Debt Collection Laws in Texas
Texas caps wage garnishment for consumer debt, protects a base amount of home equity and bank funds from creditors, and sets a statute of limitations after which a debt lawsuit generally can't succeed. Data current as of July 2026 — see sourcing per section below.
How much of my paycheck can be garnished in Texas?
Texas has the strongest wage-garnishment protection for consumer debt of any state: the Texas Constitution flatly bans garnishing current wages for personal service, with narrow exceptions only for court-ordered child support and spousal maintenance. Ordinary credit card, medical, and personal-loan debt cannot be garnished from a Texas paycheck through a state-court judgment, period.
This protection comes directly from Texas Constitution Art. XVI, § 28, not an ordinary statute a legislature could quietly amend — it's a constitutional floor. Two garnishments still happen to Texans, but through federal, not state, authority: IRS tax levies and federal student loan administrative wage garnishment, both of which operate through federal administrative process rather than a Texas court judgment and aren't blocked by the state constitutional shield.
Because wage garnishment for ordinary debt is essentially off the table in Texas, collectors and debt buyers rely more heavily on other post-judgment tools — bank account levies and property liens — making the bank-account and homestead protections below more consequential for Texans than they are in most other states.
Can a creditor take money from my bank account in Texas?
A Texas judgment creditor can freeze and levy a bank account even though wages can't be garnished — the constitutional wage protection only covers unpaid current wages, not money already deposited. Separately, Texas exempts up to $100,000 in personal property (furniture, tools of trade, a vehicle, and similar) for a family, or $50,000 for a single adult, under Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001.
Once wages are deposited into a bank account, they generally lose their 'wage' character for exemption purposes — this is a common point of confusion, since people assume the constitutional wage protection follows the money into their checking account. It doesn't, especially once funds are commingled with other deposits.
The § 42.002 personal-property exemption list is specific: home furnishings, food, farming vehicles and implements, tools of trade, clothing, jewelry (capped at 25% of the overall $100,000/$50,000 limit), two firearms, one motor vehicle per licensed household member, and certain livestock or pets.
Is my home protected from creditors in Texas?
Texas's homestead exemption protects a primary residence from forced sale with no dollar-value limit at all — only an acreage cap applies: up to 10 acres for an urban homestead, or up to 200 acres for a rural family homestead (100 acres for a single adult). This is among the most protective homestead laws in the country.
'Urban' has a specific legal meaning here (Tex. Prop. Code § 41.002): the property must be within a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction (or a platted subdivision) and served by police protection, paid or volunteer fire protection, and at least three other types of municipal utility services. Property that doesn't meet that test defaults to the larger rural acreage allowance.
Because there's no dollar ceiling, a fully paid-off, high-value Texas home within the acreage limit is generally protected from most civil judgments — this is one of the reasons Texas and Florida are often mentioned together in discussions of homestead-friendly states.
How long can a debt collector sue me in Texas?
Texas's statute of limitations on debt is 4 years for both written and oral contracts under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004 — Texas doesn't shorten the period for oral/open-book debt the way many states do, so credit card debt and informal verbal agreements run on the same 4-year clock.
| Debt type | Statute of limitations |
|---|---|
| Credit card / written contract | 4 years |
| Oral contract | 4 years |
| Promissory note (written) | 4 years |
Under § 16.065, a partial payment or a verbal acknowledgment alone does not restart Texas's limitations clock. Reviving a time-barred debt requires a new written acknowledgment or promise to pay, signed by the debtor — meaningfully more consumer-protective than states where any payment resets the clock.
Does Texas have its own debt collection law beyond the federal FDCPA?
The Texas Debt Collection Act (Tex. Fin. Code Ch. 392) applies debt-collection conduct rules to original creditors as well as third-party collectors — broader than the federal FDCPA, which generally only covers third-party debt collectors and debt buyers, not the original lender or hospital billing a consumer directly.
Third-party collectors and credit bureaus operating in Texas must file a surety bond with the Texas Secretary of State before collecting in the state. The Act separately prohibits harassment through repeated calls, collecting unauthorized fees or charges, using deceptive 'credit bureau' business names, and requires collectors to actually investigate disputes rather than ignore them. Violations can also trigger Texas's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, opening additional civil remedies including attorney's fees.
Where can I find free or low-cost legal help in Texas?
Texas residents dealing with a debt lawsuit, garnishment, or collector dispute can start with the state bar's lawyer referral service or a legal aid organization below — both can point to self-help court resources even for people who don't qualify for free representation.