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Texas Payday Law Deduction Summary

Required by Law – no authorization needed:

1. Court-ordered child support and alimony

2. Guaranteed student loan wage attachment

3. IRS tax levy

4. Withholding tax

5. FICA tax

6. Any garnishments mandated by a federal court (such as in bankruptcy cases)

Allowed/Authorized by Law – Written Employee Authorization Needed:

1. Child and spousal support administrative fees^{1, 2}

2. Student loan wage attachment administrative fee^{1, 2}

3. Meals, lodging, and other facilities¹

4. Voluntary wage assignments¹

5. Loans¹

6. Wage or salary advances¹

7. Vacation pay advances¹

8. Wage overpayments¹

9. Uniform and uniform cleaning costs¹

10. Union dues¹

11. Misappropriated cash¹

12. Any other deduction for a lawful purpose - examples:

1. Store inventory sold to employees on credit – treat this as a loan and get a written repayment agreement from the employee

2. Personal use of company equipment or accounts – if possible to do so in advance, treat this as a loan and get a written repayment agreement from the employee

3. Damage or losses caused by the employee¹

4. Employee physicals and drug screens (minimum wage issue)¹

5. Non-work-related training paid for by the company – treat this as a loan and get a written repayment agreement from the employee; the same applies to education loans and relocation expenses advanced to an employee

6. Employee's traffic tickets, bail, and court costs paid by the employer – before paying anything like this, the employer should get a written agreement from the employee to the effect that the payment is a loan or wage advance

¹ See the discussions in "Deduction Problems under the Texas Payday Law" regarding restrictions on these types of deductions.
² Written authorization recommended - see the discussion in the section of this article on "Deductions for Administrative Fees".

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