Half the paycheck, never more
Arizona Child Support Garnishment Calculator 2026
Arizona draws one bright line for support withholding: never more than half the paycheck. Where federal law would allow 55, 60, or 65 percent of disposable earnings, Arizona stops at 50, and even the extra charges for old arrears have to fit under that same ceiling.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Estimate the Arizona withholding ceiling
Maximum weekly withholding for support: $400.00
That is 50% of disposable earnings under the Arizona cap for this situation (A.R.S. § 25-505.01; § 33-1131(C)), at or below the federal CCPA tier.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Federal CCPA ceiling: 60% of disposable earnings (15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2))15 U.S.C. 1673 (CCPA garnishment limits: 50/55/60/65% for support) (U.S. Congress (text via Cornell LII mirror)) | $480.00 |
| State cap: 50% of disposable earnings (A.R.S. § 25-505.01; § 33-1131(C))Arizona caps support withholding at 50% of disposable income for any pay period, below the 55/60/65% federal CCPA tiers. The arrears add-ons (+25% of the current support if 2-6 months in arrears, +33% if over 6 months, more at 12+ months) are collected WITHIN the 50% ceiling. The Prop 209 ordinary-creditor limit (10% of disposable earnings) does not apply to support orders.A.R.S. § 25-505.01 (administrative income withholding; not more than one-half of disposable income for any period; arrears add-ons of +25%/+33% within the cap) (Arizona State Legislature (azleg.gov)) | $400.00 |
| Maximum support withholding: 50% of disposable earnings15 U.S.C. 1673 (CCPA garnishment limits: 50/55/60/65% for support) (U.S. Congress (text via Cornell LII mirror)) | $400.00 |
Assumptions
- Disposable earnings are earnings minus deductions required by law (15 U.S.C. 1672); voluntary deductions are not subtracted.
- Obligor does not support another spouse or dependent child.
- No arrears older than 12 weeks.
Estimate only. The court or state agency calculation controls.
Arizona cap under A.R.S. § 25-505.01; § 33-1131(C); federal ceiling under 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2). Rules last reviewed 2026-08-07.
How support withholding limits work in Arizona
Arizona support orders are collected primarily by income withholding: the order of assignment goes to the employer, and the support comes out before the paycheck reaches the parent. Two statutes set the ceiling, and they agree with each other.
A.R.S. section 25-505.01, the administrative withholding statute, says that not more than one-half of the obligor’s disposable income for any period may be taken to satisfy a support income-withholding order. The exemption statute, section 33-1131(C), states the same rule from the worker’s side: for collection of a support order, half of disposable earnings for any pay period is exempt.
That 50 percent line sits below federal law. The federal CCPA would allow 50 or 55 percent for an obligor supporting a second family and 60 or 65 percent otherwise, arrears age deciding the extra 5 points. A state may always protect more of the paycheck than the CCPA does, so in Arizona the four federal tiers compress to a single working answer: the smaller of the federal tier and 50 percent, which is 50 percent in every scenario.
Arrears do not pierce the ceiling. When an obligor is two to six months behind, the withholding order adds 25 percent of the current monthly support toward arrears; past six months the add-on becomes a third, and twelve months or more can support more aggressive terms. All of it, current support plus the arrears component, must fit within the 50 percent cap.
One more Arizona wrinkle worth knowing: Proposition 209 slashed ordinary-creditor garnishment to 10 percent of disposable earnings for most debts. That dramatic cap does not apply to support, which keeps its own half-the-paycheck rule and its priority over other garnishments.
- Support cap
- 50% of disposable income for any period, every scenario (A.R.S. § 25-505.01)source
- Exemption mirror
- Half of disposable earnings exempt for support collection (§ 33-1131(C))source
- Versus federal law
- Stricter than the CCPA 50/55/60/65 tiers; Arizona never exceeds 50%source
- Arrears add-ons
- +25% of current support at 2-6 months behind, +33% past 6 months, inside the capsource
- Ordinary debts (contrast)
- Prop 209 caps most other garnishments at 10%; support is exempt from that capsource
How to use this estimate
Enter disposable earnings for the pay period: gross pay minus only the deductions the law requires, like income tax withholding, Social Security, and Medicare. Voluntary items such as retirement contributions or health premiums do not reduce the base.
