Attachment of earnings: how much can be taken from your wages?
TL;DR, the essentials
- An attachment of earnings order (AEO) is a court order requiring an employer to deduct money from an employee’s pay and send it to a creditor.
- The court sets two figures: a normal deduction rate, what comes off each payday, and a protected earnings rate, the amount that must be left.
- The employer cannot deduct so much that take-home pay falls below the protected earnings rate, whatever the debt.
- Priority orders, such as maintenance and some tax debts, are dealt with before non-priority ones when several apply.
- The employer may deduct up to £1 per deduction towards administration costs, and must comply once served, with penalties for failing to do so.
An attachment of earnings order tells an employer to take money straight from an employee’s wages to pay a debt. It is not open-ended: the court sets both how much comes off and how much must be left. Here is how the amounts are worked out, the difference between the main types of order, and what the employer is legally required to do.
What is an attachment of earnings order?
An attachment of earnings order is issued by a court on the application of a creditor who has an unpaid judgment debt. It instructs the employer, not the employee, to deduct a set amount from wages each pay period and pay it to the court or the creditor. Once served, the employer has no discretion: complying is a legal obligation, and ignoring the order carries penalties.
Related mechanisms work the same way under different names, most notably the deduction from earnings order used for child maintenance, and orders used to recover council tax arrears.
Good to know
Figures are indicative for July 2026 and reflect the rules for England, Scotland and Wales. This is general information, not legal advice: check GOV.UK, Acas or a qualified adviser for your situation. Deduction rules differ in Scotland, where earnings arrestment applies.
How much can actually be taken?
It depends on the type of order. For a court-issued attachment of earnings order, the amount is set case by case. The debtor completes a statement of means, and the court fixes two figures from it: the normal deduction rate and the protected earnings rate. Neither is a fixed national percentage, which is why two people with the same debt can face very different deductions.
Other order types work from published tables instead. Council tax attachments, for example, apply a percentage band to net earnings, and the deduction rises as earnings rise. In practice, deductions commonly land in the region of a fifth of the earnings available above the protected level, but the only figure that matters is the one on the order itself.
What does the protected earnings rate mean?
The protected earnings rate is the floor. It is the amount of net pay the debtor must be left with, calculated on their actual circumstances: housing costs, dependants, essential outgoings. The employer must never deduct an amount that would push take-home pay below it.
Work out attachable earnings
Start from net pay after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. That is the base the order applies to.
Compare with the protected earnings rate
If net pay is at or below the protected rate, no deduction is made that period.
Apply the normal deduction rate
Deduct the ordered amount, but only down to the protected level, never through it.
Carry forward any shortfall
Where the order allows, an amount that could not be deducted is carried into the next pay period.
Watch the variable pay months
For employees whose hours or commission vary, the deduction changes month to month. A payroll that applies a flat amount regardless of earnings will breach the protected earnings rate sooner or later, and the employer carries that liability.
What is the difference between priority and non-priority orders?
When several orders apply to the same employee, they are not treated equally. Priority orders, which include child maintenance deductions and certain tax debts, are calculated first and take precedence. Non-priority orders, typically consumer judgment debts, are applied to what remains, and may end up receiving nothing in a given period.
The sequence matters because applying them in the wrong order produces the wrong payments to the wrong creditors, and the employer is the one who has to unpick it.
The order tells you how much to take. The protected earnings rate tells you when to stop. Payroll needs both figures, every single pay run.
What must the employer do?
Four obligations, all of them time-sensitive. Respond to the court within the stated period, confirming whether the person is employed and giving earnings details. Start deducting from the first practicable pay period after service. Pay the money over to the court or creditor as directed. And notify the court when the employee leaves, since the order does not follow them automatically.
The employer may take up to £1 per deduction from the employee’s earnings towards administrative costs. Failing to comply, or deducting incorrectly, can result in a fine, so this is one of the areas where doing it inside the payroll system rather than by hand pays for itself. Our explainer on gross versus net salary sets out the deduction order on a payslip.
What can the employee do about it?
More than most people realise. If circumstances change, they can ask the court to vary the order, supplying updated income and outgoings. If the deduction leaves too little to live on, that is precisely what the protected earnings rate exists to address, and it can be revisited. Free debt advice services can help prepare the application, and dealing with the debt before it reaches the court stage remains far cheaper than any of this.
Employees should also know that the order is served on the employer, so payroll will know. Employers, for their part, should treat the information as confidential: it is financial data about an individual and should be handled accordingly.
Run deductions inside payroll
Our comparison ranks the payroll platforms that handle court orders and protected earnings without manual calculation.
Next step
Handling court orders by hand? See our best payroll software picks, or our HR software comparison for 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much can be taken from my wages by an attachment of earnings order?
There is no single national percentage for court-issued orders. The court sets a normal deduction rate and a protected earnings rate from your statement of means, and your employer deducts the ordered amount only down to the protected level, never below it.
What is the protected earnings rate?
It is the minimum net pay you must be left with after the deduction, based on your actual circumstances. If your pay for a period is at or below that figure, no deduction is taken that period.
Can my employer refuse to action the order?
No. Once served, complying is a legal obligation and failing to do so can result in a fine. The employer may deduct up to £1 per deduction towards administration costs.
Can an attachment of earnings order be changed?
Yes. If your income or outgoings change, you can apply to the court to vary the order. Free debt advice services can help you prepare that application with up to date figures.