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Debts you owe (for example court fines, rent or Council Tax) can be deducted from your benefits – sometimes called third party deductions or Fuel Direct

Find out more information on deductions for employee costs or expenses.

• Updated: 30 December 2019

What you must do by law with a deductions from earnings order (DEO or AEO) to make child maintenance deductions from your employee's pay.

• Overview

  The Child Maintenance Service can ask you to: give information about an…

• How to make deductions

  You must deduct the amount of child maintenance stated on the deduction…

• What counts as earnings

  A deduction from earnings order (DEO) can only be made from an employee’s…

• Make deduction from earnings order (DEO) payments

  Send deduction from earnings order (DEO) payments to the Child Maintenance…

• Updating your payment schedule

  You’ll get a monthly payment schedule by post after you’ve been sent a…

• When you must contact the Child Maintenance Service

  You must contact the Child Maintenance Service within 10 days if: you’re…

• Updated: 27 April 2018

Direct Earnings Attachment (DEA) and deducting any money an employee owes the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) from their pay

This tax information and impact note ends the requirement for tax to be deducted from interest distributions made by certain investment schemes.

• Updated: 5 December 2016

How to make debt deductions from an employee's pay because of an 'attachment of earnings order' (AEO) from a court. Includes information from the withdrawn A/E guidance.

A new 130% first-year capital allowance for qualifying plant and machinery assets; and a 50% first-year allowance for qualifying special rate assets.

• Updated: 5 March 2021

• Updated: 18 February 2025

Help to understand debts and deductions taken from Universal Credit payments and who to contact about your debts and deductions if you're struggling financially.

• Updated: 30 April 2025