Scottish legislation can help you
Need to stop or remove a wage arrestment?
Takes about two minutes to apply
- Free to use No fees for our help, and no obligation.
- Scotland only Scottish council tax and Scots law.
- Two minutes A few quick questions to apply.
- We do the talking To the council and sheriff officers.
How council tax is recovered in Scotland
Where are you right now?
Council tax arrears follow the same steps in every Scottish council. The earlier you act, the more options you have, but it is never too late to ask.
1 Reminder
You have missed a payment
The council sends a reminder. If you do not catch up within 7 days, you can lose the right to pay by instalments and the whole year’s bill becomes due at once.
What a summary warrant isWhat you can do now
- Pay the missed instalment to keep your instalments
- Check you are getting every discount and Council Tax Reduction
- Ask us to contact the council for you now, while it is simplest
2 Summary warrant
The council gets a summary warrant
The council asks the sheriff court for a summary warrant. There is no hearing. A 10% penalty is added to what you owe and the debt passes to sheriff officers.
How much the 10% penalty isWhat you can do now
- Ask for a special payment arrangement you can afford
- Challenge the penalty if the warrant was wrongly obtained
- Get the sheriff officers’ contact details from the letter and let us deal with them
3 Charge for payment
Sheriff officers serve a charge for payment
This is a formal demand to pay the full balance within 14 days. If it runs out unpaid, the sheriff officers can arrest your wages or your bank account.
How long you have to respondWhat you can do now
- Act before the 14 days end: it is the last clear point before an arrestment
- Propose an arrangement through us, in writing, with a first payment
- Look at DAS or a trust deed if you have other debts too
4 Arrestment
Your wages are arrested
Your employer must take a set amount from each payday, worked out from statutory tables, until the debt and the sheriff officers’ costs are paid.
Can it be stopped once it has started?What you can do now
- Ask the council to accept an arrangement instead (their decision)
- An approved Debt Payment Programme under DAS recalls the arrestment
- A protected trust deed ends it from the date of protection
Wage arrestment calculator
How much can they take from your pay?
The amount is not up to the council or the sheriff officers. It is set by law, from your take-home pay, and part of your wages is always protected.
- Worked out from your net pay, after tax and NI
- The lowest earners pay nothing at all
- Two or more arrestments are combined, not doubled
They can take up to
£172.50 per month
- Left to live on
- £1,627.50
- Share of your pay
- 10%
Your employer can also take £1.00 each payday for their costs.
Get help to stop itBased on the statutory tables in SSI 2024/293, in force from 6 April 2025. An estimate only: your employer works it out from your actual net earnings each payday.
Our free service
How we help
Most people come to us after a letter from sheriff officers. Here is what happens next.
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Tell us what is happening
Answer a few questions about the letters you have had and what you can afford. It takes about two minutes.
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We call you back
At a time that suits you. We go through the paperwork, what you owe and what you can realistically pay.
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We contact the council
With your written permission, we speak to the council and the sheriff officers and put an affordable offer to them.
Ways to stop an arrestment
What we can arrange
The right answer depends on what you owe, to whom, and what you can afford. We explain the options before anything is agreed.
- Council tax only Special payment arrangement We ask the council and sheriff officers to accept affordable instalments. Whether they agree is up to the council, but a realistic offer made early often is. Find out more
- Several debts Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) A Scottish Government scheme that repays your debts through one monthly payment. Approval of a Debt Payment Programme recalls a wage arrestment. Find out more
- Larger debts Trust deed A formal insolvency arrangement run by a licensed insolvency practitioner. Once protected, it ends an earnings arrestment. Fees apply and your credit rating is affected. Find out more
- Start here Council tax debt help Checking your bill, band, discounts and Council Tax Reduction, so you are only paying what you should before any arrangement is made. Find out more
Debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances. Fees may apply. Your credit rating may be affected.
Already being arrested?
It is not too late to change it
Many people only find out when their payslip is short. An arrestment already in place can still be replaced with something you can afford, or brought to an end.
- We can ask the council to accept an arrangement instead
- We check the deduction matches the legal tables
- We explain whether DAS or a trust deed would end it
- Bank arrested too? We can help with that as well
Sheriff officers and councils
Who is chasing you?
Look for the firm or council named on your letter. Each page explains who they are, what they can do, and how to deal with them.
