West Virginia: Wage Garnishment Limits
The short answer
West Virginia caps ordinary garnishment — called a "suggestee execution" — at 20% of wages left after state and federal taxes, and never lets weekly wages drop below 50 times the federal minimum wage: both are more protective than the federal 25%/30x test. A single execution lasts one year as a continuing lien. Support collection always outranks a suggestee execution and overrides any exemption, but West Virginia's anti-discharge protection is narrower than federal law — it only bars firing someone over a garnishment tied to a consumer credit sale, lease, or loan, not garnishment generally.
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This is the general rule in West Virginia. Ezel applies current West Virginia law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3 (suggestee execution — cap, floor, one-year continuing levy, priority among multiple executions); § 46A-2-131 (West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, anti-discharge); § 48-14-417 (support collection priority) |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | The lesser of 20% of wages remaining after deduction of all state and federal taxes, or the amount by which those wages exceed 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage — whichever leaves the debtor with more (§ 38-5A-3(a)). The execution operates as a continuing lien on wages due within one year of issuance, unless vacated or modified sooner |
| State rule vs. federal floor | More protective than the federal CCPA test on both prongs: a flat 20% cap instead of 25%, and a 50x-minimum-wage floor instead of 30x — one of the more protective ordinary-garnishment regimes in this survey. Note the deduction base differs too: West Virginia's cap runs off wages after state and federal TAXES only, not the broader federal 'disposable earnings' concept (which also nets out FICA/Medicare), so the base the percentage applies to is somewhat larger even though the resulting cap is tighter |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage ($362.50/week at $7.25/hour) — well above the federal 30x floor; garnishment can never reduce a debtor's weekly take-home pay below this amount (§ 38-5A-3(a)) |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | Support collection has absolute priority over any other legal process against the same income and applies 'despite any exemption that might otherwise be applicable' (§ 48-14-417) — it jumps ahead of an ordinary suggestee execution regardless of when either was served. Support withholding itself follows the federal CCPA support percentages (up to 50-65% of disposable earnings), a separate mechanism from the ordinary 20%/50x-floor test. Tax debt and federal student loans are collected through their own administrative processes outside this ordinary-creditor scheme |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | No head-of-household or family-support exemption on top of the ordinary 20%/50x-floor cap anywhere in this article. West Virginia's separate personal-property exemption schedule (§ 38-8-1: $1,100 plus unused homestead) is a distinct, non-wage exemption, not an earnings add-on |
| Multiple garnishments at once | More than one suggestee execution can be served on the same wages, but only one is being satisfied at a time, strictly in order of priority of service; once the senior execution is paid off without exhausting the maximum garnishable amount, the remaining balance goes to the next junior execution in line (§ 38-5A-3(a)). Support collection under § 48-14-417 overrides this priority scheme entirely, regardless of service order |
| Protection from being fired | Narrower than federal law: West Virginia's anti-discharge statute only bars firing or retaliating against an employee because a creditor subjected the employee's earnings to garnishment 'for the purpose of paying a judgment arising from a consumer credit sale, consumer lease or consumer loan' (§ 46A-2-131) — garnishment for a debt outside that consumer-credit definition (e.g., a personal-injury judgment) isn't covered by this state statute, though the federal 15 U.S.C. § 1674 single-indebtedness protection still applies regardless of debt type |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
The core rule lives in W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3, part of the "Suggestions of
Salary and Wages of Persons Engaged in Private Employment" article. West
Virginia's anti-discharge protection is a separate statute in the state's
consumer protection code, § 46A-2-131, and the rule giving support
collection priority over other garnishments is § 48-14-417.
Maximum garnishment amount
The cap is the lesser of two figures: 20% of wages remaining after state and
federal taxes are deducted, or the amount by which those wages exceed 50
times the federal minimum hourly wage — whichever leaves you with more money
(§ 38-5A-3(a)). Once issued, the suggestee execution is a continuing lien
against wages due for up to one year, so a creditor doesn't need to reapply
every pay period during that time.
Federal floor comparison
West Virginia beats the federal formula on both parts of the test: a flat
20% cap instead of 25%, and a 50-times-minimum-wage floor instead of 30
times. Note that the percentage runs against a narrower base than the
federal "disposable earnings" definition — West Virginia only deducts state
and federal taxes, not the fuller list of legally required deductions (like
FICA and Medicare) that federal law subtracts before applying its
percentage — but the state's lower percentage and higher floor still make it
one of the more protective states in this survey overall.
Minimum wage protection floor
50 times the federal minimum hourly wage — $362.50 a week at the current
$7.25 rate — well above the federal 30x floor (§ 38-5A-3(a)).
Priority debt exceptions
Support collection overrides everything: it has priority over any other
legal process against the same income and applies even where an exemption
would otherwise protect that income (§ 48-14-417). Support withholding
itself is a separate mechanism that can reach the higher federal support
percentages (up to 50-65% of disposable earnings), not the ordinary
20%/50x-floor test. Tax debt and federal student loans are collected through
their own administrative channels, outside this ordinary-creditor process.
Head-of-household exemption
None. Nothing in this article gives extra protection to a debtor supporting
a family on top of the 20%/50x-floor cap. West Virginia does have a
separate personal-property exemption schedule (§ 38-8-1: $1,100 plus unused
homestead), but that's unrelated to earnings and applies the same way to
everyone.
Multiple garnishments priority
More than one suggestee execution can be served against the same wages, but
only one is actually being paid at a time, strictly in order of when each
was served. If the senior execution gets fully paid off before using up the
whole garnishable amount, the leftover goes to the next execution in line
(§ 38-5A-3(a)). Support collection jumps this whole line regardless of
service order (§ 48-14-417).
Employee termination protection
Narrower than federal law. West Virginia's statute only protects an
employee from being fired over a garnishment tied to "a judgment arising
from a consumer credit sale, consumer lease or consumer loan" (§
46A-2-131) — a garnishment for some other kind of debt, like a personal
injury judgment, isn't covered by this state law, though the federal rule
barring discharge for a first garnishment on any one debt (15 U.S.C. §
1674) still applies regardless of debt type.
What trips people up
Don't assume West Virginia's anti-discharge protection covers every kind of
debt — it's written specifically around consumer credit sales, leases, and
loans, so a garnishment for, say, an unpaid medical malpractice judgment
falls outside the state statute (federal law still offers its narrower,
first-garnishment-only protection). And don't assume a second garnishment
can start collecting money right away just because it's been served: it has
to wait until the senior execution is either satisfied or its take doesn't
use up the full 20%/50x-floor allowance.
Common questions
Can my employer fire me if my wages are garnished?
Only in a limited set of cases is that clearly illegal under state law — if
the garnishment is for a consumer credit sale, lease, or loan debt. For
other kinds of debt, the federal rule barring discharge for a first
garnishment still applies.
Is West Virginia's garnishment cap better or worse than the federal one?
Better for the debtor on both measures: 20% instead of 25%, and a
50-times-minimum-wage floor instead of 30 times.
I already have a wage garnishment — can a child support order cut in line?
Yes. Support collection has absolute priority over any other legal process
against the same wages, regardless of which order came first.
Statutes and sources
- W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3 — https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-5A-3/ (accessed 2026-07-05)
- W. Va. Code § 46A-2-131 — https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://code.wvlegislature.gov/46A-2-131/ (accessed 2026-07-05)
- W. Va. Code § 48-14-417 — https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-14-417/ (accessed 2026-07-05)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title15/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673 (accessed 2026-07-05)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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