Stop Wage Garnishment in Idaho

Sarah Edwards | July 03, 2023

Sarah Edwards
Legal Expert
Sarah Edwards, BS

Sarah Harris is a professional researcher and writer specializing in legal content. An Emerson College alumna, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from the prestigious Boston institution.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Idaho has some of the nation's strictest rules for wage garnishment. Creditors who win a monetary judgment against you can seize up to 25% of your disposable earnings. Luckily, you have options to stop wage garnishment in Idaho. Otherwise, you can avoid wage garnishment before it begins with the help of SoloSettle.

If a creditor decides to sue you for unpaid debt, you can’t afford to ignore it. A debt lawsuit opens the door for further legal ramifications, like wage garnishment. If your creditor wins the legal claim, it will receive a judgment against you, which it can use to require your employer to withhold part of your income until you repay the debt.

Wage garnishment is no joke, especially in Idaho. Idaho has rigid wage garnishment laws that work to your creditor’s advantage. If your creditor gains the right to garnish your wages, you’ll see a significant portion of your earnings go straight to your creditor, making it much harder to afford other things you need, like shelter and groceries.

Avoid wage garnishment through debt settlement.

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The wage garnishment limitations in Idaho

Every state has the right to set and enforce wage garnishment limitations. Some states are more favorable to debtors, while others benefit creditors. In Idaho, the regulations help creditors. They allow lenders to seize more of your earnings than in many other states.

According to Idaho Code Ann. § 11-712, lenders can garnish your wages for the lesser of:

  • 25% of your disposable earnings.
  • The amount your disposable earnings surpass 30 times the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour.

Idaho Code Ann. § 11-206 defines your disposable earnings as equal to your weekly income, including retirement or pension plan payments, less any required withholdings, such as federal and state taxes.

It’s important to note that these required withholdings do not include your contributions to a company-sponsored retirement plan, life insurance, or health insurance.

Let’s consider an example of how wage garnishment works in Idaho.

Example: Suzy owes $3,000 on a personal loan she took out with Care Credit to pay for her dog’s surgery. When Suzy stopped paying her loan, Care Credit sued her for the outstanding balance. Care Credit won the case, and now it wants to garnish Suzy’s wages. After taxes, Suzy takes home $1,200 weekly from her job as a nurse. According to Idaho law, her employer must withhold 25% of Suzy’s wages, or $300 per week. Under the other alternative, Suzy would pay $982.50. Since $300 is the lesser amount, it would apply to Suzy’s case. In our example, Suzy will lose $300 in weekly earnings to garnishment for 10 weeks until she pays off the debt. Suzy’s income loss will make it much harder to pay other obligations, like her apartment rent or car payment.


As our example illustrates, the Idaho wage garnishment laws are harsh. If you’ve had a recent falling out with a creditor, you’ll want to take action to avoid a debt lawsuit and its consequences, like wage garnishment.

Don’t ignore an Idaho debt lawsuit

Creditors try to avoid legal processes against their clients unless they stop paying their bills or communicating with them. If the debtor doesn’t take action to get back on track with their payment plan or set up another arrangement, the outcome is usually a debt lawsuit.

You’ll know a creditor is suing you if you receive a Court Summons. Your Summons will contain a Complaint, which your creditor uses to outline its grievances against you. It will list the amount of your debt and information pertinent to your account, like the account number.

You should carefully read the Court Summons and Complaint and note any errors you find. For instance, if the obligation amount differs from your records, you’ll want to highlight that information.

Once you clearly understand the Complaint, you must draft and file an Answer. An Answer is a formal response to the creditor’s Complaint and indicates your defenses against the creditor. For example, if the amount of the debt differs from your records, you’ll want to include that.

Drafting an Answer isn’t super complicated, but you might need help if you’re unsure where to start. SoloSuit has a video you can watch to learn the three steps of preparing an Answer to a debt lawsuit:

Next, you’ll want to decide how to satisfy the debt before your court date. You have two options: You can repay the debt, or you can attempt to settle it.

Repaying the debt stops the entire legal process against you. Your creditor must drop the case since it no longer has a valid Complaint. You won’t need to worry about a judgment or wage garnishment, and your creditor will report the debt paid to the credit bureaus.

However, repaying the debt may be challenging, especially if you owe a significant amount of money and don’t have any savings. In that case, you should consider debt settlement.

Avoid wage garnishment in Idaho through debt settlement

In a debt settlement, you offer your creditor a portion of the total amount due, usually at least 60% of the debt’s value. In exchange for a lump-sum payment, the creditor agrees to drop its legal claims against you and release you from the remaining balance.

Settling your debt helps you avoid a judgment and wage garnishment. You’ll save some money and move on from a trying experience.

If you decide to settle your obligation, you’ll want to ensure you get the terms of your agreement in writing and pay the creditor before your court date. If you’ve never tried debt settlement before, consider working with a professional organization that will guide you through the process.

Ready to try settling your debt in Idaho? Get started today with SoloSettle.

To learn more about how to settle a debt, check out this video:

Get back on the road to financial health in Idaho

If you’re on the receiving end of a debt lawsuit in Idaho, you can’t afford to ignore it. File your Answer and decide whether you’ll repay or try to settle the obligation. If you take care of the matter before your court date, you won’t need to worry about the adverse impacts of wage garnishment.

SoloSettle can help you settle your debts in Idaho — learn more about our debt settlement options.

What is Solo?

Solo makes it easy to resolve debt with debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt. SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

SoloSettle can help you contact your debt collector or creditor and negotiate the debt to settle for less, all online. It simplifies and streamlines the process to settling your debt.

No matter where you find yourself in the debt collection process, Solo is here to help you resolve your debt.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

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Wage garnishment

Forgot to respond to your debt lawsuit? The judge may have ordered a default judgment against you, and with a default judgment, debt collectors can garnish your wages. Here are our guides on how to stop wage garnishment in your state, plus other wage garnishment resources.

The Debt Hotline

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