How much can they garnish from my payroll?

Applicable administrative regulations

The General Tax Law 58/2003 of December 17 applies initially, specifically to Article 169.2.c), which lists the assets that may be subject to seizure in order of priority:

1. Cash or accounts opened with credit institutions;

2. Credits, bills, securities, and rights realizable immediately or in the short term;

3. Salaries, wages, and pensions;

4. Real estate;

5. Interest, income, and profits of all kinds;

6. Commercial or industrial establishments;

7. Precious metals, precious stones, jewelry, goldsmithing, and antiques;

8. Movable property and livestock;

9. Credits, bills, securities, and rights realizable in the long term.

In this post, we will focus on salaries, wages, and pensions, and the calculation of the amounts to be garnished, taking into account a fundamental aspect: the existence of extra payments or their proration. At this point, we will refer to Royal Decree 939/2005, of July 29, which approves the General Collection Regulations, as Article 82 stipulates that “the garnishment of salaries, wages, and pensions shall be carried out taking into account the provisions of Law 1/2000, of January 7, on Civil Procedure.” This determines the validity of the rule set forth herein, whether the garnishment is from a tax or purely civil perspective.

Who is obligated to carry out the garnishment?

The garnishment notice issued by the Treasury or the corresponding Administration for the salary will be sent to the payer/employer, who will be obligated from that moment to withhold the salary based on the amounts paid on payroll. The garnishment notice will not be required to carry out the garnishment until the correct notification of the garnishment notice is issued, and at the same time, the obligation to pay the deducted amount to the Treasury.

What is meant by garnishable wages?

Neither administrative nor civil regulations define the concept of wages for the purposes of garnishment, although they do stipulate that the garnishment of these amounts will include future, unearned earnings. If there are other garnishable assets, once the overdue amounts have been collected, those assets may be seized without waiting for subsequent accruals or maturities to cover the debt.

Will my entire payroll be garnished?

No, the limit for garnishing salaries, wages, and pensions is determined by Article 607 of Law 1/2000, of January 7, on Civil Procedure, which establishes the non-garnishability of wages, salaries, pensions, remuneration, or their equivalent, provided that they do not exceed the amount established for the minimum interprofessional wage. That is, wages, salaries, or pensions under €1,000/month or €33.33/day cannot be garnished, as is the case as of the date of this post, in accordance with Royal Decree 152/2022, of February 22. Only amounts exceeding the aforementioned amounts will be garnished, according to the following rule and scale:

Wages, salaries, daily wages, remunerations, or pensions exceeding €1,000/month or €33.33/day will be garnished according to this scale: 30% for the first additional amount up to twice the minimum interprofessional wage; 50% for the additional amount up to the amount equivalent to a third minimum interprofessional wage; and 60% for the additional amount up to the amount equivalent to a fourth minimum interprofessional wage. For the additional amount up to the amount equivalent to one-fifth of the minimum interprofessional wage, 75 percent, and finally, for any amount exceeding the above amount, 90 percent.

What happens if I have multiple paychecks?

The regulations state that, if there is more than one paycheck, all of them will be accumulated to deduct the non-attachable portion only once.

Can the spouse’s paycheck also be garnished?

Yes, this is a legally regulated case. The accumulation of salaries, wages, pensions, remuneration, or equivalents of the spouses will be permitted, but only if their economic regime is joint property, excluding separate property and income of all kinds.

Can garnishments be accumulated?

Indeed, garnishments can be accumulated, although the amount of the previous ones in force is used to establish the net amount to regulate the garnishment percentage of the salary, wage, or pension.

How do extra payments affect the garnishable amount?

The legal limit for the garnishment of salaries includes the receipt of extraordinary payments, whether these are prorated or not and, at this point, the special importance of this blog entry, since the Central Economic-Administrative Court (TEAC) on May 17, 2022, in unification of criteria, has specified the way to calculate the non-seizable amount in the months in which the garnished subject, together with the ordinary monthly salary, wage or pension, receives a bonus or extraordinary payment, whether full or prorated.

Conclusion

The TEAC considers that the limit on the non-attachment of salaries, wages, or pensions referred to in Article 607.1 of Law 1/2000, of January 7, on Civil Procedure in the month in which a bonus or extra payment is received in addition to the regular monthly salary is twice the amount of the minimum wage (SMI). The scale established in Article 607.2 of said law will apply to the excess received over this amount. If the monthly salary received includes a proportional part of the extra payments or bonuses, the limit on non-attachment will be the amount of the minimum wage (SMI) calculated annually (monthly SMI x 14) prorated over 12 months. The scale established in Article 607.2 of the LEC will apply to the excess received over this amount.