What is a Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order?
When the local Magistrates Court grants a Liability Order for non-payment of Council Tax, the Council have a number of options for recovering the outstanding amount from you. One of these is a Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Orders (AOE).
An AOE places a legal requirement on your employer to deduct money from your wages/salary and pass that payment to the Council to pay towards your outstanding bill.
The AOE instruction letter issued to your employer will contain your Full Name; Address; Payroll Number (if known) and Council Tax Reference Number. It confirms that you are the person who is liable for Council Tax at the address shown and details the amount of charge that still has to be paid. Payments will start to be deducted soon as possible after the order has been received. You will receive a copy of this instruction letter
I owe Council Tax and I have received an Attachment of Earnings Letter. What should I do?
The Council has decided that the best way to recover the outstanding Council Tax is by collecting the balance through direct deductions from your wages or salary. Your employer has been ordered to make the deductions and pass these payments directly to the Council.
The percentage of your wages/salary deducted will vary depending on the amount that you earn and the number of orders in place. Your employer will deduct the Council Tax from your wages or salary until the full balance of the order is paid. If you have any questions about the exact amount to be deducted then you should ask your employer
If you pay the amount shown on the AOE order in full then we will stop the deductions being made from your wages/salary. If this is your intention, please contact us once you have paid so that we can contact your employer to let them know that the orders are paid in full (NB: This will only be done once we have received the payment and it is showing on your Council Tax account)
If an Attachment of Earnings Order is in place, you must tell the Revenues and Benefits service if you change your employer or are no longer employed. If you have any further query, please contact us.
Please note that the Council can have an Attachment of Earnings Order against a maximum of two Liability Orders at any one time.