Check your emolument attachment order deductions against the 25% legal limit and estimate your repayment period.
If your employer has started deducting money from your salary to pay off a debt, you’re dealing with what’s officially called an emolument attachment order (EAO), commonly known as a garnishee order. This calculator helps you check whether the amount being deducted falls within the legal limit, and estimates how long it will take to clear the outstanding debt at your current instalment.
What Is a Garnishee Order?
A garnishee order (EAO) is a court order that instructs your employer to deduct a fixed amount from your salary each month and pay it directly to a creditor, until a judgment debt is settled. It’s issued under Section 65J of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 32 of 1944, and since 2016 it can only be authorised by a magistrate in open court, not simply rubber-stamped by a court clerk. The court is meant to weigh up your income and expenses before approving the deduction.
Two things distinguish a valid EAO from an unlawful one: it must have been authorised by a magistrate (or you must have consented to it in writing), and the total deduction must stay within the legal maximum described below.
How Much Can Legally Be Deducted?
Section 65J(1A) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act caps the combined total of all EAO deductions at 25% of your basic salary. This applies whether you have one garnishee order or several running at the same time; your employer is required to check that the combined instalments don’t push past this threshold.
It’s worth noting that the 25% rule is a ceiling, not a target. Courts are also expected to look at your actual living expenses when authorising an EAO in the first place, so even a deduction under 25% could still be unaffordable depending on your circumstances.
How to Use the Calculator
- Enter your monthly basic salary, meaning your base pay before allowances, overtime, or bonuses.
- Enter any existing EAO or garnishee deductions already coming off your salary.
- Enter the outstanding judgment debt still owed.
- Enter the proposed new monthly instalment, whether it’s already in place or being proposed to the court.
- Enter the interest rate on the debt. Leave the default if you’re unsure, or set it to 0 if the debt is interest free.
- Click Calculate to see your total deductions, whether they exceed the 25% limit, and how long it will take to clear the debt.
The Formula Behind the Calculator
Deduction check:
Legal maximum = Basic salary × 25% Total deductions = Existing deductions + Proposed instalment
If total deductions exceed the legal maximum, the calculator flags it.
Repayment period:
The calculator estimates months to settle using a standard reducing-balance formula, which accounts for interest charged on the outstanding balance each month:
n = −log(1 − (r × P) / A) ÷ log(1 + r)
Where P is the outstanding debt, A is the monthly instalment, and r is the monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12). If the instalment doesn’t even cover the monthly interest, the balance won’t reduce at all, and the calculator will flag this rather than return a misleading repayment period.
Worked Example
Nomvula earns a basic salary of R12,000 per month. She already has one garnishee order deducting R0, and a new EAO is proposed for an outstanding debt of R15,000 at 11.75% interest, with a monthly instalment of R1,200.
- Legal maximum: R12,000 × 25% = R3,000
- Total deductions: R1,200 (well under the limit)
- Take-home pay after deduction: R10,800
- Estimated repayment period: around 14 months, factoring in interest on the reducing balance
Because the instalment sits comfortably under the 25% threshold, this EAO would pass the basic legal deduction test, though the court would still weigh Nomvula’s overall living expenses before authorising it.
If Your Deductions Exceed the Limit
If the calculator shows your combined deductions are over 25% of your basic salary, this is worth raising directly with your employer’s payroll department or the magistrate’s court that issued the order. Employers are legally required to verify this limit before processing deductions, and a garnishee order that breaches it, or one that was never properly authorised by a magistrate, may be challengeable.
This calculator is intended for guidance only and doesn’t constitute legal advice. If you’re facing multiple garnishee orders or struggling to meet basic living expenses, it’s worth speaking to a debt counsellor or attorney about your options, including debt review.