Wage Garnishment Laws in DC and Virginia: How They Differ From Maryland and the IRS

If your paycheck is being garnished, one of the first things to figure out is who is garnishing it and under which rules — because a federal IRS wage levy, a Maryland state garnishment, and a DC or Virginia garnishment don't work the same way, and they can stack on top of each other.

Federal IRS Levies Don't Follow State Percentage Limits

Most people assume wage garnishment is capped at some standard percentage, like 25%. That's true for ordinary creditor garnishments under federal consumer protection law — but it's not how an IRS wage levy works.

An IRS levy uses its own formula, based on your filing status and number of dependents, to determine how much of your paycheck is exempt (protected) each pay period — and takes the rest. This exempt amount is often set low enough that it doesn't reflect your actual living expenses, which is why IRS wage levies can take a much larger share of a paycheck than most people expect — sometimes 40% or more.

This is a federal action and applies the same way whether you live in Maryland, DC, or Virginia.

State Tax Garnishments Are a Separate Process

Maryland, DC, and Virginia can each independently garnish wages for state tax debt — separate from anything the IRS is doing. These follow each state's own procedures and limits, which generally track more closely to standard wage garnishment protections than the IRS's levy formula does.

Maryland limits most state garnishments to the lesser of 25% of disposable income or the amount by which disposable income exceeds a multiple of the federal minimum wage — the same basic framework used for ordinary creditor garnishments, applied to state tax collection through the Comptroller's office.

Virginia and DC each have their own garnishment procedures through the Department of Taxation and the Office of Tax and Revenue, respectively. The specific mechanics and exemption amounts differ from Maryland's, and from each other's — which is why a Virginia state garnishment shouldn't be assumed to work the same way as a Maryland one just because both are "state garnishments."

They Can Stack

Here's what makes this genuinely painful: an IRS levy and a state garnishment are legally independent actions. If you owe both the IRS and your state, both can be actively taking money from the same paycheck at the same time, calculated under two different sets of rules. There's no automatic coordination between them — nothing requires the IRS to account for the fact that your state is also taking a share, or vice versa.

This is one of the main reasons resolving federal and state debt simultaneously, rather than one at a time, matters so much. Fixing your IRS levy while a state garnishment continues doesn't actually solve your cash flow problem.

What to Do If You're Being Garnished

Identify the source. Your pay stub or garnishment notice should indicate whether the IRS, your state tax authority, or another creditor is behind it — this determines which process applies.
Act quickly. All of these processes have response windows. The longer a garnishment runs, the more it costs you, and some deadlines (like requesting a Collection Due Process hearing on an IRS levy) are strict.
Address every source at once. If more than one authority is garnishing you, each requires its own resolution — releasing one doesn't touch the other.

Your employer's role: Whether it's the IRS or a state authority, your employer is legally required to comply with a garnishment order once received. They're not the ones you need to negotiate with — we work directly with the IRS or the relevant state agency to get the garnishment released.

Being garnished by the IRS, Maryland, DC, or Virginia — or more than one at once? We can usually get a garnishment stopped or reduced within days of taking on representation. Schedule a free consultation.