This page is meant to provide general guidance about the garnishment process as it relates to garnishments issued by the Oregon Department of Revenue (department). This page should not be taken as legal advice.
Common terms
During the garnishment process you may encounter the following terms.
Garnishee: The person to whom the Notice of Garnishment (garnishment) has been delivered. Examples of a garnishee would be an employer or a bank.
Garnishor: The issuer of the garnishment. For garnishments issued by the Department of Revenue, the department is the garnishor.
Debtor: The individual or business who owes a debt.
Exemption: Value of assets and personal property belonging to a debtor and the amount of wages payable to a debtor which are protected from garnishment by state or federal law.
Support Orders: This can refer to an order to withhold for child or spousal support.
Understanding garnishments
To collect delinquent debt, the department may issue wage or bank garnishments. This page is meant to serve as a resource for garnishees who have received a notice of garnishment from the department.
If you received a notice of garnishment from the department, it is because our records show that you either employ or hold assets or funds for the person listed on the notice. As a garnishee, you are required to respond to the notice of garnishment. If you have possession, custody and control of wages, funds in a deposit account, or other assets not protected from garnishment, you must also remit payment to the department (ORS 18.680 through ORS 18.690).
You can make garnishment payments on
Revenue Online.
You can also submit garnishment payments by mail. To ensure that payments are applied to the appropriate debtor, you should note the name of the debtor and the Notice of Garnishment ID number.
Revenue Online (ROL)
ROL serves as the department's online portal for our customers. Through ROL you can:
- Respond to new garnishments and update existing garnishment responses.
- Submit payments quickly and easily.
- View current balances for all garnishments.
- Manage multiple garnishments.
You can sign up for a ROL account on the
ROL homepage. You can validate your account with the letter ID number on the notice of garnishment.
To add garnishment access in ROL:
- Click the
More Options tab;
- Click
Add Access to an Account link;
- Select
Garnishment Access from the drop-down list of account types;
- Enter your
zip code; and
- Enter a
letter ID found in the upper right corner of the
Notice of Garnishment you have received. If you have not received a recent notice of garnishment, contact the department to request a letter to validate your garnishment access account.
Calculating wages subject to garnishment
The Wage Exemption Calculation is a form included with our Notice of Garnishment. The form is used to help you calculate the amount that you should send to the department. You should complete this calculation each pay period through
Revenue Online or by using the form provided in the notice of garnishment.
There are two exemptions that apply to the debtor's wages. The normal wage exemption protects 75 percent of a person's wages after required payroll taxes (ORS 18.385(1)). The minimum wage exemption requires that a person makes a minimum amount before their wages are subject to garnishment (ORS 18.385(2)).
The department issues garnishments on different types of debt:
- Garnishments for Tax debt (e.g., personal income tax, withholding) or
- Garnishments for Other Agency Accounts debt.
To determine the type of debt for which your garnishment has been issued look on page 1 of the Notice of Garnishment, under the heading “Account type."
For tax debt, only the 75 percent wage exemption applies (ORS 18.385(6)).
For Other Agency Account (OAA) debt, both the 75 percent wage exemption and the minimum wage exemption apply (ORS 18.385(1) – (4)).
The examples below represent different scenarios. Review the example that most closely matches your scenario from below.
Example 1: Tax Debt Exemption Calculation for One Garnishment
Here, the department has issued a garnishment against a debtor who earned $1,000.00 gross income for this pay period (line 1). The employer has not received garnishments from other creditors nor does the debtor have a support order.
In this example, after calculating the amount of disposable wages
(line 3), the amount of wages subject to garnishment is $187.50
(line 5).
No other writ or garnishment was issued to this debtor, therefore line 6 would be marked as $0.00.
In this example, the employer would send the department $187.50 for this pay period
(line 7).
Example 2: Tax Debt Exemption Calculation for Two Garnishments
Here, the department has issued a garnishment against a debtor who earned $400.00 gross income for this pay period
(line 1) and is paid every two weeks. The employer has received a garnishment from another creditor and the debtor does not have a support order. The first garnishment is subject to the minimum wage exemption while the department's garnishment for tax debt is not.
In this example, using the wage calculation form received with the first garnishment (not the table in this example), the employer would calculate the amount of wages subject to garnishment under the first notice of garnishment they received. Here that amount would be $66.00.
In this example, the employer would pay $66.00 for the first garnishment
(line 6) and then send the department $14.00 for this pay period
(line 7) for the tax garnishment.
Example 3: Tax Debt Exemption Calculation for Two Garnishments and a Support Order
The conditions for this example are the same as they are in example 2 except that the debtor now pays $120.00 towards a support order per pay period. The employer would calculate the wages subject to the first garnishment and then calculate the amount subject to the department's garnishment in the same manner outlined in example 2.
Support orders take priority over garnishments and should be paid first (ORS 25.375). After support orders are paid, garnishments should be paid in the order in which they are received. While it is possible that a support order could result in $0.00 available to pay a garnishment, the employer should use the wage exemption calculation forms received with each garnishment to ensure that the correct amounts are calculated and paid.
As shown in example 2, the total amount available for garnishment is $80.00
(line 5). The employer would subtract the amount of the support order from
line 5. If there are still funds available after the support order has been subtracted from
line 5 then the employer would continue to subtract each garnishment until all garnishments have been satisfied or funds in
line 5 have reached $0.00.
In this example, the employer would remit $120.00 for the support order but none of the garnishments would receive payment for this pay period.
Example 4: OAA Debt Exemption Calculation for Two Garnishments and a Support Order
Here, the department has issued a garnishment against a debtor who earned $3,000.00 gross income for this pay period
(line 1) and is paid every two weeks. Prior to receiving this garnishment from the department, the employer had already received a previous garnishment from another creditor for $200.00. The debtor also pays $120.00 towards a support order.
The $320.00 in
line 8 represents the $120.00 for the support order and the $200.00 owed towards the previous garnishment.
After subtracting the $320.00
(line 8) from the $525.00
(line 7), the employer would calculate and remit $205.00 to the department for this pay period.
The debtor in this example is paid every two weeks, so the exemption on
line 5 is $509.00, based on the minimum exception table below.