Roman Law Firm
Bankruptcy Attorney in DC, VA, and MD
See what a Maryland consumer-debt creditor may take from your paycheck — and what you keep.
Reviewed May 19, 2026 · by Roman Chebotarev, Esq. · Md. Code § 15-601.1
Two inputs — pay frequency and take-home pay — and you'll see what's protected under Md. Code § 15-601.1.
Consumer debt
Enter disposable wages and pay frequency to see the estimated Maryland consumer-debt limit.
The calculator gives general information, not legal advice. It does not decide whether a judgment, writ, service, or defense is valid.
Maryland calculates the protected amount separately for each pay period.
For ordinary consumer debt, Maryland protects at least 75 percent of disposable wages from garnishment.
Maryland also protects wages up to 30 times the state minimum hourly wage for each week in the pay period. At $15.00 per hour, that is $450 per week.
If your employer deducts medical insurance from wages, Maryland treats that amount as exempt too.
Child support, IRS levies, and federal AWG follow their own rules. Those menu choices point you to official resources instead of using this formula.
Federal law bars an employer from firing a worker because pay was garnished for one debt. More than one order collecting that same debt still counts as one debt. The federal rule may not protect a worker whose pay is garnished for a second debt. The number of debts, not the number of orders, is what matters.
Sources: 15 U.S.C. § 1674 and the U.S. Department of Labor’s CCPA guidance. State law may provide additional protection.
The calculator uses the numbers below. Use the court links if a writ has already hit your paycheck.
For consumer-debt garnishments, Maryland protects the larger of 75 percent of disposable wages or 30 times the state minimum hourly wage for each week in the pay period. Employer-deducted medical insurance is protected separately.
| State minimum wage used | $15.00/hour |
|---|---|
| Weekly 30x floor | $450.00/week |
| Percent protection | 75 percent of disposable wages |
| Separate exemption | Employer medical insurance deduction |
Reviewed May 19, 2026. Source: Md. Code Comm. Law Section 15-601.1.
Use these Maryland court resources if you need to check a writ, object, or ask about exemptions.
For most court consumer-debt garnishments, Maryland protects the larger of 75 percent of disposable wages or 30 times Maryland's state minimum wage for the pay period. If the medical insurance exemption applies, that amount is protected separately.
Maryland defines disposable wages as wages left after amounts required by law are withheld. Start with pay after tax withholding, Social Security, and Medicare. Enter employer-deducted medical insurance separately.
Md. Code Comm. Law Section 15-601.1 protects any medical insurance payment deducted from wages by the employer. If you include it inside disposable wages, the calculator may overstate what a creditor can take.
No. Those categories use different legal formulas. The menu points you to official resources so this consumer-debt formula does not get applied to the wrong kind of debt.
No. The result only estimates the wage limit. To evaluate service, judgment defenses, exemptions, settlement, or bankruptcy timing, someone has to review the court file and facts.
Compare your pay stub with the estimate. If the numbers do not match, review the Maryland court forms and call the Maryland Court Help Center or a Maryland consumer-debt attorney quickly. Court deadlines can be short.
A bank freeze is not the same as paycheck garnishment. Maryland Courts says at least $500 in a bank account is automatically protected, and other bank-garnishment exemptions generally require DC-CV-036 within 30 days after the writ is served on the bank.
The calculator can estimate the wage limit, but it cannot tell whether a judgment has been entered, whether a writ has been issued, or whether a defense is still available. Check the court file and consider speaking with a Maryland consumer-debt attorney before money starts coming out of your paycheck.
This calculator is Maryland-specific. If the garnishment is tied to another DMV jurisdiction, use the DC calculator or the Virginia calculator for that jurisdiction's rules.
The Maryland formula above is built from these primary sources, last reviewed May 19, 2026.
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Review clearance planningThe calculator estimates the Maryland wage limit. It does not decide whether the judgment is valid, whether bankruptcy is the better tool, or whether a defense applies.
Compare the estimate with the amount withheld. If the two do not line up, the writ may have an error.
Roman Law Firm reviews the garnishment alongside consumer-debt lawsuits, bankruptcy timing, and filing options.