Self-employed in Germany: fees and section 850i ZPO
For freelancers and the self-employed in Germany, no table applies automatically. A fee is only protected once you apply to the enforcement court. The calculator at the top shows a benchmark figure.
Benchmark: you would keep
€5,134
That is €1,711.18 a month, as for wages of €2,000.
| Per month | €2,000 |
| Attachable per table | €866 |
For income that is not a regular wage, the court only leaves an amount on application, at its own estimate (section 850i ZPO). The table is a benchmark for that, not an entitlement.
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 are self-employed in Germany and your fees are garnished, you do not automatically get the protection of the garnishment table. One-off or irregular pay for work you performed personally, and other income that is not earned income, falls under section 850i of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO). On your application, the enforcement court must leave you, for an appropriate period, as much as you would keep by its free estimate if your income were a regular wage. It weighs your financial situation freely, especially your other earning opportunities, and refuses as far as overriding interests of the creditor stand in the way. The table therefore only serves as a benchmark. Example: a fee of €7,500 that must last you 3 months equals €2,500 a month; with one dependant, a wage of that size would leave you €2,342.41 a month, so €7,027.23 for the whole period. To give you time to apply, section 835(4) ZPO bars your client from paying the creditor until one month after the transfer order was served.
Why the table does not apply automatically
The garnishment table protects earned income paid regularly for a month, a week or a day. Fees earned by the self-employed often do not fit that pattern: they arrive irregularly, sometimes large, sometimes not at all. Such income is covered by section 850i ZPO, which deals with non-recurring pay for work or services performed personally and with other income that is not earned income. A fee like this can at first be garnished in full. Only your application to the enforcement court makes sure something is left for you.
There is one exception in section 850(2) ZPO. Pay for services of any kind counts as earned income if those services take up all or a substantial part of your working capacity. If you mainly work for one client and receive your fee on a running basis, the table may therefore apply directly. For project fees, contract payments and one-off sums, section 850i remains the rule.
What the court has to leave you
On application, the court leaves you, for an appropriate period, as much as you would keep by its free estimate if your income were a regular wage. It weighs your financial situation freely, above all your other earning opportunities. Where the creditor's interests outweigh yours, it refuses the application to that extent. The result is therefore a case-by-case decision, not a table value.
The law does not say in months how long the period is; it speaks only of an appropriate period. In an application it helps to set out clearly how long the fee has to last, for example until the next expected payment, and what other income you have in that time. Section 850i expressly refers to your other earning opportunities.
| Fee | Period | Per month | Benchmark: kept on wages, total |
|---|---|---|---|
| €4,500 | 2 months | €2,250 | €4,434.82 |
| €7,500 | 3 months | €2,500 | €7,027.23 |
| €12,000 | 6 months | €2,000 | €12,000 |
The calculator at the top spreads the garnished fee over the months you need to live on it and finds the matching row for the monthly amount. That gives you a traceable figure for your application. Work with the amount after tax and provision: for the regular wage that section 850i compares with, section 850e no. 1 ZPO also uses the net figure, and private health insurance premiums within customary limits come off there.
The one-month freeze and further applications
So that you can apply before the money is gone, section 835(4) ZPO contains a freeze. If such a fee is transferred to the creditor, your client may pay the creditor or deposit the money only one month after the transfer order was served. For service on 16 November 2026 the freeze runs until 16 December 2026.
If even the amount left under section 850i is not enough, for instance because of special work-related needs, the court can leave you more under section 850f(1) ZPO, which expressly mentions section 850i. The details are under raising the exempt amount. If your fees land in a bank account, the P-account protects them there; how an account garnishment runs is explained under account garnishment.
Needs covered, margin
Needs covered, margin
€142.41
| Left after the table | €2,342.41 |
| Attachable per the table | €157.59 |