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Iowa Claim of Exemption

Iowa claim of exemption: protect wages from garnishment. File a Motion to Quash within 10 days, see Iowa's consumer-debt limits and what income is exempt.

Introduction

An Iowa claim of exemption is a filing you make with the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from a garnishment. An exemption is money the law says a creditor cannot take. After a creditor wins a money judgment, it can serve a garnishment and take part of your pay. In Iowa you contest a garnishment by filing a Motion to Quash, an Answer, an Affidavit of Exemption, or another pleading within 10 days from the date the Notice of Garnishment is served on you. Iowa protects more than federal law for consumer debt and even caps the total that can be garnished in a year, and some income like Social Security is exempt no matter the debt. Because money is held while the claim is pending, file quickly. DocDraft prepares an Iowa claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    An Iowa claim of exemption is a filing you make with the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from garnishment. It tells the court the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. In Iowa you raise it by a Motion to Quash Garnishment or an Affidavit of Property Exempt from Execution.

  2. 2

    You have 10 days. To contest the garnishment you must file a Motion to Quash, an Answer, an Affidavit of Exemption, or another proper pleading within 10 days from the date the Notice of Garnishment is served on you.

  3. 3

    Iowa protects more for consumer debt. Under Iowa Code section 537.5105 a creditor on a consumer debt can take only the lesser of 25 percent of your weekly disposable earnings, or the amount by which they exceed 40 times the federal minimum wage. Other judgments use the federal formula.

  4. 4

    Iowa also caps garnishment for the whole year. Under Iowa Code section 642.21 there are annual limits on the total that can be garnished, set by tiers based on your expected annual earnings, so lower earners can have very little taken.

  5. 5

    Some income is exempt no matter the debt. Social Security, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are protected, and a claim of exemption is how you free those funds if a bank has frozen them.

  6. 6

    Money is held while the claim is pending, so act fast. Wages stay withheld under the garnishment until the court rules, so filing within the 10 days limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    Filing can get you a hearing. Your Motion to Quash includes a request for a hearing, and the court may set a prompt hearing where you show the money is exempt and the creditor must justify the garnishment.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Iowa, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Claim of Exemption guide walks through them.

Open the Claim of Exemption guide

Customize your Claim of Exemption Template with DocDraft

CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (IOWA - MOTION TO QUASH GARNISHMENT / AFFIDAVIT OF EXEMPTION)

Filed under Iowa Code chapter 642 (garnishment) and chapter 627 (exemptions). The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and asks the court to release them and quash or reduce the garnishment.

  1. COURT AND CASE Iowa District Court where the judgment was entered: [COURT / COUNTY] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Date the Notice of Garnishment was served on me: [DATE]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor (plaintiff): [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Garnishee (employer or bank): [GARNISHEE NAME]

  3. WHAT IS BEING GARNISHED [ ] Wages from my employer: [EMPLOYER NAME] [ ] Funds in my account at: [BANK NAME] Approximate amount being taken: $[AMOUNT]

  4. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] The amount withheld is more than Iowa Code section 537.5105 allows for a consumer debt. [ ] The amount withheld is more than the wage-garnishment limit for other judgments allows. [ ] The garnishment exceeds Iowa's annual limit under section 642.21. [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. Amount I ask the court to protect: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

  5. SOURCE OF THE FUNDS Describe where the money comes from: [DESCRIPTION OF WAGES OR DEPOSITED FUNDS]

  6. FINANCIAL STATEMENT (attach if the court requires one) Monthly take-home income: $[INCOME] Monthly necessary expenses: $[EXPENSES] Number of people I support: [NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS]

  7. REQUEST FOR HEARING I ask the court to set a hearing on this claim and to protect the exempt money until the hearing is held.

  8. VERIFICATION I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Iowa that the statements above are true and correct.

Debtor signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name: [NAME] Date: [DATE]

Note: File your Motion to Quash Garnishment and Request for Hearing (Form 3.20) or Affidavit of Property Exempt from Execution (Form 3.21) with the Iowa District Court where the judgment was entered, within 10 days from the date the Notice of Garnishment was served on you. Confirm the current forms and deadline, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Iowa Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Iowa Filing Deadline and Office

File the Iowa claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Iowa directs, within the state's window after the garnishment is served. Money is usually held until the claim is decided, so filing late can forfeit wages the law would otherwise protect.

Frequently Asked Questions

An Iowa claim of exemption is a court filing, such as a Motion to Quash Garnishment or an Affidavit of Property Exempt from Execution, that you use to protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. It tells the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. You file it with the Iowa District Court where the judgment was entered within 10 days of being served.

An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount or a defect in the notice, which in Iowa you raise with a Motion to Quash. A claim of exemption says the specific wages or funds are legally protected, which you raise with an Affidavit of Exemption. You can file within the same 10-day window and raise both.

It depends on the debt. Under Iowa Code section 537.5105, for a consumer debt a creditor can take only the lesser of 25 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which they exceed 40 times the federal minimum wage. Other judgments use the federal formula. Iowa also caps the total that can be garnished in a year based on your income.

You have 10 days. To contest the garnishment you must file a Motion to Quash, an Answer, an Affidavit of Exemption, or another appropriate pleading within 10 days from the date the Notice of Garnishment was served on you. Because the window is short and money is withheld while it runs, file as soon as you learn of the garnishment.

Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts, no matter how much you owe. Iowa also protects a large share of wages, especially for consumer debt, and caps yearly garnishment. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Iowa does not add a separate head-of-household wage exemption, but it protects more of your pay than federal law for consumer debt and caps the total garnished each year based on your income, which helps lower earners the most. You can also protect income that is exempt by source, such as Social Security or disability, by identifying it in your filing.

You file an Iowa claim of exemption with the Iowa District Court where the judgment was entered, generally through the Iowa Judicial Branch electronic filing system, not with the creditor or your employer. You file your Motion to Quash or Affidavit of Exemption there within 10 days of being served with the Notice of Garnishment.

After you file, the court reviews your Motion to Quash or Affidavit of Exemption and may set a prompt hearing. At the hearing you show that your wages or funds are exempt, and the creditor must justify the garnishment. If the court agrees the money is protected, it releases those funds and stops or reduces the garnishment. If you miss the 10 days, the garnishment usually continues.