy, your wages as a last resort to collect taxes you owe. To fight this, the IRS suggests you start with contacting an IRS manager to review your case. You can also contact the Office of Appeals to make your case and explore other tax collection options. Paying monthly on your past due taxes is one option the IRS can offer.

Debt Help

Credit counseling agencies can help you negotiate monthly payment arrangements with creditors. The United States Department of Justice offers a list of approved credit counseling agencies that can provide information about the specific rights and options you have in your state regarding wage garnishments, payment arrangements and negotiating with creditors.