Attachment of Earnings / Benefits
If the Council Tax debt that you owe is subject to a Liability Order then the Council may issue an Order to your employers or DWP to take direct deductions from your Benefits/wage/salary until the debt is clear. The Council may issue a maximum of 2 Orders for Earnings and 1 Order for Benefits.
The deduction rate for Attachment of Earnings Order is set by legislation and is based on your net earnings.
The amount of money we take depends on how much you get paid after tax, as shown in the table below.
| Daily earnings after tax | Weekly earnings after tax | Monthly earnings after tax | Percentage of earnings taken |
| Up to £11 | Up to £75 | Up to £300 | 0% |
| £11 to £20 | £75 to £135 | £300 to £550 | 3% |
| £20 to £27 | £135 to £185 | £550 to £740 | 5% |
| £27 to £33 | £185 to £225 | £740 to £900 | 7% |
| £33 to £52 | £225 to £355 | £900 to £1420 | 12% |
| £52 to £72 | £355 to £505 | £1,420 to £2,020 | 17% |
| Over £72 | Over £505 | Over £2,020 | 17 to 50% ** |
** For earnings in the top bracket we’ll take 17% of the first:
- £72 for daily earnings
- £505 for weekly earnings
- £2,020 for monthly earnings
Then we’ll take 50% of any money earned over these amounts for that day, week or month.
The deduction rate for Attachment of Benefits is set by Central Government and is reviewed annually. Deductions are generally 5% of the basic standard allowance.
Charging Orders
If the Council Tax debt that you owe is subject to a Liability Order then the Council may apply to the County Court for a Charging Order to be placed on your property.
Should this action be necessary the Council will instruct its appointed solicitors to make application in the County Court. You will incur additional costs and court fees at that point.
Details of the Council’s charge will appear on HM Land Registry entry for the property.
Once a Charging Order is granted the Council may go back to Court and take Order for Sale proceedings to force the sale of your property at a price set by the Court. Once the property is sold the Council will recover the debt and all of its costs and interest from the proceeds.