Tax Credits Act 2002 Schedule 3 paragraph 8

Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26))

Schedule 3 paragraph 8 amends Northern Ireland legislation to ensure that tax credits cannot be treated as "earnings" for the purposes of attachment of earnings orders made by magistrates' courts.

• Amends Article 100 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, which defines "earnings" for attachment of earnings orders
• Adds tax credits (as defined by the Tax Credits Act 2002) to the list of sums that do not count as earnings
• Protects tax credit payments from being intercepted through court-ordered deductions from a person's income
• Mirrors similar protections already in place for other types of income listed in the Order

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