Garnishment table 2023/2024 - An easy to understand presentation

On the basis of the following Garnishment table 2023/2024 you can see how much of your income can be garnished in the event of a wage garnishment. You can use the garnishment table 2023/2024 in the event of a Wage garnishment as well as with a Account garnishment use. You can find the differences of both garnishments in the section Account garnishment vs. wage garnishment. Alternatively, to calculate the garnishment amount you can also use our Garnishment calculator use.

With the garnishment table 2023/2024, €1,410 to €4,298.81 are protected from garnishment measures

In the "Announcement on the garnishment exemption limits 2023 pursuant to Section 850c of the Code of Civil Procedure" of March 20, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Justice has announced the new garnishment exemption limits, which will be valid from 01.07.2023.

The most important changes in the garnishment table 2023/2024

• Creditors are not allowed to charge a monthly net income of more than 1,402.28 Euro (+5.4 %) garnish. Only €1,330.16 is protected in the 2022/2023 garnishment table. The rounded-up garnishment allowance in 2023/2024 is therefore €1,410.
• At a maintenance obligation (e.g. child, spouse), the allowance increases to €527.76 (+5.4 %) with the 2023/2024 garnishment table. With the 2022/2023 garnishment table, only an increase of €500.62 was accepted.
• For further maintenance obligation the garnishment allowance increases to 294.02 euros (+5.5 %) (garnishment table 2022/2023: €278.90).
• With the 2023/2024 garnishment table, only from a net income of € 4,298.81 (+5.4 %) be fully impounded. Full garnishment was possible in the 2022/2023 garnishment table from €4,077.72.

Have money protected

But did you know that you can claim additional allowances if you're married or have children you're obligated to support?

The basic exemption amount in the 2023/2024 garnishment table then increases by 527,76 € for the first person and by 294,20 € for each additional person. Even if you receive a citizen's allowance or basic income support for persons in your community of need, you can apply for additional allowances. At most, you can have income up to the upper limit of 4077.72 € protected from garnishment. Above this limit, any further income will be completely seized.

The regulation benefits debtors and creditors alike: The debtor has an incentive to earn more, while the creditor may seize more from better-earning debtors or persons without children.

But that's not all! Also child support is protected. In addition, one-time social benefits such as for the Initial furnishings for the apartment or school trips are just as Back payments exempt from seizure. If you are receiving cash benefits to compensate for an additional expense due to a physical injury or damage to your health, such as Care allowancethese payments are also not attachable.

If you are entitled to more than the basic tax-free amount, you must submit a P-Konto certificate to your bank. This shows your personal allowance including all additional benefits. You can obtain this certificate from your debtor and insolvency advice center, among others. You can use the garnishment table 2022/2023 to determine your amount in advance.

Garnishment table 2023/2024

All amounts above € 4298.81 are fully attachable according to the garnishment table 2022/2023!

Garnishment table 2023/2024 as PDF

Here you can find the garnishment table 2023/2024 as a PDF file. You can also download the garnishment table 2023/2024 as a Download as PDF. Alternatively, you can also find the current garnishment table as a Excel file here.

Left

• Garnishment table 2023/2024 as PDF
• Garnishment table 2023/2024 as XLSX

Read the garnishment table 2023/2024

On the left side of the garnishment table 2022/2023 you can find your monthly net income. Net income as defined in the garnishment table includes: Net wage, pension, unemployment benefit 1 and unemployment benefit 2. However, half of the Christmas bonus (if granted), but not more than 500 €, vacation pay and overtime pay do not count as net wage. However, allowances from the employer, such as one-off allowances or capital-forming benefits such as the employee savings allowance, are also not to be taken into account in the garnishment table.

The amount of the garnishable income depends on the number of dependants. This includes biological children, spouses without income or divorced spouses to whom you pay maintenance.

Example: Single person with 1523 € net per month

With a net income of 1523 € per month, the person's income is between 1520 € (column 1) and 1529 € (column 2). Since the person is not dependent on a child or spouse, a maximum of € 82.40 may be garnished from your income.

• Wage: 1.523 €
• Attachment: 82,40 €
• Available amount: 1.440,60 €

Example: Single mother with 1985 € net per month

With a net income of 1985 € per month, the mother's income is between 1,980 € (column 1) and 1989.99 € (column 2). Since the mother is liable to support a child, a maximum of € 24.98 of her income may be garnished.

