Updated for the July 2025 schedule
Virginia Child Support Garnishment Calculator 2026
Virginia protects paychecks two different ways, and support uses the looser one. For child support withholding, state law simply mirrors the federal ceilings: 50 to 65 percent of disposable earnings, depending on your situation.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Estimate the Virginia withholding ceiling
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)).
| 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 |
| 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 Va. Code § 34-29(C). Rules last reviewed 2026-08-07.
How support withholding limits work in Virginia
Most Virginia child support is collected by income withholding: the order goes to the employer, and the employer sends part of each paycheck to the state disbursement system before the worker ever sees it.
The ceiling on that withholding comes from Code of Virginia section 34-29(C), which adopts the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act tiers word for word. An obligor who supports another spouse or dependent child keeps at least half the paycheck: the cap is 50 percent of disposable earnings. Without a second family it is 60 percent. Each cap rises 5 points, to 55 or 65 percent, when the arrears are at least 12 weeks old.
Disposable earnings means pay left after legally required deductions such as taxes and Social Security. Health premiums, retirement elections, and other voluntary deductions do not shrink the base the percentage applies to.
Here is the part people mix up. For ordinary creditors, Virginia is stricter than federal law: garnishment is capped at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the greater of the federal or Virginia minimum wage. None of that applies to support. Support orders take priority and run under the 50-to-65 percent tiers instead.
- Support cap, second family
- 50% of disposable earnings; 55% if arrears are 12 or more weeks oldsource
- Support cap, no second family
- 60% of disposable earnings; 65% if arrears are 12 or more weeks oldsource
- Relation to federal law
- Identical to the CCPA tiers; no stricter Virginia cap for supportsource
- Ordinary debts (contrast)
- Stricter: lesser of 25% or the excess over 40x the higher minimum wagesource
How to use this estimate
Enter disposable earnings per paycheck, meaning gross pay minus only the deductions the law requires. Then answer whether the paying parent supports another spouse or child, and whether arrears are at least 12 weeks old. Those two answers pick the tier.
The result is a ceiling, not the order amount. The support order sets what is actually withheld; the tier only caps how high withholding can go when current support and arrears payments stack up.
If the paycheck is also being garnished for a credit card or other ordinary debt, remember the regimes are separate. Support has priority, and the ordinary-debt garnishment has its own, tighter Virginia math.
What this estimate includes
- The four CCPA tiers as adopted by Va. Code § 34-29(C): 50, 55, 60, and 65 percent
- The second-family and 12-week-arrears questions that select the tier
- The dollar ceiling for the paycheck figure you enter
What it leaves out
- The ordinary-creditor garnishment math, including the 40-times-minimum-wage floor
- Employer processing fees and the mechanics of multiple simultaneous orders
- The order amount itself, which comes from the support order, not the cap
Garnishment math starts from pay after legally required deductions. If you want the take-home side of the picture first, our PayDecode paycheck calculator breaks a Virginia paycheck down step by step.Open the PayDecode paycheck calculator
Virginia garnishment FAQs
How much of a paycheck can Virginia take for child support?
Up to 50 percent of disposable earnings if the paying parent supports another spouse or dependent child, and up to 60 percent if not. Both caps rise 5 points, to 55 and 65 percent, once arrears are at least 12 weeks old. Virginia adopts these numbers straight from the federal CCPA in section 34-29(C).
Is Virginia stricter than federal law on support garnishment?
No. For support, the Virginia caps and the federal caps are the same four tiers. Where Virginia is stricter is ordinary-debt garnishment, which is limited to the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the greater of the federal or Virginia minimum wage. Because Virginia’s minimum wage is above the federal one, that floor protects more than the federal version.
What counts as disposable earnings?
Pay remaining after deductions required by law: federal and state income tax withholding, Social Security, and Medicare. Voluntary deductions like retirement contributions, health premiums, and charitable payroll gifts still count as disposable for this purpose, so the cap is computed on a bigger number than take-home pay.
Can support withholding and a regular garnishment hit the same paycheck?
Yes, but support comes first. The support order is honored up to its tier, and an ordinary-creditor garnishment can only reach whatever room its own, stricter limits leave after that. In many support cases there is no room left at all.
Did the 2026 amendments to section 34-29 change the support caps?
No. The 2026 legislation adjusted other parts of the exemption statute, including a federal-tax-debt provision taking effect in 2027, and left the support tiers as they were. We flag the amendment because subsection numbering can shift; the 50/55/60/65 structure itself is unchanged.
Where does the withheld money go?
To the state disbursement unit, which posts it to the case and forwards it to the receiving parent. Employers must honor an income withholding order and can face liability for ignoring one; workers cannot be fired because of a single support withholding.
Official sources
Official sources last verified: .
- Va. Code § 34-29 (garnishment caps; support caps mirror CCPA 50/55/60/65%; general cap stricter incl. VA minimum wage basis)
Virginia General Assembly Last checked
- Virginia DSS Division of Child Support Enforcement program pages
Virginia DSS DCSE Last checked
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published with the CCPA-mirroring support tiers and the ordinary-debt contrast. Material changes are dated in the update log.