Apply a Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order to an employee

Where there is non-payment of council tax, the local authority can apply to a magistrates' court for a liability order against the defaulter. If a court grants a liability order, an authority has several options for recovering the outstanding amount. One of these is a Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order (CTAEO).

The CTAEO will be in a form prescribed in the regulations. It contains the name of the debtor, their payroll number (if known), and the local authority reference. It confirms that the named person is liable for council tax and specifies the amount of council tax that has still to be paid. Deductions in line with the order should be made as soon as possible after the order has been received.

If you receive a CTAEO, you must:

• Make deductions from the employee’s net earnings as soon as possible.
• Calculate the amount to be deducted.
• Notify the employee to total deductions made under the order through their payslip.
• Pay the deductions to the local authority no later than the 18th in the month following the start the the CTAEO.

Before you begin

UK Payroll will automatically deduct the employee’s periodic deduction based on the information you provide, using the following calculation tables.

Deductions from weekly earnings

Deductions from monthly earnings

How to add a CTAEO to an employee

1. From the left side bar, navigate to Employees.
2. Select the relevant employee.
3. Navigate to Pay items.
4. Click Add Pay item.
5. Select Attachment of Earnings.
6. Select (CTAEO) Council Tax Attachment from the Type of order drop down.
7. Enter the employee’s National Insurance number in the Order reference field.
8. Enter the Start of order date.
9. Click Next.
10. Enter the Total amount owed, which can be found in the CTAEO notice.
11. Select No to Has any of the total amount owed already been repaid? if the employee hasn’t repaid any amount toward the total order. Select Yes if the employee has repaid any amount toward the total order. This can include repayment in a previous tax year. Fill in the Amount repaid to date, and the amount repaid in the current tax year in Of that in the [current tax year].
12. Mark Enable protected earnings if the CTAEO notice states a minimum sum the employee should receive.
13. Mark Yes under Is this a priority order if the CTAEO notice states that it is a priority order. Priority orders take precedence over other attachment of earnings orders.
14. Click Next.
15. If you want UK Payroll to handle the repayments to the relevant authority, select Pay order via UK Payroll. Enter a Payment reference and Payment details. Otherwise, select Pay order manually outside of UK Payroll. By choosing the manual payment method, you will be responsible for making payments within the specified timelines in accordance with the order notice.
16. Click Next.
17. Review the Order summary. Click Back to amend any details. Once you’re happy with the details, click Save & close.