Practical guide
How to Calculate the Attachable Fifth of a Salary (with Calculator)
3 min read · Updated September 2026 · Editorial oversight: Avv. Federico Papa
When a creditor garnishes a debtor's salary, the law does not allow the whole pay to be seized: Art. 545 of the Code of Civil Procedure sets limits designed to preserve the worker's means of subsistence. The basic rule is well known, one fifth of the net pay, but the computation gets harder when several deductions concur: an existing salary assignment, maintenance debts, tax debts. This guide reconstructs the rules and the typical mistakes, with a calculator for the most frequent scenario.
Calculator: attachable fifth of salary
Art. 545 Code of Civil Procedure · Presidential Decree 180/1950
How the result is computed
| One fifth of the salary (net / 5) | €300.00 |
| Combined ceiling (half the net) | €750.00 |
| Assignment already in place | €0.00 |
| Attachable: the lower of the fifth and the remaining room | €300.00 |
General rule for ordinary debts. Maintenance debts and pensions (protected minimum) follow their own rules.
In brief
For ordinary debts, wages can be garnished up to one fifth of the net amount (Art. 545(4)). Where a salary assignment and a garnishment concur, the total deduction cannot exceed half the salary: the attachable share is therefore the lower of the fifth and the room left up to that ceiling. On a net salary of 1,500 euros with no assignments, the attachable share is 300 euros per month. Maintenance debts and pensions follow their own rules.
The steps
- 1.
Start from the net salary
The computation base is the pay net of tax and social-security withholdings, as stated in the employer's declaration under Art. 547. It is not computed on the gross: case law consistently refers the Art. 545 limits to the sums actually due to the worker.
- 2.
Apply the fifth for ordinary debts
For ordinary debts the attachable share is one fifth of the monthly net (Art. 545(4)). The limit applies to each monthly instalment, thirteenth-month pay included. For tax-collection debts, reduced thresholds protect lower salaries (one tenth up to 2,500 euros, one seventh between 2,500 and 5,000, under Art. 72-ter of Presidential Decree 602/1973).
- 3.
Check combination with existing assignments
If the worker already has a salary assignment in place (Presidential Decree 180/1950), a garnishment can only add up to an overall ceiling of half the salary: the attachable share becomes the lower of the fifth and the difference between half the net and the assignment instalment. This is the scenario the calculator on this page solves in real time.
- 4.
Treat maintenance debts separately
For maintenance debts (spousal or child support) the share is set by the president of the court or a delegated judge, who may authorise more than a fifth (Art. 545(3)). Where different causes concur simultaneously (maintenance, tax, ordinary), the overall deduction still cannot exceed half the salary (paragraph 5).
- 5.
Remember the limits on accounts and pensions
If the salary has already been credited to a bank account when the garnishment is served, only the portion exceeding three times the social allowance is attachable; ordinary limits apply to later credits (Art. 545(8)). Pensions enjoy an unattachable allowance equal to twice the social allowance, with a 1,000-euro minimum (Art. 545(7), as amended in 2022): the fifth is computed only on the excess.
Legal basis: Art. 545 c.p.c.Art. 547 c.p.c.D.P.R. 180/1950Art. 72-ter D.P.R. 602/1973
Mistakes to avoid
- Computing the fifth on the gross instead of the net
- Ignoring an existing assignment and exceeding the half-salary ceiling
- Applying the ordinary fifth to tax debts, which have reduced thresholds for low salaries
- Garnishing the whole balance of the account where the salary is credited, without the three-times-social-allowance buffer
- Forgetting the unattachable allowance on pensions
Frequently asked questions
Is the fifth computed on gross or net pay?
On the net: the Art. 545 limits refer to the sums actually due to the worker after tax and social-security withholdings.
Can a salary assignment and a garnishment coexist?
Yes, but the overall deduction cannot exceed half the net salary: the garnishment operates only within the room left up to that ceiling, and never beyond the fifth.
How much of a pension can be garnished?
The portion equal to twice the social allowance, with a 1,000-euro minimum, cannot be touched; ordinary limits, hence normally the fifth, apply to the excess (Art. 545(7)).
What edit.legal automates
- —When drafting the garnishment deed, the assistant computes the share from the pay data you provide and inserts it into the computation
- —Querying the case file, it highlights existing assignments or debts of a different nature relevant to the applicable regime
- —The in-editor reference check verifies cited provisions against the updated legislative database
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