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Unpaid commissions in Iowa: earned is earned

Commissions earned before termination are wages under § 91A.4; where the amount is a credit against commissions, the difference is due by the following regular payday.

Employers usually argue the commission was not "earned" yet. The answer is in the plan's own words: if every condition the plan sets had been satisfied before you left, the timing clause moves the payment date, it does not erase the debt.

Statute
Iowa Code §§ 91A.4, 91A.8
If fired
When employment is terminated, all wages earned up to that time must be paid not later than the next regular payday for the pay period in which the wages were earned (Iowa Code § 91A.4).
If you resigned
Resignation follows the same rule: wages earned are due by the next regular payday for that pay period.
Late-pay penalty
Iowa Code § 91A.8: liquidated damages equal to five percent of the unpaid wages for each day the wages remain unpaid, excluding Sundays, legal holidays and the first seven days after the regular payday — capped at the amount of the unpaid wages themselves.
PTO
Iowa does not require payout of unused vacation unless the employer's written policy or an agreement provides for it.
Small claims limit
$6,500 for an individual
Last verified
2026-11-03 single source

What to put in the file before you write anything

  1. The commission plan or comp letter, including every amendment, and the exact definition of when a commission is earned.
  2. Deal records showing the sale closed, the customer paid, or whatever condition the plan requires.
  3. A calculation of each commission claimed, with the deal, the rate and the date the condition was met.
  4. Any email where a manager confirmed the amount — the most persuasive document in most commission disputes.

What the letter does that a phone call cannot

A demand letter fixes three things at once: the amount, the date each item was due, and the date the employer was on notice. Every forum that can help you — the Iowa Division of Labor, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from Iowa Code §§ 91A.4, 91A.8 and your own figures, so the deadline it states is the one that applies to your separation, not a generic thirty days.

If the amount fits inside $6,500, small claims court is usually faster than an agency queue; if it does not, the agency route and a demand first is the cheaper path.

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Questions

Are commissions wages in Iowa?

Commissions earned before termination are wages under § 91A.4; where the amount is a credit against commissions, the difference is due by the following regular payday.

My employer says commissions are paid only to current employees. Is that enforceable in Iowa?

A clause that forfeits commissions already earned is the clause most often struck down when challenged. The employer can usually set the timing of payment; it is much harder for it to keep money the plan says you earned.

Other situations in Iowa

being fired · resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · all Iowa rules

Reviewed 2026-11-03 against the sources listed on the Iowa page. This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.