Several incomes in 2026: when a creditor may add them up
Two small incomes can each sit below the German exemption limit and together well above it. Whether they are combined is up to the enforcement court, and only on application.
Attachable once combined
€498.82
Calculated separately it would be €78.82.
| Main job alone | €78.82 |
| Second income alone | €0 |
| Extra from combining | €420 |
Incomes are only combined when the enforcement court orders it on application (section 850e no. 2 ZPO); the basic allowance is then taken from the main income.
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · 2026 table (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 80) and ZPO checked on 28 October 2026
If you have more than one income in Germany, each employer first applies the garnishment table on its own. Incomes are only combined if the enforcement court orders it on application (section 850e no. 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, ZPO). The basic allowance is then taken mainly from the income that forms the main basis of your living, usually the main job. The difference can be large. With €1,700 from a main job and €600 from a side job, only €78.82 is attachable separately with no dependants, but €498.82 once combined. Ongoing social benefits can also be added to wages on application under section 850e no. 2a ZPO, as far as they can be garnished at all; the basic allowance then comes mainly out of the benefit, except in a garnishment for maintenance. Benefits that cannot be garnished, such as the basic income support called Grundsicherungsgeld (früher Bürgergeld) under section 42 of Social Code II, may not be added. Child benefit can be included only as far as it is attachable for a child's maintenance.
Separate calculation is the rule
Each employer served with a garnishment order looks only at the wage it pays itself. It applies the table to that net figure with the full allowance. With two employers the allowance is thus in effect granted twice. Section 850e no. 2 ZPO gives the creditor a way to change that: it can apply to the enforcement court for several earned incomes to be added together. Without that application the separate calculation stands, even if the two employers know about each other.
If the court orders combination, the exempt basic amount is taken mainly from the income that forms the main basis of your living. The other employer then pays over correspondingly more, because the basic amount is wholly or partly missing on its side. How the amounts are split is stated in the order.
| Main job | Second income | Attachable separately | Attachable combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| €1,400 | €556 | €0 | €253.82 |
| €1,700 | €600 | €78.82 | €498.82 |
| €2,200 | €900 | €428.82 | €1,058.82 |
| €2,900 | €450 | €918.82 | €1,233.82 |
The table shows that the gap is largest with small main wages: someone just below the limit on their own slips into garnishment once the side job is added, and seven tenths of every further euro then go to the creditor.
Wages and social benefits
Under no. 2a, ongoing cash benefits under the Social Code can also be added to wages on application, as far as they are attachable. Under section 54(4) of Social Code I, ongoing social benefits can in principle be garnished like earned income; this covers, for example, a pension alongside a mini-job. Excluded are the benefits the law protects completely, among them housing benefit, except where certain claims under the Housing Benefit Act are enforced, parental allowance up to the disregarded amount, and payments covering extra costs caused by injury to body or health. The Grundsicherungsgeld (früher Bürgergeld) cannot be garnished at all under section 42(4) of Social Code II and so can never be added.
When a social benefit is combined with wages, the basic amount is taken mainly from the benefit, unless the creditor is enforcing statutory maintenance. Child benefit has its own limit: it can be included only as far as it is attachable under section 76 of the Income Tax Act or section 54(5) of Social Code I, that is only for the statutory maintenance of a child it is paid for. More under child benefit and garnishment and pensions and garnishment.
Attachable amount per month
Attachable amount per month
€498.82
| You keep (exempt) | €1,801.18 |
| Goes to the creditor | €498.82 |
| Row of the official table | €2,300 – €2,309.99 |
| Basic allowance with dependants | €1,587.40 |
What you can check yourself
If you receive an order combining your incomes, check three things: which income is treated as the main one, whether a benefit was included that cannot be garnished at all, and whether your dependants are taken into account. Each payslip still uses the adjusted net figure under section 850e no. 1; how it is built is shown under working out attachable income. What each employer has to do is explained under employer duties.