Wage garnishment 2026: scale, attachable portion and employer obligations

Quick answer. Since 1 July 2025, wage garnishment is no longer handled by court registries but by a distributing judicial commissioner (law no. 2023-1059). The employer withholds the attachable portion from monthly net salary under a scale revalued on 1 January 2026: from 1/20 (5%) on the first 373.33 EUR to the whole amount above 2,150.83 EUR. A sum at least equal to welfare support for a single person (651.69 EUR in 2026) must always remain with the employee.

Until June 2025, wage garnishment was a judicial procedure run by the trial-court registry, with a prior conciliation phase. Since 1 July 2025, law no. 2023-1059 of 20 November 2023 has transferred this function to judicial commissioners. A distributing judicial commissioner checks the portions and allocates the sums among creditors; a digital register of garnishments is kept.

For the employer, the mechanism stays close: they remain the garnishee, withholding the attachable portion from net salary and paying it no longer to the registry but to the distributing judicial commissioner. This shift calls for vigilance: administrative tax garnishment, priority child-support claims and multiple-creditor situations follow distinct rules.

Wage garnishment lets a creditor have the employer directly withhold part of the debtor employee's pay to recover a debt. It requires an enforceable title (judgment, notarial deed) and applies to net pay: salary, bonuses, allowances, overtime.

Three parties are involved:

• the creditor, holding a liquid and enforceable claim;
• the garnished debtor, the company's employee;
• the garnishee, the employer, who withholds the attachable portion.

Garnishment is never total: a portion must always remain with the employee to ensure a minimum living amount.

The 2026 scale was set by decree effective 1 January 2026. It applies to monthly net pay (after social contributions and income-tax withholding).

At the 2,150.83 EUR threshold, the cumulative attachable share thus reaches about 572.28 EUR per month; above it, the entire excess is attachable. For employees paid on a lump-sum or other basis, pay is converted to a monthly equivalent.

Annual equivalents (for reference)#

• 4,480 EUR (threshold 373.33 EUR/month)
• 8,730 EUR (threshold 727.50 EUR/month)
• 13,000 EUR (threshold 1,083.33 EUR/month)
• 17,230 EUR (threshold 1,435.83 EUR/month)
• 21,470 EUR (threshold 1,789.17 EUR/month)
• 25,810 EUR (threshold 2,150.83 EUR/month)

Case 1: single employee, no dependents

Monthly net salary: 2,000 EUR.

• Bracket 1 (0 to 373.33): 373.33 x 1/20 = 18.67 EUR
• Bracket 2 (373.33 to 727.50): 354.17 x 1/10 = 35.42 EUR
• Bracket 3 (727.50 to 1,083.33): 355.83 x 1/5 = 71.17 EUR
• Bracket 4 (1,083.33 to 1,435.83): 352.50 x 1/4 = 88.13 EUR
• Bracket 5 (1,435.83 to 1,789.17): 353.34 x 1/3 = 117.78 EUR
• Bracket 6 (1,789.17 to 2,000): 210.83 x 2/3 = 140.55 EUR

Total attachable: 18.67 + 35.42 + 71.17 + 88.13 + 117.78 + 140.55 = 471.72 EUR. The employee keeps 2,000 - 471.72 = 1,528.28 EUR, well above the untouchable minimum (651.69 EUR).

Case 2: same salary, with 1 dependent

Each threshold rises by 145 EUR/month per dependent. The thresholds become: 518.33 / 872.50 / 1,228.33 / 1,580.83 / 1,934.17 / 2,295.83 EUR.

• Bracket 1 (0 to 518.33): 518.33 x 1/20 = 25.92 EUR
• Bracket 2 (518.33 to 872.50): 354.17 x 1/10 = 35.42 EUR
• Bracket 3 (872.50 to 1,228.33): 355.83 x 1/5 = 71.17 EUR
• Bracket 4 (1,228.33 to 1,580.83): 352.50 x 1/4 = 88.13 EUR
• Bracket 5 (1,580.83 to 1,934.17): 353.34 x 1/3 = 117.78 EUR
• Bracket 6 (1,934.17 to 2,000): 65.83 x 2/3 = 43.89 EUR

Total attachable: 25.92 + 35.42 + 71.17 + 88.13 + 117.78 + 43.89 = 382.31 EUR. The employee keeps 2,000 - 382.31 = 1,617.69 EUR. The dependent therefore lowers the attachable share.