Answer the second-family and 12-week-arrears questions to see the federal tier for your situation. In Arizona the final ceiling will still be 50 percent, and the result shows both numbers so you can see the state cap doing its work whenever the federal tier is higher.
The ceiling is not the payment. The order of assignment states the actual monthly amount, current support plus any arrears component; the cap only limits how much of any single paycheck can be taken when those pieces stack up.
What this estimate includes
- The federal CCPA tier for your second-family and arrears answers
- The Arizona 50 percent ceiling applied on top, per §§ 25-505.01 and 33-1131(C)
- The dollar maximum for the paycheck figure you enter
What it leaves out
- The arrears add-on arithmetic itself, which comes from the order of assignment
- Employer processing fees and the priority mechanics of multiple orders
- Ordinary-creditor garnishments, which live under the separate 10 percent Prop 209 regime
The 50 percent cap runs on pay after legally required deductions, not take-home pay. To see an Arizona paycheck broken into those pieces first, our PayDecode paycheck calculator walks it line by line.Open the PayDecode paycheck calculator
Arizona garnishment FAQs
How much of a paycheck can Arizona take for child support?
At most half. A.R.S. section 25-505.01 caps support withholding at 50 percent of disposable income for any period, regardless of second families or arrears age. Federal law would permit up to 65 percent in the worst case; Arizona simply declines to go there, and the wage-exemption statute repeats the same 50 percent from the employee’s side.
Do arrears increase the withholding beyond 50 percent?
They increase the withholding, not the ceiling. Being 2 to 6 months behind adds 25 percent of the current support amount to the order; more than 6 months behind raises the add-on to a third, and cases 12 or more months behind can be pushed harder. But the statute’s cap language governs the total: everything collected through the withholding order must fit within half of disposable income for the period.
What counts as disposable income in Arizona?
Pay left after legally required deductions: taxes, Social Security, Medicare. A 401(k) election, union dues you chose, or a family health premium are voluntary and stay inside the base the 50 percent applies to. That means the cap is computed on more than take-home pay for most workers.
Did Proposition 209 change child support garnishment?
No. Prop 209 cut ordinary-creditor garnishment to 10 percent of disposable earnings and raised other debtor protections, but support orders were carved out. Support withholding still runs under section 25-505.01 at up to 50 percent, still takes priority over other garnishments, and an ordinary creditor only reaches whatever its own 10 percent regime leaves room for.
Is Arizona stricter than federal law on support withholding?
Yes, meaningfully. The federal CCPA tiers reach 55, 60, or 65 percent when there is no second family or arrears are old. Arizona’s flat 50 percent undercuts three of the four federal tiers, making it one of the stricter support-withholding states. The federal floor only matters as an upper boundary; the state may always take less.
Can an employer refuse or a worker be fired over withholding?
Employers must honor an order of assignment and face liability for pocketing or ignoring it, and Arizona law protects employees from discipline over support withholding. If more than one support order hits the same paycheck and the combined demand exceeds the cap, the amounts are allocated under the statute rather than the later order simply losing.
Official sources
Official sources last verified: .
- A.R.S. § 25-505.01 (administrative income withholding; not more than one-half of disposable income for any period; arrears add-ons of +25%/+33% within the cap)
Arizona State Legislature (azleg.gov) Last checked
- A.R.S. § 33-1131 (wage exemptions: one-half of disposable earnings exempt for support collection; post-Prop 209 ordinary-debt limit of 10% does not apply to support)
Arizona State Legislature (azleg.gov) Last checked
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published with the 50 percent support ceiling, the inside-the-cap arrears add-ons, and the Prop 209 contrast. Material changes are dated in the update log.