Raising the exempt amount: an application under section 850f
The German table does not fit everyone. If the exempt amount does not cover your basic living costs, you can ask the enforcement court to leave you more.
Shortfall against necessary needs
€208.82
An application under section 850f(1) ZPO may be worth it: prove the needs to the enforcement court.
| Left after the table | €1,891.18 |
| Attachable per the table | €708.82 |
The court decides whether and how much more you keep; it must not conflict with overriding interests of the creditor.
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · 2026 table (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 80) and ZPO checked on 28 October 2026
The German exempt amount can be raised on application. Under section 850f(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), the enforcement court can leave you part of the wage that would otherwise be attachable if one of three grounds applies. First, you prove that with the garnishment limits your basic living needs, as defined in Social Code XII or Social Code II, are not covered for you and the people you support by law. Second, you have special needs for personal or work-related reasons. Third, your statutory maintenance duties are particularly extensive, above all because of the number of people entitled. In all three cases, overriding interests of the creditor must not stand in the way. The law sets no fixed supplement; the court decides case by case. The calculator at the top compares your needs with what the table leaves you. Example with assumed needs of €2,250: on €2,700 net with one dependant you keep €2,442.41, a shortfall of -€192.41. Conversely, a creditor owed money for an intentional tort can ask under subsection 2 to garnish more.
Three grounds for more protection
Section 850f(1) ZPO is the counterweight to the rigid table. On application, the enforcement court can leave you part of what would otherwise be attachable under section 850c, section 850d or section 850i ZPO. The law names three grounds, and one is enough.
The first ground is uncovered living costs. You must prove that, after the garnishment limits are applied, you are left with less than the basic living needs under Social Code XII or Social Code II, for yourself and for the people you owe maintenance by law. Under section 19 of Social Code II, the Grundsicherungsgeld (früher Bürgergeld) covers standard needs, additional needs and the costs of housing and heating. If your housing costs are high, for example, your needs can exceed what the table leaves you. The burden of proof is on you; the statute expressly says that you must prove it.
The second ground is special needs for personal or work-related reasons. The third is the particular extent of your statutory maintenance duties, especially the number of people entitled. It matters because the table stops rising after the fifth person. A limit applies in all three cases: overriding interests of the creditor must not stand in the way.
An example of the third ground: anyone supporting six or more people stays in the last column of the table, with an allowance of €3,516.14. Each further person changes nothing. For such cases, section 850f(1) no. 3 names the number of dependants as a reason to leave you more. The application is also open in a maintenance garnishment or for fees, because the provision expressly refers to sections 850d and 850i.
Comparing needs with the table
The calculator at the top sets the amount the table leaves you against your needs. You enter the needs yourself, for example from an official notice or your own list of costs; we put no figure on them. The overview below shows the principle with assumed values.
| Net | Dependants | Left after table | Assumed needs | Shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €2,300 | 0 | €1,801.18 | €1,900 | €98.82 |
| €2,700 | 1 | €2,442.41 | €2,250 | €0 |
| €3,400 | 3 | €3,235.14 | €3,300 | €64.86 |
A shortfall on paper is not yet a decision. It only shows that an application under section 850f(1) no. 1 is worth considering at all. Whether you keep more, and how much, is up to the court. How the normal allowance is built is explained under exempt amount; who counts as a dependant is under dependants.
Attachable amount per month
Attachable amount per month
€257.59
| You keep (exempt) | €2,442.41 |
| Goes to the creditor | €257.59 |
| Row of the official table | €2,700 – €2,709.99 |
| Basic allowance with dependants | €2,184.82 |
The reverse: debts from torts
Section 850f(2) ZPO works the other way. If a creditor enforces a debt arising from an intentional tort (a deliberate wrongful act), the enforcement court can, on that creditor's application, set the attachable part without the limits of section 850c. You then keep only what you need for your basic living and your ongoing statutory maintenance duties. In this situation the table does not fully protect you.
Bank accounts follow their own rules. If a balance is garnished for such a debt, the amount set in the order replaces the P-account allowance (section 906(1) ZPO). How normal account protection is worked out is explained under P-account allowance. Self-employed people will find the specifics of their application under self-employed.