• Wage: 1.985 €
• Attachment: 24,98 €
• Available amount: 1.960,02 €

However, the garnished amount of €24.98 does not flow directly to the creditor at the end of the month. Only when the moratorium account exceeds the allowance or unused credit is transferred three times in a row, it comes to the disbursement. This is described in the article "What happens to too much money on the P-Konto" described.

3-level account protection and the differences between wage and account garnishment

A P-Konto protects you in the event of a garnishment. The P-Konto offers you seizure protection of 1,340 euros per calendar month (from 01.07.2023). This can be achieved with a Allowance increase other amounts are protected. For example, if you have to pay child support.

In doing so, the P-Konto offers protection against account garnishment in three levels:

1. In the first stage exists a Basic protection for credit balances of 1,410 euros. You get the basic protection directly. All you have to do is convert your account into a P-Konto. But alternatively you can also create a new Open P accountthat has the basic protection directly after opening.
2. The second stage is the extended basic protection on the P-KontoYou can often have the tax-free amount increased above the basic tax-free amount. In the case of dependent children, certificates on the number of children living in the house or child benefit are required for this. Also, if you receive money for need communities, this is subject to special protection. In order to increase the tax-free amount and extend the protection, you need a P-Konto certificate. If you have an account garnishment or Double garnishment of wages and account you can also request that only the wage garnishment amounts be released for garnishment.
3. In addition, in cases of particular hardship, an individually determined allowance is available as third level of protection possible. However, the application process is complex. You must submit an application with supporting documents to the enforcement court.

Level 1: Protection up to € 1,410

To use P-Konto basic protection, you just need to have your account converted. At P-Konto from Paycenter* this is done with one click.

Level 2: If you have maintenance obligations, you can have the tax-free amount increased up to €3,107.

The increase can be made by employers, family insurance funds, social benefit agencies, lawyers and recognized debtor counseling agencies in accordance with Section 903 (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Level 3: With an application to the court of execution, you can protect further amounts up to 4.299 €.

Protecting additional amounts on the P-Konto is suitable for people with higher incomes or multiple children. Note that low repayment of the debt extends the duration of repayment.

Static basic allowances

If you earn more than the Static basic allowances (table below), therefore, on your P-Konto over the surplus there is no protection and the money is transferred to creditors. This case occurs with the Double garnishment and in the case of sole account garnishment, if you have a higher income than the basic static allowance. The 2022/2023 garnishment table protects P accounts up to the following amount after converting and setting up the appropriate garnishment allowance via a P-Konto form:

Dynamic allowances (extended protection by application to the enforcement court)

Amounts above the basic allowance are not protected with a P-Konto. The bank will pay these amounts in full to the creditors without an application to the enforcement court (section 850c (2) ZPO). By filing a corresponding application with the enforcement court, you can have your salary above the exemption limits protected on a pro rata basis. The non-garnishable portion between P-Konto exemption limit (€1,340) and maximum amount (€4,077) depends on the maintenance obligations. Up to a net income of €4,077, the bank may then only garnish the income on a pro rata basis after the application has been approved by the enforcement court.

However, the debtor may, upon application to the enforcement court (competent district court), have amounts above the basic allowances protected on the Pfändungsschutzkonto. Only by this double protection, all amounts of the garnishment table 2022/2023 are to be protected on the P-Konto.

In summary, you first set up the corresponding static basic allowances on the P-Konto using the P-Konto form. In the second step, you can protect additional amounts by filing an application with the enforcement court and submitting the last 3 pay slips to the enforcement court. This makes sense if your income is above the respective P-Konto allowance (e.g. higher than 1340 € if you have no children).

Example based on the current garnishment table 2023/2024

• Dirk has a Net income of 2295,00 €. Since Dirk is single and does not have to pay alimony, may 621,40 € be distrained.
• If Dirk were to live with his wife without an income of his own or pay her alimony, only €72.13 of his income could be garnished according to the 2022/2023 garnishment table. However, with the income above the garnishment exemption limit, there could be a Double garnishment come.

Attention: In the case of a double garnishment, more may be garnished than is permissible according to the garnishment table 2022/2023.

