This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Maaşa Haciz Geldi: Ne Kadarı Kesilir, Nasıl İtiraz Edilir?.
Your payslip shows less than you expected, and the reason is an enforcement deduction. The first question is always the same: how much of a wage can be taken?
The Act's answer is not a flat percentage but a two-stage calculation. This article sets out that calculation, why pensions are different, what happens when there is more than one attachment, and how to challenge it.
How Much of a Wage Can Be Attached?
Article 83 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act sets two tests. First the portion necessary for the subsistence of the debtor and their family is set aside; at least a quarter of what remains is attached.
In practice that usually works out as a quarter of the wage. But the quarter is not a ceiling: the enforcement officer may set a higher proportion having regard to the debtor's family and financial circumstances. The floor is a quarter; the ceiling is the protection of the subsistence portion.
The calculation is made on net pay. Whether payments such as travel and meal allowances can be attached depends on whether they count as part of the wage.
Maintenance: No Limit
The most important exception is maintenance. Maintenance debts are not subject to the quarter limit.
There is also a rule of priority: even where earlier attachments exist over the wage, a maintenance debt does not take its place in the queue — it is deducted first and directly. Other creditors are paid out of what remains after maintenance.
Where arrears of maintenance have built up, this can mean a substantial part of the wage being taken.
Can a Pension Be Attached?
As a rule, no. Under social security legislation retirement pensions cannot be attached.
There are two exceptions: maintenance debts, and the debtor's written consent to the attachment. The second causes frequent problems in practice: without consent, no deduction may be made even though an attachment has been served.
If deductions are being made from your pension without your consent, apply to the enforcement office to have them lifted, and if that fails, make a complaint to the enforcement court. The sums already deducted can also be reclaimed.
Where other income is also paid into the account the pension goes into, treating the whole account as attachable causes confusion; the distinction then has to be shown from the account statement.
When There Is More Than One Attachment
Where several attachments exist over the same wage, the deductions are applied in order, not at the same time. Nothing is paid to the second creditor until the first is paid off.
So the outcome is not that half the wage disappears: the rate of deduction stays the same, and only the identity of the creditor being paid changes. The exception, again, is maintenance, which is collected first and outside the queue.
You can find out which file stands where from the enforcement office or through the e-government portal.
Objection and Complaint
There are two distinct routes against an attachment of wages, and they should not be confused:
- Objection to the debt belongs to the payment-order stage and must be made within seven days. Once matters have reached attachment, that route has closed.
- A complaint is made to the enforcement court, on the ground that the enforcement office's act was contrary to law. Too high a rate of deduction, a deduction from a pension without consent, or a failure to allow for the subsistence portion all fall within it. The period is as a rule seven days; where the breach concerns public policy, a complaint may be made at any time.
A complaint attracts no fee and is made by written application. Attaching the payslip, the account statement and any documents showing your family circumstances directly affects the outcome.
When Enforcement Produces Nothing
From the creditor's side a different question arises: what happens if the debtor has nothing to attach?
The enforcement office then issues the creditor with a certificate of insolvency. It records officially that the debt could not be collected, and gives the creditor two important things:
- enforcement may be brought again against the debtor for twenty years, and a fresh payment order need not be served in that enforcement
- property the debtor acquires later can be pursued
For the debtor there is one relief: no interest runs on a debt covered by a certificate of insolvency. The certificate does not extinguish the debt, but it stops it growing.
If more is being deducted from your wage than it should be, or your pension is being deducted from without your consent, complain to the enforcement court within seven days of learning of it. The complaint is free of fees — and remember to attach the payslip and the account statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of my wage can be attached?
The portion needed for subsistence is set aside first, and at least a quarter of the remainder is attached. A quarter is the floor: the enforcement officer may set more depending on the circumstances.
Is maintenance treated differently?
Yes. Maintenance is not subject to the quarter limit and is deducted first, ahead of earlier attachments.
Can my pension be attached?
As a rule no. The only exceptions are maintenance debts and the debtor's written consent; deductions made without consent can be lifted and reclaimed.
What if there are several attachments on my wage?
They are applied in order, not together. The rate of deduction does not change; only the creditor being paid does. Maintenance stands outside the queue.
What is a certificate of insolvency?
A document recording that the debt could not be collected. It allows fresh enforcement for twenty years without a new payment order, and stops interest running on the debt.