Updated July 21, 2026: Uses Colorado's 2026 statewide minimum wage of $15.16 per hour.
For most credit-card, medical, and personal-loan judgments, Colorado limits how much can come out of each paycheck. The calculator uses the lowest of three amounts:
- 20% of disposable earnings;
- pay above 40 times the federal minimum wage for each workweek; or
- pay above 40 times Colorado’s statewide minimum wage for each workweek.
For 2026, Colorado’s $15.16 statewide rate creates the higher protected amount. City and county rates, tipped rates, and youth rates are not used for this comparison. Enter the numbers from one pay stub below to see an estimate.
Estimate what may come out of your paycheck
Use one pay stub. This tool estimates only a regular Colorado court-judgment garnishment, such as one for a credit card, medical bill, or personal loan. Your entries stay in your browser and are not submitted or saved.
This calculator does not cover other kinds of withholding. Do not use it for child support or maintenance, federal or Colorado tax levies, federal student-loan or other federal administrative debt, public-assistance-fraud judgments, Chapter 13 or other bankruptcy orders, or another special order.
Another withholding or order may be legally separate from, and may apply in addition to, an ordinary judgment garnishment depending on the orders and priority rules. This calculator does not calculate, validate, rank, or advise on any other levy or order. For example, an IRS wage levy follows separate rules and generally continues until the IRS releases it.
Estimated maximum from this paycheck
This estimate is only the ordinary Colorado judgment component. Another withholding or order may be separate and may apply in addition depending on the orders and priority rules. This result does not calculate, validate, rank, or advise on another levy or order, and it does not determine what payroll will ultimately withhold.
Can I ask for a lower amount?
If the payroll calculation looks wrong: Contact your employer or payroll department quickly. Current Colorado instructions give you seven days after receiving the garnishment paperwork to try to resolve the calculation. If it is not fixed, you can file a written objection with the court and send a copy to the creditor or the creditor's lawyer.
If the withholding leaves too little for basic expenses: You can ask the court to protect more of your pay without contacting your employer first. Be ready to show family income and actual, necessary expenses from the past 60 days. The court—not the creditor or employer—decides. Current instructions call for a hearing within 14 days after filing, so follow the current Colorado wage-garnishment objection form carefully.
Bankruptcy may stop this kind of wage garnishment
If this is a regular court judgment for a credit-card, medical, personal-loan, or similar debt, filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 generally triggers the automatic stay and stops ongoing collection, including most wage garnishments. Exceptions can apply.
Scheduling a consultation does not stop the garnishment—filing a bankruptcy case may. Because another payroll deduction may occur soon, schedule promptly if you want to explore bankruptcy before another paycheck is affected. Scheduling does not guarantee that bankruptcy is appropriate or that any particular result will occur.
This invitation concerns ordinary judgment debt and possible bankruptcy relief. It does not say that the firm handles tax levies, support orders, student-loan garnishments, public-assistance-fraud judgments, or every special order.
Legal information reviewed against current Colorado wage-garnishment law, Colorado Judicial Branch paycheck-calculation instructions and objection form, Colorado's operative 2026 wage order, the U.S. Department of Labor's ordinary-garnishment guidance, and the IRS's wage-levy guidance.
This calculator provides general information, not legal advice. It estimates a maximum for regular Colorado debt judgments using 2026 rates. Check your pay stub and paperwork. If a deadline is running or the papers are unclear, contact the court or a Colorado attorney.
No dollar estimate
This calculator only estimates a regular Colorado court-judgment garnishment. Review the notice and use the instructions from the court or agency that issued it. Another withholding or order may be separate and may apply in addition depending on the orders and priority rules; this calculator does not calculate, validate, rank, or advise on it.