Sheriff officer firms
- Scott & Co. Sheriff Action Scott & Co are Scotland’s largest firm of sheriff officers. If they have written to you about council tax, here is what they can do next and how to stop it.
- Walker Love Sheriff Action Walker Love collect council tax for councils across Scotland from six offices. What a letter from them means, and how to stop further action.
- Stirling Park Sheriff Action Stirling Park collect council tax arrears from eight offices across Scotland. What they can do next, and how to stop it going further.
- Alex M Adamson Sheriffs Alex M Adamson are an independent firm working across central Scotland. What their letters mean, and how to stop an arrestment.
Find your council
- Aberdeen City
- Aberdeenshire
- Angus
- Argyll and Bute
- City of Edinburgh
- Clackmannanshire
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Dundee City
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Lothian
- East Renfrewshire
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Glasgow City
- Highland
- Inverclyde
- Midlothian
- Moray
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Orkney Islands
- Perth and Kinross
- Renfrewshire
- Scottish Borders
- Shetland Islands
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- Stirling
- West Dunbartonshire
- West Lothian
We help with arrears owed to every one of Scotland’s 32 councils.
Knowledge Hub
Answers to the questions people ask first
373 plain-English guides on arrestments, sheriff officers and council tax, checked against Scots law.
- Earnings arrestments What Is A Wage Arrestment In Scotland? A wage arrestment makes your employer pay part of your wages to a creditor. Learn how it starts, how much is taken and how it can be stopped. Read
- Earnings arrestments How Much Can They Take From Your Wages In Scotland? Deductions are fixed by statutory tables, not by the creditor. See the monthly and weekly figures from 6 April 2025 and what is left to live on. Read
- Stopping a wage arrestment Can A Wage Arrestment Be Stopped Once It Has Started? Only a formal step lifts a live arrestment. See which routes work once deductions begin, from which payday each bites, and what happens to money already taken. Read
- Stopping a wage arrestment Can You Ask The Council To Recall A Wage Arrestment? You can ask, but it is the council's decision. Section 47(2) of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 lists recall and abandonment among the things that end an arrestment. Read
- Sheriff officers What Is A Charge For Payment? A charge for payment is a formal demand served by sheriff officers under section 90 of the 1987 Act. It gives you 14 days to pay before enforcement starts. Read
- Sheriff officers Can Sheriff Officers Force Entry Into Your Home? Almost never. There is no forced entry for ordinary council tax arrears, and the one route indoors is an exceptional attachment order granted by a sheriff. Read
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers. Every one links through to a full guide in the Knowledge Hub.
Browse the Knowledge HubWage arrestment questions
What is a wage arrestment?
A wage arrestment (properly an earnings arrestment) is how a creditor with a court decree or summary warrant collects a debt from your pay in Scotland. Sheriff officers serve a schedule on your employer, who must then take a set amount from each payday, worked out from statutory tables, until the debt and costs are paid.
Can a wage arrestment be stopped?
Often, yes. Paying the balance ends it. The council can agree to recall it in favour of an affordable arrangement, although that is their decision. An approved Debt Payment Programme under the Debt Arrangement Scheme recalls it, and a protected trust deed ends it from the date of protection.
How much of my wages can they take?
It depends on your take-home pay and how often you are paid, using tables set in law. On £1,800 a month the deduction is £172.50, and your employer can also take £1 each payday for their costs. Use the calculator on this page for your own figure.
Will my employer find out?
Yes. The arrestment is served on your employer, because they are the ones who have to make the deduction. They must follow the schedule, and they cannot take more than the tables allow.
What if I cannot afford the deductions?
Tell us. If the arrestment leaves you unable to pay essential bills, we can put an affordable offer to the council and sheriff officers, and look at whether DAS or another solution would protect your pay.
Is Wage Arrestment Expert free?
Yes. Our help is free and there is no obligation. If a formal debt solution suits you, the provider may charge fees, and we will say so before you decide. Free debt advice is also available from the organisations listed at the foot of this page.
Worried about a wage arrestment? We can help.
Free, confidential and no obligation. Tell us what is happening and we will call you back.
- Free & confidential
- No obligation
Prefer to go direct? Free debt advice in Scotland
- MoneyHelper 0800 011 3797
- Citizens Advice Scotland 0800 028 1456
- Advice Direct Scotland 0808 196 2316
- StepChange 0800 138 1111