Paycheck Deduction Laws by State: What Your Employer Can Legally Take Out

These caps apply to court orders and government collection, not to deductions your employer starts on its own. Support orders can take far more than an ordinary creditor: up to 60% versus 25%.

If your weekly disposable pay is $217.50 or less, an ordinary creditor gets nothing. The protected floor scales with your pay period, so it is $942.50 for monthly pay.

The IRS uses its own table instead of the 25% rule. A single filer with no dependents keeps $309.62 a week, and each dependent raises the amount you keep.

Written employee authorization is the most common approach, used in 29 states. The 12 jurisdictions with no general statute still sit under the federal minimum wage floor.

Even when an employer really did overpay you, several states stop it from clawing everything back in one check. Maine is the strictest at 5% of net pay, and these caps measure different things, so compare them with care.

Federal limits that apply to paycheck deductions in every state

Source: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (e-CFR text), 29 CFR § 531.35, "Free and clear" payment; "kickbacks"; U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #30: Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA); Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (U.S. Code text), 20 U.S.C. § 1095a, Wage garnishment requirement; Internal Revenue Service, Publication 1494, Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income (2026). Download as image

State rule on voluntary paycheck deductions by state

• 9Closed list: only deductions named in law allowed
• 29Written employee authorization required
• 1Employer written notice suffices
• 12No general state deduction statute (narrow rules only)

Can my employer take money out of my paycheck without permission?

In most of the country, no. Taxes, court orders and deductions required by law come out automatically. For almost anything else, the employer needs something from you first, and the strictness of that requirement is what separates the states.

The largest group, 29 states, requires written employee authorization. A verbal yes in a hallway does not count. Some go further about the form: Nevada wants the authorization tied to a specific purpose, pay period and amount, and it bans blanket sign-offs in advance. Connecticut wants the authorization on a form approved by the Labor Commissioner.

Another 9 states run a closed list. New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maine are in this group. Only deductions the statute names are allowed. In New Jersey, for example, your signature cannot add a new category, so if shortages are not on the list, signing a form agreeing to cover them does not make the deduction legal.

South Carolina stands alone. There, the employer's written notice of the amount and terms is enough, and no employee signature is required. Then there are 12 jurisdictions with no general deduction statute at all, including Florida, Georgia and Alabama. That does not mean anything goes. The federal FLSA still bars deductions for tools, uniforms and similar employer costs when they would cut into minimum wage or overtime you are owed.

Can an employer make you pay for a cash shortage or broken equipment?

State rules split sharply here. Picture a server who drops a tray of glasses, or a cashier who shares a till with coworkers and gets charged when the drawer is light.

A long list of states bans these deductions outright, even with your signature. Delaware bars shortage and damage deductions under its Regulation 1328. Hawaii bars fines, specified shortages and breakage. Oregon's labor bureau treats shortages, breakage and required tools as off limits. Rhode Island says spoilage, breakage, shortages and fines can never be authorized. Washington bars till shortages, walkouts and breakage during employment.

Other states allow it only under tight conditions. California permits a shortage or breakage deduction only when the loss came from a dishonest or willful act or gross negligence. Oklahoma requires that you were the sole person responsible. Minnesota and Wisconsin require written consent given after the loss happens, so a clause you signed on day one does not cover it. Minnesota backs that up hard: an employer that deducts unlawfully owes 2x the amount taken.

If you were docked for a loss, check if you had sole control of the register or equipment, if you signed anything after the incident, and what your state's row in the table above says.

How much of my paycheck can be garnished?

Garnishment is different from an employer deduction. A court or agency orders your employer to send part of your pay to someone else, and your employer has little choice but to comply. Federal law sets the ceiling.

For ordinary debts like credit cards or medical bills, the limit is the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage. At $7.25 an hour, that means weekly disposable pay of $217.50 or less cannot be garnished at all. Disposable earnings means pay after legally required deductions such as taxes, not after voluntary ones like retirement savings or health premiums.

Child support and alimony are treated far more harshly. Up to 50% can be taken if you support another spouse or child, 60% if you do not, and another 5% if you are more than 12 weeks behind. Defaulted federal student loans can be collected administratively at 15% of disposable pay per pay period, with written notice mailed at least 30 days before. The IRS works from its own exemption table: in 2026 a single filer with three dependents keeps $615.38 a week.

Many states protect more than these federal floors. If a garnishment notice arrives, read the exemption claim form that comes with it before the deadline passes.

Can my employer take back an overpayment or advance all at once?

Payroll mistakes happen, and in most places the employer can recover a genuine overpayment. The question is how fast. A few states cap the bite per paycheck so a mistake you did not make does not wipe out your rent money.

Maine limits recovery of an employer-error overpayment to 5% of net pay per period and only reaches back 3 years before discovery. New Hampshire caps accidental overpayment deductions at 20% of gross. Illinois caps cash-advance repayment at 15% of gross per check, and Delaware applies a 15% cap to repaying advances or goods. Tennessee requires a pre-signed agreement plus 14 days' notice before offsetting advances or loans.

If you get an overpayment notice, ask for the calculation in writing, confirm the amount is right, and ask for a repayment schedule. Agreeing to a schedule in writing is usually better than having the whole amount vanish from one check.

What to do if a deduction looks wrong

• Pull your pay stub and the original authorization, if any. Note the date you signed it and what it actually lists.
• Find your state's row in the table above. Check the consent rule and the shortages and damage column, since those answer most disputes.
• Ask payroll or HR in writing what the deduction is for and what document authorizes it. Keep a copy of the request and the reply.
• If you signed a general authorization at hiring, ask if your state requires fresh consent after the loss or at the time of the deduction. Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin all do for some deduction types.
• If the employer will not fix it, file a wage claim with your state labor department. Claim deadlines vary, so do not wait months.
• Before you take a new job, read the offer letter and handbook for repayment, equipment and uniform clauses. That is where most of these deductions get their start.

Sources and method

Every number on this page comes from the sources below, each opened and read on or before October 18, 2026. A second, independent review checked every figure against its source and corrected anything that did not match. 51 of 51 state entries were confirmed; any that could not be are marked "Not yet confirmed" and left out of every count and chart.

1. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #30: Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) (December 2024)
2. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (U.S. Code text), 20 U.S.C. § 1095a, Wage garnishment requirement (Current U.S. Code as viewed October 2026)
3. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (e-CFR text), 29 CFR § 531.35, "Free and clear" payment; "kickbacks" (Current e-CFR as viewed October 2026)
4. Internal Revenue Service, Publication 1494, Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income (2026) (Rev. 12-2025 (tables for 2026))
5. Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 26 M.R.S. § 635, Overcompensation by employer (Data extracted October 5, 2026)
6. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minn. Stat. § 181.79, Wage deductions for faulty workmanship, loss, theft or damage (2025 Minnesota Statutes)
7. Ezel, Employee Wage Deduction Requirements: 50-State Survey (Statutes checked July 13, 2026)
8. Ezel, Employee Wage Deduction Requirements in Michigan (Statute checked July 13, 2026)
9. Ezel, Employee Wage Deduction Requirements in Illinois (Statute checked July 13, 2026)
10. Ezel, Employee Wage Deduction Requirements in Delaware (Statute checked July 13, 2026)
11. Ezel, Employee Wage Deduction Requirements in New Hampshire (Statute checked July 13, 2026)