Updated for 2026 guidelines
Indiana Child Support Garnishment Calculator 2026
The 25 percent garnishment cap everyone has heard of does not protect a paycheck from child support. In Indiana both rules live in the same statute: IC 24-4.5-5-105 caps ordinary creditors near 25 percent, and sends support withholding to the federal tiers of 50 to 65 percent of disposable earnings. This page computes the tiers that actually apply.
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Estimate the Indiana 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 IC 24-4.5-5-105; income withholding mechanics IC 31-16-15. Rules last reviewed 2026-08-08.
How support withholding works in Indiana
Nearly every Indiana support order is collected by income withholding: the employer receives an order, takes the support out of each paycheck, and sends it to the state for disbursement. The question this page answers is the ceiling: how much of one paycheck can the withholding lawfully take.
The limits sit in IC 24-4.5-5-105, Indiana’s version of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code garnishment section, which mirrors the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act. For support orders the ceiling is 50 percent of disposable earnings if the paying parent supports another spouse or dependent child, and 60 percent if not. Each tier rises by 5 points, to 55 or 65 percent, when the withheld amount includes arrears at least twelve weeks old.
Disposable earnings means pay left after legally required deductions: federal, state, and county income tax withholding, Social Security, and Medicare. Health premiums, retirement contributions, and other voluntary deductions do not reduce the base the percentage is applied to.
The same section holds the familiar consumer rule: ordinary judgment creditors are capped at 25 percent of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less, and an Indiana court can trim that to as little as 10 percent on a showing of good cause. None of that protects against support. And when a support withholding order and a creditor garnishment compete for the same paycheck, the support order has priority regardless of which was entered first.
Remember what the ceiling is: a legal maximum on withholding, not the support amount. The weekly support figure comes from the Indiana guidelines worksheet; the tiers only decide how much of it, plus any arrears payment, can come out of a single check.
- Support withholding ceiling
- 50% or 60% of disposable earnings; 55% or 65% with 12-week arrearssource
- Statute
- IC 24-4.5-5-105 (limitation on garnishment, CCPA-mirroring)source
- Ordinary creditors
- 25% cap (reducible to 10% on good cause); never the rule for supportsource
- Priority
- Support withholding outranks creditor garnishments regardless of entry datessource
How to use this estimate
Enter disposable earnings per paycheck: gross pay minus the legally required deductions, which for most Indiana workers means federal and state income tax, county income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. Do not subtract insurance, 401(k) contributions, or other voluntary items.
Answer the two tier questions honestly: whether the paying parent currently supports another spouse or dependent child, and whether the withholding includes arrears at least twelve weeks old. Those two facts pick among 50, 55, 60, and 65 percent.
Compare the ceiling with the actual order. If the weekly support amount plus the arrears payment fits under the tier, the employer withholds it all. If it does not fit, the employer withholds up to the ceiling and the shortfall becomes arrears; the debt does not vanish.
Indiana support orders are weekly, but paychecks may be biweekly or semimonthly. The employer converts the weekly order to the pay cycle before applying the percentage, so check the pay-cycle arithmetic on the withholding order if the numbers look off.
What this estimate includes
- The four CCPA tiers as Indiana applies them through IC 24-4.5-5-105
- The disposable-earnings definition the percentage runs against
- The distinction between the support tiers and the 25 percent creditor cap in the same section
- The priority rule for support withholding over creditor garnishments
What it leaves out
- The support amount itself, which comes from the weekly guidelines worksheet, not this page
- Employer processing mechanics and any per-payment fees under the withholding chapter, IC 31-16-15
- Garnishment of non-wage assets like bank accounts, which follows different rules
- Multiple simultaneous support orders for different families, which the state allocates within the same ceilings
Indiana garnishment FAQs
How much of a paycheck can Indiana 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. Each ceiling rises by 5 points, to 55 or 65 percent, when the withholding includes arrears at least twelve weeks overdue. These are the federal CCPA tiers, which Indiana adopts through IC 24-4.5-5-105 without a stricter state cap for support.
Does the 25 percent garnishment limit protect me from support withholding?
No. The 25 percent figure in IC 24-4.5-5-105, which good cause can shrink to as little as 10 percent, is the ceiling for ordinary judgment creditors like credit card and medical debt collectors. Support orders are expressly measured by the 50 to 65 percent tiers instead. Quoting the 25 percent rule at a support withholding is the most common mistake in this area.
What counts as disposable earnings in Indiana?
Earnings minus deductions required by law: federal and state income tax withholding, Indiana county income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. Voluntary deductions such as health premiums, retirement contributions, and charitable withholding do not lower the base, so the percentage often applies to a larger figure than take-home pay.
What happens when a support order and a creditor garnishment hit the same paycheck?
Support wins. Under Indiana law an income withholding order for support has priority over creditor garnishment orders regardless of which was entered first. The support withholding comes out at its tier, and an ordinary creditor collects only to the extent room remains under the creditor limits.
Can my employer fire me over an Indiana support withholding?
Discipline or dismissal because of a support withholding order is prohibited, and both federal CCPA protections and Indiana’s withholding chapter back that up. An employer who refuses to honor a withholding order or retaliates against the employee faces liability of its own. If it happens, document it and raise it with the Title IV-D office or the court.
The full weekly order does not fit under the ceiling. What then?
The employer withholds up to the applicable tier and no more, and the unpaid remainder accrues as arrears. Once those arrears pass twelve weeks old, the ceiling itself steps up by 5 points, which lets the state collect faster. If income has genuinely dropped, the durable fix is a modification of the weekly order, since the withholding limits only meter collection, not the underlying debt.
Official sources
Official sources last verified: .
- IC 24-4.5-5-105 (limitation on garnishment: support orders at the federal CCPA tiers 50/55/60/65 percent; 25 percent ordinary-creditor cap; support withholding priority)
Indiana General Assembly (iga.in.gov) Last checked
- IC 31-16-12-2 (arrears interest: the court MAY, on request, order not more than 1.5 percent per month on delinquent child support; discretionary, not automatic)
Indiana General Assembly (iga.in.gov) Last checked
- Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines (Support Rules 1-3, Guidelines 1-9: weekly income shares, Guideline 3D nearest-row rule, Guideline 6 parenting time credit Table PT; amendments eff. 2024-01-01, compiled PDF updated 2024-05-14)
Indiana Supreme Court (rules.incourts.gov) Last checked
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published with the CCPA support tiers and the creditor-cap distinction. Material changes are dated in the update log.