Salary Deduction

When the payment of public and municipal taxes is in default it is permissible to deduce a certain amount from a debtor's salary. By law, a collection agency is permitted to demand that an employer withhold as much as 75% of a person's monthly salary. In general, in case of a default payment, the National Treasury's collection agencies do demand a 75% deduction of salary. However, the employee should never retain less than 25% of the total salary.

An employer is obliged to retain a debtor's salary if the National Treasury's collection agency demands it. If he/she does not oblige, it is permissible to take measures so that they do.

It is permissible to heed an employee's petition on the lowering of the salary deduction if the salary retained by him/her is not enough to support him/her, a spouse and/or any children he/she supports.

A payment schedule on the lowering of the salary deduction is to be made in written form with a service representative in the Legal Department of the Collection Division or with the relevant National Treasury collection agency. The agreement shall be signed and in doing so the debtor acknowledges the claim and a new start time of the limitation period.

Public fees in default should have precedence and so it is perceived that the fees are being amortized, not just the interests. When an agreement on the lowering of the salary deduction is being made, only child support and rent is taken into account. The exact amount of the lowering of the deduction depends on the debtor's salary. The payments from the employer are allocated to the oldest fees in default.