Wage garnishment in Colorado

How much of a week’s pay can be garnished?

Section 13-54-104 says the part of a week’s disposable earnings that can be garnished for an ordinary debt is “the lesser of: (A) Twenty percent of the individual’s disposable earnings for that week”, or the amount by which those earnings exceed forty times the federal minimum hourly wage, or the amount by which they exceed “forty times the state minimum hourly wage”. Whichever of the three is smallest is the most that can be taken. If you are paid for a period other than a week, the law uses an equivalent multiple of the minimum wage for that period.

Disposable earnings are what is left after the deductions the law requires and certain health insurance costs. A separate rule in the same section applies to debts for fraudulently obtained public assistance, which this page does not quote.

Source: Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-54-104 · quoted 5 November 2026

Can you ask the court to take less?

Yes. A judgment debtor may file a written objection and ask for a hearing, and “At the hearing the judgment debtor may establish that a greater portion of the judgment debtor’s disposable earnings should be exempt from garnishment for the support of the judgment debtor or the judgment debtor’s family supported, in whole or in part, by the judgment debtor”. The court looks at the actual and necessary living expenses proved for the sixty days before the hearing, among them rent or mortgage, utilities, food, medical costs, child care and transportation, and if the earnings left after garnishment, together with any other income the family receives, are not enough to pay them, it orders more of the earnings to be exempt.

Source: Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-54-104 · quoted 5 November 2026

What does the limit not cover?

Section 13-54-104 says “The restrictions of subsection (2) of this section do not apply in the case of:” an order for the support of any person, an order of a federal bankruptcy court in a chapter 13 case, and “Any debt due for any state or federal tax.” Support orders have their own, higher limits in the same section.

A collector that tries to take more than the law allows breaks the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act too: Section 5-16-108 lists an attempt to collect more than these sections permit among the unfair practices.

Sources: Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-54-104 · Section 5-16-108 · quoted 5 November 2026

What property does Colorado protect?

Section 13-54-102 lists property exempt from levy. Among it:

• Bank accounts: “Up to two thousand five hundred dollars cumulative in a depository account or accounts in the name of the debtor.”
• Household goods: “The household goods owned and used by the debtor or the debtor’s dependents to the extent of six thousand dollars in value”.
• Vehicles: “Up to two motor vehicles or bicycles kept and used by any debtor, in the aggregate value of fifteen thousand dollars”, or $25,000 where the debtor, a spouse or a dependent is elderly or disabled.
• Retirement and health savings: “Property, including funds, held in or payable from any pension or retirement plan, deferred compensation plan, and health savings accounts”.
• Tax credits: “The full amount of any federal or state income tax refund attributed to an earned income tax credit or any child tax credit”.

The section lists more, with conditions this page does not repeat. Whether a particular item is exempt, and how to claim it, are questions for a lawyer or legal aid.

Source: Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-54-102 · quoted 5 November 2026