Who Can Garnish Your SSDI Benefits?

If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you likely rely on those monthly checks to cover rent, food, medication, and other essentials. So what happens if you owe money to the government—like back taxes or student loans? Can the IRS or other agencies garnish your SSDI benefits?

The short answer is yes, in some cases, but not for everything. Let’s break it down so you know what to expect and how to protect yourself.

What Is Garnishment?

Garnishment is when a creditor takes part of your income or benefits to pay off a debt you owe. This is usually done through a court order or government action.

Most commonly, people know of wage garnishment – which is a little different than with SSDI. In typical wage garnishment, the court orders your employer to withhold part of your paycheck in order to pay your creditor(s).

While private creditors, like credit card companies or payday lenders, generally can’t touch your SSDI, federal agencies and a few others have more power.

Who Can Garnish Your SSDI Benefits?

Depending on your situation, there are some government agencies and specific debts that can lead to your SSDI being garnished.

The IRS:

The IRS can take part of your SSDI benefits if you owe back taxes. This is done through something called a Federal Payment Levy Program.

The IRS can take up to 15% of your monthly SSDI check to cover tax debt. This is less than in a typical wage garnishment, where in our home state of Tennessee, creditors can take up to 25%.

Federal Student Loans:

If you default on federal student loans, the government can also take up to 15% of your SSDI through the Treasury Offset Program—even if you’re on a fixed income.

However, if you’re dealing with a severe disability that makes it impossible to work, the government does offer options to apply for relief.

Child Support or Alimony:

Your SSDI benefits can be garnished to pay court-ordered child support or spousal support. In these cases, the amount garnished may be significantly more than 15%, depending on the state and court order.

Federal law limits this type of garnishment to:

  • 50%, if the recipient is supporting a spouse or child other than the one covered by the child support order.
  • 60%, if the recipient is not supporting another spouse or child.

So this can be an especially significant garnishment, depending on how much you owe.

Overpaid Benefits

If the government over-pays your SSDI benefits, they may garnish up to 100% of the amount overpaid until it’s paid back.

The most common reason for overpayment is when a spouse dies, but their status goes unreported. So to avoid this situation, make sure to keep the SSA appraised of any changes to your situation. And only spend benefits you know have been paid accurately to you.

Who Can’t Garnish Your SSDI?

Private creditors like credit card companies, personal loans, and medical debt collectors can’t garnish SSDI benefits directly.

If a debt collector sues you and wins a judgment, they still can’t take your SSDI unless it’s mixed in with other money in a bank account.

To avoid this situation, many people keep their SSDI benefits in a separate account from their savings and other funds.

What If You’re Already Struggling?

If your SSDI benefits are already being garnished and you’re struggling to pay bills, you may be able to:

  • Request a hardship exemption or a lower repayment rate (especially for taxes and student loans).
  • Apply for a discharge of your student loans if your disability is long-term and total.
  • File an appeal or request a waiver if the garnishment is due to an SSA overpayment.

An SSDI lawyer can help you explore your options, especially if you believe the garnishment is incorrect or causing you undue hardship.

But beyond that, you might also want to deal with the debt in question. To make sure you cover all of your possible options, consider talking with an SSDI lawyer who also has a great reputation in bankruptcy law.

Darrell CastleHow Our Lawyers Can Help

Understanding what the government can and can’t take from your SSDI benefits is complicated. If you’re facing garnishment, an experienced SSDI lawyer can help you review the garnishment and sort out your options.

But the truth is, certain debts can lead to garnishment of your SSDI benefits. And sometimes, you have to deal with the debt to solve the problem.

As an SSDI firm with a stellar reputation in Memphis bankruptcy law, we can help you protect your benefits and create a strategy to deal with your debt. Whether it’s helping you get and keep your SSDI, stopping garnishments, or exploring bankruptcy as a fresh start, we bring the experience you need to handle both sides of the problem.

If you’re worried about your SSDI being garnished or already seeing money taken from your check, contact us today for a free consultation or call us at 901-327-2100.

You don’t have to choose between keeping your benefits and managing your debt—we’re here to help you do both.