Whatever portion the scale yields, an untouchable sum must always remain with the debtor. It equals the flat-rate welfare support (RSA) for a single person, i.e. 651.69 EUR in 2026.

If applying the scale would leave less, the employer reduces the withholding to leave exactly 651.69 EUR. Example: for a 700 EUR net salary, the scale would give 18.67 EUR (bracket 1) + 32.67 EUR (bracket 2, i.e. 326.67 x 1/10) = 51.34 EUR, leaving 648.66 EUR, below the welfare minimum. The employer then withholds only 700 - 651.69 = 48.31 EUR at most.

This protection also exists at bank level: the untouchable bank balance (SBI), equal to welfare support for a single person (651.69 EUR), is automatically left available on the account by the bank.

1. Withhold the attachable portion. The employer cannot refuse a garnishment based on an enforceable title. They apply the scale and withhold the portion from each salary.
2. Pay the distributing judicial commissioner. Since 1 July 2025, withheld sums no longer go to the registry but to the distributing judicial commissioner, who handles allocation.
3. Inform the employee. The employer informs the employee of the garnishment and the portion applied, so they can report any change in family circumstances.
4. Apply dependent adjustments. On proof, the employer raises the thresholds by 145 EUR per dependent.
5. Respect child-support priority. Where it exists, child support is paid first and may be withheld from the untouchable portion, within the limit of the minimum left to the debtor.

Child support: priority#

A maintenance claim benefits from priority treatment: it is settled before other claims and may reach the normally untouchable portion, within the limit of the minimum left to the debtor.

Administrative tax garnishment#

The tax authority may use an administrative tax garnishment to recover public debts (taxes, fines). It is governed by tax-procedure law and follows its own rules: the employer withholds the same untouchable portion (welfare minimum, 651.69 EUR) but pays the named public accountant directly, not the judicial commissioner.

Multiple creditors#

If several creditors come forward, the distributing judicial commissioner centralises the file. The employer withholds a single attachable portion and pays the commissioner, who allocates among creditors by rank. The 2025 reform clarified this centralisation.

Fixed-term, part-time and variable pay#

The regime does not change by contract type. Garnishment applies to monthly net pay, converted to a monthly basis if needed for variable-duration or variable-hours contracts.

1. 1 July 2025 reform: commissioner, not registry. Check the contact details of the distributing judicial commissioner shown on the notice before any payment.
2. Scale revised on 1 January 2026. Do not reuse the 2025 thresholds for a garnishment applied in 2026.
3. Welfare minimum 651.69 EUR. Never leave the employee less, even if the calculated portion would allow it.
4. Dependents: 145 EUR per person. Require proof before applying the adjustment.
5. Child-support priority. It can encroach on the untouchable portion: settle it before other garnishments.
6. Untouchable bank balance. This is a protection applied by the bank, separate from wage garnishment.
7. Administrative tax garnishment. Do not confuse it with civil garnishment: pay the public accountant directly, not the commissioner.

We regularly support managers facing a first wage garnishment. It is often a delicate matter: how to fill this garnishee role without straining the relationship, and how to check the portion is correct?

Recently, a construction company received a garnishment notice issued after the 1 July 2025 reform; relying on an old reflex, the employer tried to pay the court registry, which delayed processing. Another client was still applying the 2025 thresholds in mid-2026, under-withholding each month until our review caught the gap.

The key lies in two points: take in the 2025 change (judicial commissioner, not registry) and re-check the scale each 1 January, either in the official texts or with your payroll provider.

Hayot Expertise advice. On receiving a garnishment notice, have its validity checked (enforceable title, commissioner's details), calculate the portion with the current-year scale and apply dependent adjustments where relevant. Never pay without verification: an incorrectly applied garnishment engages the garnishee employer's liability.