What Is Protected from Garnishment in Oregon: A Complete List
When someone sues you over a debt and wins, the result is an official document called a judgment that says you legally owe the money. The judgment allows the winning side to take money from your paycheck or bank account, which is called garnishment. In more rare cases, they may try to go after things you own. To learn more about garnishment, go here.
However, a judgment isn't a blank check. There are many legal protections for your money, including a guaranteed amount in your paycheck and bank account, as well as protections for things you might own.
Below is the complete list of these protections, called exemptions. The exact category names are shown so you can match them on court forms; next to some, you'll find a plain-language note to help you understand what they are. Some protections may be listed in more than one category.
These rules apply to debts for personal, family, or household expenses, called consumer debts. Debts related to child or spousal support, a criminal case, or taxes have different rules. For more on what is and is not a consumer debt, go here.
Protections For Money and Property in Oregon:
- Your pay and benefits
- Money in bank accounts
- Your home and rent payments
- Household and personal items
- Pensions, retirement, annuities, and insurance
- Special credits and other rights
Your pay and benefits
- A guaranteed portion of your paycheck: At least 75 percent of your take-home wages, and all pay under a certain limit. For more details on paycheck protections, go here.
- Social Security benefits
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Public assistance (welfare, SNAP, TANF, etc)
- Unemployment benefits
- Disability benefits (other than SSI)
- Workers' compensation benefits
- Veterans' benefits and loans
- Medical assistance benefits
- Spousal support or child support that you receive, or separate maintenance to the extent reasonably necessary for your support or the support of any dependents (the amount needed to take care of yourself or anyone who depends on you)
Money in bank accounts
- All Social Security and SSI benefits, plus up to $7,500 in exempt wages, retirement benefits, welfare, unemployment benefits, and disability benefits held in any bank account
- Up to $2,500 in the bank
The $2,500 protection is for each bank where you have an account.
- If you have multiple accounts at the same bank, this rule protects $2,500 combined in all accounts.
- If you have multiple accounts at different banks or financial institutions, this rule protects $2,500 across all accounts at each bank where you have an account.
Your home and rent payments
- A homestead (house, manufactured dwelling, or floating home) you occupy—or one occupied by your spouse, parent, or child—up to $150,000 of equity (equity is the value of the house minus what you still owe on your mortgage) or $300,000 in equity if jointly owned with another person liable for the same debt
- Proceeds (the money you make) from the sale of that homestead, up to the same limits, if held under one year and used to buy another homestead
- Security deposits or prepaid rent held by a residential landlord
Household and personal items
- Household goods, furniture, radios, a television set, and utensils, with a combined value of up to $3,000
- A vehicle (automobile, truck, trailer, etc.), valued up to $10,000
- Tools, implements, apparatus, team, harness, or library necessary for your occupation, combined value up to $5,000
- Books, pictures, and musical instruments, combined value up to $600
- Apparel (clothing), jewelry, and other personal items, with a combined value of up to $1,800
- Domestic animals and poultry for family use, combined value up to $1,000, plus 60 days' of their food
- Provisions (food) and fuel for your family for 60 days
- One rifle or shotgun and one pistol, with a combined value of up to $1,000
For more information about garnishment protections for the things you own, see this article.
Pensions, retirement, annuities, and insurance
- Public or private pensions
- Veterans' benefits and loans
- Medical assistance benefits
- Health insurance proceeds and disability proceeds of life insurance policies
- Cash surrender value of life insurance policies not payable to your estate
- Federal annuities (pension)
- Other annuities up to $250 per month, and anything above that follows wage exemption rules (other annuities include pension payments, insurance payouts, and some other kinds of regular payments)
- Your right to assets held in—or payments from—a medical savings account or health savings account
Special credits and other rights
- Professionally prescribed health aids for you or any dependents
- Rental assistance to a low-income elderly person
- Your right to receive—or property traceable to—an award under any crime-victim reparation law; personal bodily injury payments up to $10,000; or loss-of-future-earnings compensation needed for support
- Amounts paid to you as an earned income tax credit under federal law
- Interest in personal property up to $400 (this is a "wildcard" protection, meaning you can use it to protect any property that's not already covered by an exemption, but it can't be used to increase another exemption)
- Equitable interests in property
- If the Notice of Garnishment overstates your debt, the difference between what you owe and what it shows
- Amounts paid to you as a tax credit under ORS 315.273 (called the "Oregon Kids Credit")