Wage Garnishment in Florida:

The Florida Statutes, §222.11, provide that the wages of a head of a household are generally exempt from garnishment.  The head of a household is generally defined as someone who provides more than ½ the support for another.

An exemption to this exemption is that if the head of household agreed in writing to allow the wages to be garnished.  Until 2010 the statute protected all wages up to $500/week from any garnishment.  In 2010 the statute was amended to protect up to $750/week from any garnishment.  One issue that was recently decided by an appellate court in Florida is that this increase does apply to loans incurred prior to 2010.

Any garnishment is still subject to the limits of the Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. s 1673.  This statute limits exemptions to 25% of an individual’s weekly disposable income.   The recent decision from the appellate court also ruled that this applies in concert with §222.11 to limit garnishments to only 25% of the amount of the weekly disposable income more than the $750/week amount protected by §222.11.  Thus, if someone makes $800/week disposable income, only $12.50/week is subject to garnishment ($800 – $750) * .25.  This decision is critical to allow increased protection of borrowers against garnishment.

See https://tampabankruptcy.blogspot.com/2020/11/amended-florida-wage-exemption-statute.html

Michael Barnett, Esq.
Michael Barnett, PA
506 N Armenia Ave.
Tampa, FL 33609-1703
813-879-3100