wage garnishment
I earn approximately $2700 per month, and of that I take home approximately $2200 per month. I owe almost $40000 combined to my creditors. If I don’t declare bankruptcy, approximately what percentage of my wages are creditors permitted to garnish?
The answer to this depends on what province you live in, how much money you make, the number of people in the household unit and the creditor in question. I will use Alberta as an example as that is the legislation I am most familiar with, but typically most provinces are very similar. In Alberta, with a typical creditor, you are entitled to keep the first $800 of your take home income (net income), half of any remaining money you earn up to $2,400, and nothing above $2,400 (i.e. they can garnishee 100% of your income above the $2400 cut-off). These limits are then adjusted by $200 for each dependant in your care. While typical creditors have very specific limits to the amount that is available to the creditors, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is not bound by these limits.
Regardless of who the creditor is you are left with the following options: pay the debt in full, terminate your employment, or file a consumer proposal or a bankruptcy
to your creditors.
For more information pertaining to your local area I recommend contacting a local trustee
and he will be able to relate the above to your province and help to determine the best course of action.