Money & Debt · Wage Garnishment
Wage Garnishment Laws in Iowa
How much of your paycheck a creditor can take in Iowa, the pay that is fully protected, and what to do right now if a garnishment has started, cited to the statute.
Want your own number? Run your paycheck through the Iowa wage garnishment calculator →
The limit and what is protected in Iowa
How much a creditor can take, the pay that is exempt, and where it comes from in the code.
| Most a creditor can take | 25% weekly, capped per year of disposable earnings |
| How the limit works | A larger protected amount than the federal floor |
| Fully protected pay | Weekly disposable pay up to $217.50 (30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage) is fully protected under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act, which Iowa Code §642.21 adopts. On top of that weekly floor, an annual dollar cap limits what each creditor can take across the whole year. |
| Other exemptions |
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| Federal backstop | The federal 25% / 30× minimum-wage floor also applies; a creditor can never take more than federal law allows. |
| Statute | Iowa Code §642.21 |
Two limits run at the same time in Iowa. The weekly limit is the federal one: the lesser of 25% of disposable pay or the amount above $217.50 a week. Separately, Iowa Code §642.21 sets an annual dollar ceiling per creditor based on your expected earnings for that calendar year, which the sheriff or court determines from your answers under Iowa Code §642.5. The brackets do not stack across creditors within a single garnishment, but each judgment creditor gets its own yearly cap. Support orders, chapter 252D actions, and certain other proceedings are excepted from the $250 base cap.
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if your wages are being garnished in Iowa. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Check the yearly cap, not just the weekly percentage
Under Iowa Code §642.21 a single creditor can only take a set dollar amount from you per calendar year, tied to your income bracket. If a creditor has already hit its annual cap, no more should come out of your pay that year, even if the weekly math would otherwise allow it.
- Confirm the protected weekly floor
The first $217.50 of your weekly disposable pay cannot be touched, and a creditor can take only the lesser of 25% of disposable pay or the amount above that floor. If your take-home is at or below $217.50 a week, none of it should be garnished.
- Answer the earnings questions carefully
Iowa sets your annual cap from what your earnings are reasonably expected to be, based on the answers taken by the sheriff or court under Iowa Code §642.5. Getting that figure right matters, because it decides which bracket and dollar cap apply to you.
- Get free Iowa legal help
Iowa Legal Aid can help you check the math, confirm your annual cap, and raise any exemption you qualify for. This is legal information, not legal advice, so confirm your own situation with a lawyer.
You do not have to face a garnishment alone. This resource can help you check whether an exemption applies and how to file the paperwork.
→ Iowa Legal Aid (statewide free civil legal help)This is general legal information, not legal advice. Deadlines to claim an exemption are short and vary by court, so act quickly and confirm the specifics for your case.
What Iowa workers get wrong
Iowa is unusual because it limits garnishment two different ways at once. The weekly limit is the ordinary federal one: a creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your disposable pay or the amount by which your weekly disposable pay exceeds $217.50, so the first $217.50 of weekly take-home is always protected. But Iowa Code §642.21 adds a second ceiling that most states do not have. It caps the total a single creditor can pull from you in one calendar year, on a sliding scale tied to your income. If you earn under $12,000 a year, one creditor can take no more than $250 for the whole year. The cap rises through brackets, $400, $800, $1,500, $2,000, up to workers earning $50,000 or more, where the limit becomes 10% of expected earnings. That annual cap can matter far more than the weekly percentage for lower-income Iowans, because it can stop a garnishment cold once the yearly figure is reached.
Common questions
How much of my paycheck can a creditor garnish in Iowa?
Two limits apply. Each week a creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your disposable pay or the amount by which your weekly disposable pay exceeds $217.50. On top of that, Iowa Code §642.21 caps the total each creditor can take in one calendar year based on your income, starting at $250 a year if you earn under $12,000 and rising to 10% of pay at $50,000 or more.
What is the yearly garnishment cap in Iowa?
Iowa Code §642.21 sets a per-creditor annual maximum by income bracket: $250 if you earn under $12,000; $400 for $12,000 to under $16,000; $800 for $16,000 to under $24,000; $1,500 for $24,000 to under $35,000; $2,000 for $35,000 to under $50,000; and no more than 10% of expected earnings at $50,000 or more. Once a creditor reaches its cap, it cannot garnish more from you that calendar year.
Does the yearly cap apply to each creditor separately?
Yes. The annual limit in Iowa Code §642.21 is per judgment creditor. Each creditor gets its own yearly cap, so if two different creditors are garnishing you, each is bound by the dollar limit for your income bracket. The cap does not reset because a new creditor appears; it resets each calendar year.
How is my income bracket decided for the Iowa cap?
It is based on what your earnings are reasonably expected to be for the calendar year, determined from the answers taken by the sheriff or the court under Iowa Code §642.5. Because that figure decides which dollar cap applies, it is worth making sure your expected earnings are stated accurately.
Can I be fired for a wage garnishment in Iowa?
No. Iowa Code §642.21 bars an employer from discharging you because your earnings were subject to garnishment for indebtedness. The same section also prevents an employer from withholding more than the law allows or disposing of garnished wages in any way other than a court orders.
What debts can still reach my paycheck beyond the Iowa cap?
The $250 base annual cap does not apply to certain support and related proceedings, including chapter 252D child support actions and matters under Iowa Code §§598.22, 598.23, and 627.12. Child support, taxes, and defaulted federal student loans follow their own federal rules and can take a larger share regardless of the general cap.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.