How to Add Garnishments and Levies
Beyond manages garnishments from employee post-tax wages while keeping accurate records for your bookkeeping. Please note that Beyond does not issue payments to agencies on your behalf. It remains your responsibility to send payments via check, ACH, or online. Learn more about wage garnishments.
Garnishment and levy laws vary by state, so always:
- Refer to your notice of income withholding for specific requirements
- Pay the withholding amount on time
- Notify the agency if the employee is terminated for any reason
Getting Started
- Go to the employee profile, either from your Dashboard under My Team, or in Workers.
- Click Job, then Garnishments. Any existing child support deductions or garnishments for this employee will be displayed.
- Click the blue (+) at the bottom of Garnishments to add a new deduction.
Designating an Agency
- Type the agency name to add it. Agencies you’ve used before will be available with autofill.
Confirm Mailing Address
- Add and confirm the agency’s mailing address. This must match the address where you mail garnishment or levy payments.
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Note: Beyond does not send checks to the agency. You must remit payment directly via check, ACH, or online.
Click Garnishment to proceed. (We’ll cover levies next.)
Name and Case Number
- Each deduction will be identifiable by its name and case/court order number.
- The name is for your reference and can be edited at any time.
- The case or order number can be found on your income withholding notice and must be included on each payment you send.
Max Allowable Percent and Percent Per Run
- Your withholding notice specifies the percentage of pay to be deducted each run, as well as the maximum percentage of disposable earnings that can be withheld.
- Generally, it’s 25%, or the amount exceeding 30 times the federal minimum wage, but this may vary for bankruptcy or tax-related garnishments.
- If the notice lists a flat dollar amount instead of a percentage, select Amount Per Run.
What Are Disposable Earnings?
Disposable earnings are the employee’s pay after legally required deductions (like taxes), but before voluntary deductions (like health insurance or stock plans). They may include:
- Hourly or salary wages
- Bonuses
- Commissions
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Tip income is generally exempt from garnishments.
Total Owed and Remaining Balance
Under Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, the maximum garnishment in a pay period is the lesser of:
- 25% of disposable earnings, or
- The amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage
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Enter the total owed from your withholding notice. If no payments have been made, use the same amount for Remaining Balance. As payrolls are processed, the balance updates automatically. Once it reaches zero, deductions will stop.
Click Add to save the deduction to the employee profile.
Setting Up a Levy
If you’ve been instructed to set up a levy, you must define the Amount Exempt from being withheld.
Your withholding notice should include exemption charts based on:
- Filing status
- Number of dependents
- Pay frequency
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Steps:
- Find the chart for the employee’s filing status.
- Locate the column for dependents.
- Match the row to your pay cycle.
- Enter the dollar amount into the Amount Exempt field.
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Click Add to save.
Updating and Deactivating Garnishments and Levies
- You can edit or deactivate garnishments and levies at any time.
- To pause or end, mark the deduction as Not Active.
- To update agency details, click Edit Agency.
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Note: Beyond does not remit payments. You are responsible for sending them via check, ACH, or online.
Priorities of Withholding Orders
- Child support
- Bankruptcy
- Federal administrative garnishments*
- Federal tax levies*
- Student loans**
- State tax levies
- Local tax levies
- Creditor garnishments
- Employer deductions (e.g., benefits)
- Employee voluntary deductions
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* All deductions already in place take priority over new federal garnishments or tax levies.
** The law provides no clear priority, but the Department of Education allows child support to take precedence.
Need Help?
If you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team will be happy to provide answers and assist you in any way we can.