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Deductions and garnishments

A standing deduction or a court order is entered once on the employee and then comes out of every paycheck by itself, with a garnishment held to its legal cap.

1. Open the Deductions tabIn Books & Payroll, click Employees in the left rail, then the Deductions tab. Pick the Employee at the top; the list under it shows everything that comes out of that person's pay beyond taxes.
2. Add oneUnder "Add one," say What is it (the name that prints on the paystub) and pick the Kind: "Garnishment / court order," "Deduction — after tax," or "Deduction — before tax." Type a Fixed amount ($) per pay period; a garnishment can be a percent of disposable pay instead. For a court order, pick the Order type and fill in Case / reference # and Goes to. Click "Add."
3. What the engine already supportsPre-tax deductions of both kinds: traditional 401(k)-style (lowers federal income tax only) and Section 125 / HSA-style (lowers federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state tax together), plus post-tax deductions like a Roth 401(k) or loan repayment (reduces net pay only).
4. Garnishment rules it knowsCourt-ordered garnishments capped at 25% of disposable earnings per the federal CCPA, with per-order overrides (e.g. up to 60% for certain child-support orders).
5. It comes out by itselfFrom the next Run Payroll on, each one comes out of every paycheck automatically. A garnishment is capped by law at a share of take-home pay; the cap is applied for you, and the list shows it under Legal cap.
6. Stop one or take it offOn its row, "stop" pauses it and "resume" starts it again; "remove" takes it off future paychecks. Past paychecks are unchanged either way.
7. Your legal duty doesn't waitA court's income-withholding order binds you as the employer whether or not your software has a button for it — enter it here as soon as it arrives, and keep the order itself in your files.