When You Cannot Pay
C.R.S. 13-54-104 — no more than twenty percent of a week's disposable earnings for most debts
For most debts, the most of a Colorado worker's disposable earnings that can be garnished in a week is the lesser of twenty percent of them, or the amount by which they exceed forty times the federal or the state minimum hourly wage.
Who handles this in Colorado: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Colorado directory.
Disposable earnings are what remains after the amounts the law requires withheld, and after health insurance the person pays for themselves or their household. A debtor may file a written objection and ask for a hearing.
Support orders and fraudulently obtained public assistance follow different limits in the same section.
Sources for this section (1)
- C.R.S. 13-54-104 — Restrictions on garnishment and levy under execution or attachment - definitions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Colorado attorney.