SupportDecode

Updated for 2026 guidelines

Maryland Child Support Garnishment Calculator 2026

Maryland paycheck protections come in two flavors, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake. The 75 percent exemption people quote is for credit card judgments. Child support withholding answers to a different statute, and it can reach 50 to 65 percent of disposable earnings.

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Estimate the Maryland withholding ceiling

Earnings

Weekly pay left after deductions required by law, such as taxes (15 U.S.C. 1672). Voluntary deductions still count as disposable.

Situation
Does the paying parent support another spouse or dependent child?
Do the arrears cover a period more than 12 weeks ago?

Maximum weekly withholding for support: $480.00

That is 60% of disposable earnings, the federal CCPA ceiling that applies to this situation (15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2)).

How this limit was computed
Line itemAmount
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
Maximum support withholding: 60% of disposable earnings15 U.S.C. 1673 (CCPA garnishment limits: 50/55/60/65% for support) (U.S. Congress (text via Cornell LII mirror))$480.00

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.

Federal CCPA ceiling under 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2); state rules under Md. Code, Fam. Law § 10-122; Com. Law § 15-601.1. Rules last reviewed 2026-08-07.

How support withholding limits work in Maryland

Nearly every Maryland support order includes earnings withholding: the order goes to the employer under Family Law section 10-122 and its neighbors, and the employer deducts support before wages are paid out.

The ceiling comes from federal law by reference. Section 10-122(c) tells the Child Support Administration to allocate withholding "up to the limits imposed by the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act". Those limits are the familiar four tiers of 15 U.S.C. 1673(b): 50 percent of disposable earnings for a payer supporting another spouse or child, 60 percent without a second family, and 5 points more in each case, 55 or 65 percent, once arrears run at least 12 weeks behind. Maryland adds no stricter cap of its own for support.

Section 10-122(b)(2) adds a Maryland detail worth knowing when arrears are in the mix: the arrears portion folded into each withholding must be at least $1 and at most 25 percent of the current support payment. The tier caps the total; the 25 percent rule shapes how much of that total can be catch-up rather than current support.

The protection Marylanders usually hear about, Commercial Law section 15-601.1, exempts the greater of 75 percent of disposable wages or 30 times the state minimum hourly wage per week, and note the word state: Maryland pegs the floor to its own minimum wage, which sits well above the federal $7.25. That generous shield governs attachments by ordinary judgment creditors. Support withholding is carved onto the CCPA track instead, which is why a support order can lawfully take half a paycheck that a credit card judgment could barely touch.

Support cap, second family
50% of disposable earnings; 55% once arrears are 12 or more weeks oldsource
Support cap, no second family
60% of disposable earnings; 65% with 12-week arrearssource
Arrears inside the withholding
Apportioned at no less than $1 and no more than 25% of the current support paymentsource
Ordinary debts (contrast)
Greater of 75% of disposable wages or 30x the STATE minimum hourly wage protectedsource

How to use this estimate

Enter disposable earnings for one pay period: gross pay minus deductions required by law, such as taxes and Social Security. Maryland also lets medical insurance deductions count on the exemption side for ordinary garnishments, but for the CCPA support tiers the base is the standard disposable earnings figure.

Answer the two situation questions, whether the payer supports another spouse or child, and whether arrears are at least 12 weeks old, and the tool shows the tier and the dollar ceiling for that paycheck.

Remember what the number is: the most an employer may withhold for support, not what your order says. The order and the CSA notice fix the actual deduction; the tier only tells you where the law stops it.

What this estimate includes

  • The four CCPA tiers Maryland adopts through Fam. Law § 10-122(c): 50, 55, 60, 65 percent
  • The two questions that select the tier, second family and 12-week arrears
  • The per-paycheck ceiling in dollars for the earnings you enter

What it leaves out

  • The ordinary-creditor exemption math of Com. Law § 15-601.1 and its state-minimum-wage floor
  • The $1 to 25 percent arrears apportionment inside a specific order, which the CSA computes
  • Employer handling and the priority mechanics when several withholding orders collide

The tiers apply to pay after legally required deductions, so knowing your true take-home matters. Our PayDecode paycheck calculator breaks a Maryland paycheck down line by line.Open the PayDecode paycheck calculator

Maryland garnishment FAQs

How much can Maryland garnish for child support?

Up to 50 percent of disposable earnings when the paying parent supports another spouse or dependent child, and up to 60 percent when not. Arrears at least 12 weeks old lift each ceiling by 5 points, to 55 and 65 percent. Family Law section 10-122(c) adopts these federal CCPA limits for Maryland support withholding.

Does the 75 percent Maryland exemption protect me from support withholding?

No. That exemption, Commercial Law section 15-601.1, protects wages from attachment by ordinary judgment creditors, and it keeps the greater of 75 percent of disposable wages or 30 times the Maryland minimum hourly wage per week out of reach. Support withholding is not an ordinary attachment; it runs on the CCPA tiers, which allow far deeper deductions.

What is the 25 percent arrears rule in Maryland withholding?

When a withholding covers both current support and back support, section 10-122(b)(2) requires the arrears slice of each payment to land between $1 and 25 percent of the current support amount. On a $600 monthly order, the catch-up portion would run $1 to $150 per month, all inside whatever the CCPA tier permits overall.

What counts as disposable earnings here?

Pay left after legally required deductions: income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare. Voluntary items, retirement contributions, charitable deductions, most insurance elections, still count as disposable, so the percentage applies to a larger base than take-home pay. That is federal CCPA vocabulary, and Maryland uses it for support.

Can I be fired over a Maryland support withholding?

No. Employers must honor the withholding order and may not discipline or dismiss an employee because of it; both federal law and Maryland law forbid retaliation for a support withholding. Employers who ignore an order can become liable for the amounts they failed to withhold.

What if my paycheck has a support order and a creditor garnishment at once?

Support wins. The support withholding takes its room under the CCPA tier first, and the creditor garnishment can only use whatever the stricter 15-601.1 exemption leaves after that, which after a 50 percent support deduction is typically nothing. The two regimes never merge into one bigger deduction.

Official sources

Official sources last verified: .

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Changelog: page first published with the CCPA support tiers, the arrears apportionment rule, and the ordinary-debt contrast. Material changes are dated in the update log.