Mississippi Wage Garnishment Exemptions: What Income Is Protected From Seizure

Before you spend $60 filing a garnishment writ in Mississippi, you need to know whether the debtor's income is actually reachable. Mississippi exempts several categories of income from garnishment entirely, and the debtor can shut down your writ at a hearing if you try to seize protected funds.

The 30-Day Wage Exemption

Under Miss. Code § 85-3-4(1), all wages earned during the first 30 days after the employer receives the writ of garnishment are 100% exempt. The employer must pay the debtor their full paycheck for that entire month. Garnishment withholdings begin on Day 31 — not before.

This is not a grace period the debtor has to request. It is automatic and mandatory. If you expect to start collecting immediately after the constable serves the writ, the 30-day hold will derail your timeline.

Fully Exempt Income Sources

Certain types of income cannot be garnished at all, regardless of amount:

• Social Security benefits — fully exempt under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 407)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) — fully exempt
• Veterans Affairs benefits — fully exempt
• Workers' compensation — fully exempt under Miss. Code § 71-3-43
• Disability insurance benefits — fully exempt
• Retirement accounts — qualified IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, PERS pensions are 100% exempt under Miss. Code § 85-3-1(b)(i)

If the debtor's only income comes from one or more of these sources, garnishment will yield nothing. The bank performing a two-month lookback under 31 C.F.R. Part 212 will shield all direct-deposited federal benefits automatically.

The Disposable Earnings Floor

For wages that are not fully exempt, Mississippi and federal law cap garnishment at the lesser of:

• 25% of disposable earnings per pay period, or
• The amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed $217.50 (30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25)

"Disposable earnings" means gross pay minus legally required deductions (federal/state tax, FICA, Medicare). If the debtor's weekly disposable income is $217.50 or less, their wages are entirely exempt — you cannot garnish a single dollar.

For a debtor earning $300 per week in disposable income: 25% is $75, and the amount above $217.50 is $82.50. The employer withholds $75 (the lesser of the two).

Exemption Hearings

A debtor can challenge your garnishment by filing a Motion to Claim Exemptions in Justice Court. The clerk schedules an expedited hearing where the debtor presents documentation — bank statements showing protected benefit deposits, pay stubs proving income falls below the threshold, retirement account statements.

If the judge finds the funds are exempt, the court dissolves the garnishment and returns any seized money. You lose the $60 you advanced in filing and service fees.

Screen Before You File

The most common mistake creditors make is filing a garnishment writ without first confirming the debtor has reachable income. A debtor examination under Miss. Code § 13-1-261 lets you compel the debtor to disclose their income sources under oath before you commit to a garnishment. It costs the same filing and service fees, but the information it produces prevents you from wasting money on a writ that will be dissolved at an exemption hearing.

The Mississippi Judgment Collection Guide includes an exemption screening checklist and a decision matrix that maps common debtor income profiles to the enforcement tool most likely to produce results.

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