Since Dirk's income is above the garnishment exemption amount, a double garnishment may occur in the event of a wage and account garnishment.

In the case of a wage garnishment, the income above the garnishment limit is garnished proportionally. If your income is higher than € 4,077, it will then be garnished in full.

The purpose of the regulation is to create an incentive that makes additional earnings worthwhile for both the creditor and the debtor.

In the case of a double garnishment, all amounts above the exemption amount are completely seized

You can avoid a double garnishment by filing an application with the enforcement court so that only the amount of the wage garnishment is paid to the creditor.

The double garnishment proceeds as follows

1. The employer transfers the attachable share of the earned income to the creditor of the employee. For this purpose, the employer uses the garnishment table.
   • in the Example of the garnishment table Dirk's employer would transfer €621.40 to Dirk's creditor from his monthly net of €2,295.
2. Now the employer transfers the non-attachable portion of the earned income to the employee.
   • Dirk himself receives the remaining amount of € 1,673.60 from his monthly net of € 2,295.
3. If, in addition to the wage garnishment, the account is also garnished, the amount above the garnishment allowance of €1,410 (according to the 2023/2024 garnishment table) will be garnished again.
   • Dirk then has only €1,340 of his paid-out wage of €2,065.39 at his disposal. This results in a double garnishment of the surplus, which is paid to the creditor in addition to the wage garnishment.
4. The risk of a double garnishment therefore always exists if the statutory garnishment allowance (according to current garnishment table) is higher than the (static basic) allowance protected on the P-Konto. This is the case when exceeding the static P-Konto exemption limits (see table above) depending on the maintenance obligations.

What should you do if you have a double garnishment?

In the event of a double garnishment of wages and an account, the debtor must file an application with the enforcement court if he/she wishes to have amounts above the allowances on the Pfändungsschutzkonto protected. Subsequently, the doubly garnished amount can be released. This leaves you with more money to live on.

However, the repayment of the debt is also prolonged, since only a smaller amount is spent on it. A double garnishment therefore has advantages and disadvantages.

The address of the competent enforcement court can be found in the garnishment and transfer order (PfÜB). The competent enforcement court (local court) is entered there, which can extend the P-Konto protection in accordance with the garnishment table 2022/2023.

Is a double garnishment legal even though the 2022/2023 garnishment table protects a higher amount?

In principle, a double garnishment of wages (with the employer) and account (with the bank) by a creditor is permissible. This is because the creditor has a right to enforce his claim, i.e. to get his money. A double garnishment of wages and account allows creditors to get their money faster, because many debtors are overwhelmed with the establishment of the garnishment protection and the increase of the allowances at the bank.

On the other hand, multiple attachment of one and the same attachment object is not legal. For example, a P-Konto cannot be garnished twice on the basis of one claim.

Validity of the garnishment table 2023/2024

The garnishment allowances in the garnishment table have been valid for one year since an amendment to section 850c of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) (May 8, 2021). Previously, the garnishment tables were updated every two years. 

When is the new garnishment table coming? The garnishment table is adjusted annually on the first of July in accordance with section 850c (2a) of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO). Thus, the garnishment table 2022/2023 is valid from 01.07.2023 until 30.06.2024. On 01.07.2024 it will be replaced by the garnishment table 2024/2025.

What services may not be garnished?

Simplified one can say that Wage and wage replacement benefits attachable and social benefits, on the other hand, are not.

Therefore, social benefits such as: social assistance, child-raising allowance, maternity allowance and social benefits to compensate for additional expenses due to physical and health impairments, such as nursing allowance, are not attachable.

However, certain wage components such as overtime and some allowances are also not attachable, which is why the above note often falls short. Wages, pension and social benefits with Wage replacement function on the other hand, are attachable. The table below gives you a complete picture of which benefits can be garnished and which cannot.

Garnishment table 2022/2023: 01.07.2022 - 30.06.2023

All amounts above 4,077.74 euros are fully attachable according to the garnishment table 2022/2023!

Garnishment table 2022/2023 as PDF

Here you can find the garnishment table 2022/2023 as a PDF file. You can also download the garnishment table 2022/2023 as a Download as PDF. Alternatively, you can also find the current garnishment table as a Excel file here.

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Disclaimer: This is well researched but non-binding information.

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