When your final paycheck is due in Iowa
In Iowa, if you are fired or laid off, your final paycheck is due on the next regular payday for the pay period in which the wages were earned. The same rule applies if you quit.
- Fired or laid off
- Next regular payday for the pay period in which the wages were earned
- If you quit
- Same as fired or laid off
- If the employer pays late
- If the employer intentionally fails to pay, it owes the wages plus liquidated damages, court costs and attorney fees.
- Unused vacation
- Owed only if the employer’s agreement or policy provides for accrued vacation; the amount is prorated for the part of the year worked.
- Filing a wage claim
- File a wage claim with the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing.
Commission true-ups must be paid within 30 days of separation.
The law
Iowa Code §§ 91A.4, 91A.8. Read the statute or the state agency’s page.
Checked against the statute in October 2026. Laws change, so confirm the current rule before you rely on it.
What to do next
If the deadline has passed, ask for the wages in writing first and keep a copy. The free first letter in the Wage Claim Letters kit does this. If that doesn’t work, file a wage claim with the agency listed above. The final paycheck lookup compares states side by side.
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
General information about Iowa law, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Wage Claim Letters is a self-help template kit from Kits For That.