Direct Earnings Attachment

Summary

Information on Direct Earnings Attachments (DEA) and how to process them in Sage 50 Payroll.

Description

A Direct Earnings Attachment (DEA) collects overpaid benefits from employees.

DEAs apply protected earnings of 60% to employee's pay. This means that after you deduct all the employee's attachments they must receive no less than 60% of their net pay.

As with other attachments, employers can take a £1 admin fee in addition to the deduction.

Resolution

Set up a DEA

When you're ready to set up a DEA, run through the ▼ setup steps in the employee record.

On the Employee List, double-click the required employee.
Click the Employment tab then click Pay Elements.
Click the Attachment of Earnings Orders tab.
Click in the next available line under Attachment Name.
Click the finder button then select one of the following:
- Normal Rate Direct Earnings Attachment
- Higher Rate Direct Earnings Attachment
Click OK then enter the Total Attachment (if specified) and Order Issued Date.
Click Save, click Save.
Click Close.

You've added the DEA and it's ready to calculate.

If you find it doesn't calculate or the values aren't as you expected, visit our attachment of earnings orders (AEO) calculating incorrectly article.

Definition of earnings for DEAs

The DEA calculation includes several types of payments, however there are some exclusions. To find out more about these payments, you can ▼ view a table of the earnings included.

What counts as earnings for DEAs	What doesn't count as earnings for DEAs
Wages	Statutory maternity pay
Salary	Statutory adoption pay
Fees	Statutory paternity pay
Bonuses	Shared parental pay
Commission	Any pension, benefit, allowance or credit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), a local authority or HMRC
Overtime pay	A guaranteed minimum pension under the Social Security Act Pensions Act 1975
Most other payments on top of wages	Amounts paid by a public department of the Government of Northern Ireland or anywhere outside the United Kingdom
Occupational pensions, if paid with wages or salary	Sums paid to reimburse expenses wholly and necessarily incurred during the employment
Compensation payments	Pay or allowances as a member of HM armed forces. Or other pay or allowances payable to them by you as a special member of a reserve force
Statutory sick pay	Redundancy pay and pay in lieu of notice

You can set which payments and deductions are subject to Attachment of Earnings calculations in Sage 50 Payroll.

Click Company, then Pay Elements.
Select the relevant payment or deduction then click Edit.
To set whether your software includes this payment or deduction in the DEA calculation:
- Select the checkbox beside Other Attachments to include it in the calculation
- Clear the checkbox beside Other Attachments to exclude it from the calculation

If there are any other payments or deductions you need to edit, repeat these steps. Contact the DWP for advice if you're not certain whether to include any payments or deductions.

Calculate the amount to deduct

The deduction rates depend on whether you need to apply a standard rate, or higher rate DEA. Your software includes these rates in the legislation settings.

To view these rates, select an option below:

▼ Standard rate

Table A: Weekly - Standard rate

Amount of net earnings	Deduction percentage of net earnings
£0.00 to £100.00	Nil
£100.01 to £160.00	3
£160.01 to £220.00	5
£220.01 to £270.00	7
£270.01 to £375.00	11
£375.01 to £520.00	15
£520.01 and above	20

For fortnightly pay, divide the total net wage by two then use table A to check the percentage
For four weekly pay, divide the total net wage by four then use table A to check the percentage

Table B: Monthly - Standard rate

Amount of net earnings	Deduction percentage of net earnings
£0.00 to £430.00	Nil
£430.01 to £690.00	3
£690.01 to £950.00	5
£950.01 to £1,160.00	7
£1,160.01 to £1,615.00	11
£1,615.01 to £2,240.00	15
£2,240.01 and above	20

▼ Higher rate

Table A: Weekly - Higher rate

Amount of net earnings	Deduction percentage of net earnings
£0.00 to £100.00	5
£100.01 to £160.00	6
£160.01 to £220.00	10
£220.01 to £270.00	14
£270.01 to £375.00	22
£375.01 to £520.00	30
£520.01 and above	40

For fortnightly pay, divide the total net wage by two then to check the percentage use table C.
For four weekly pay, divide the total net wage by four then to check the percentage use table C.

Table D: Monthly - Higher rate

Amount of net earnings	Deduction percentage of net earnings
£0.00 to £430.00	5
£430.01 to £690.00	6
£690.01 to £950.00	10
£950.01 to £1,160.00	14
£1,160.01 to £1,615.00	22
£1,615.01 to £2,240.00	30
£2,240.01 and above	40

Stop the DEA from calculating

When you set up a DEA, you can specify a total attachment value. Sage 50 Payroll automatically stops deducting when the employee has paid the total attachment amount.

Sometimes you need to stop an AEO before it reaches this value. For example, the employee paid the debt directly to the court or creditor.

You can easily stop DEA deductions ▼ in the employee record.

Double-click the required employee, then click the Employment tab.
Click Pay Elements, then click Attachment of Earnings Orders tab.
Next to the DEA, in Order End Date, enter the required end date.
Click Save then Save again.
Click Close.

DWP specify a fixed amount deduction

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can request that you deduct a fixed amount each period instead of a percentage of net pay. Because the DEA uses rates based on your employee's net pay, ▼ you need to use a different attachment.

The attachment to use in this situation depends on whether DWP require the attachment to use C/F (carried forward) amounts.

Sometimes, your software can't deduct the full attachment deduction due in a pay period. For example, due to protected earnings.

Your software carries any underpayment forward and deducts it in the next period, alongside the normal full deduction that's due.

There are two possible attachments to use to calculate this.

For a fixed deduction that carries forward values between pay periods, use the 1971 Priority attachment
For a fixed deduction with no values carried forward, use the 1971 Non-Priority attachment

TIP: If you need to check whether carried forward rules apply for your employee's DEA, contact the DWP.

Assign the attachment

Double-click the required employee, then click the Employment tab.
Click Pay Elements, then click the Attachment of Earnings Orders tab.
If there's a percentage-based DEA attachment here that's no longer required, enter an Order End Date to it.
Click in the next available line under Attachment Name.
Click the drop-down button then select either:
- 1971 Priority
- 1971 Non-Priority
Click OK then enter the amount to deduct per period under Normal Deduction Rate.
Enter the Total Attachment (if specified) and Order Issued Date.
Click Save, then click Close.

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Solution Properties

Solution ID: 200427112258995
Last Modified Date: Fri May 22 13:48:33 UTC 2026
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