These are the cases in which the Treasury can seize your money saved in the checking account

The most outstanding function of the Tax Agency is collection, and in order to ensure that the unpaid amounts reach the State coffers, it can use embargoes on the pensions and salaries of workers who have these amounts owed to the Administration.

These embargoes are subject to very precise rules contained in the Civil Procedure Law. Article 607 of the same (available) guarantees that the amounts below the Minimum Interprofessional Wage will be unattachable, establishing percentages for the different income brackets from that SMI that cannot be attached.

Thus, the Treasury does not seize all the money that exceeds that threshold of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage: only a few percentages that increase as income is higher. The money that is left over, of course, remains in the bank account of the citizen who still maintains debts with the public coffers.

But, what happens when the citizen only has to his credit monthly amounts below the Minimum Interprofessional Salary? In those cases, he can use all that money to cover his expenses. Where the matter begins to change is when, after spending the current month, he manages to save some money from that SMI.

The reason is in a recent doctrine of the Central Economic-Administrative Court (). In April, this organization integrated into the Tax Agency established that the amounts below the Minimum Interprofessional Wage are no longer unattachable when after a month they are saved and deposited in the checking account.

The court ruled that “for the correct application of the provisions of article 171.3 of the General Tax Law and its mandate regarding wages, salaries and pensions, only the last salary, salary or pension deposited in said account for that concept, considering the rest savings and, therefore, seizable”.

This General Tax Law (it can be accessed) explains that when the Treasury “becomes aware of the existence of funds, securities, titles or other assets delivered or entrusted to a certain office of a credit institution or another person or depositary entity, it may order its embargo in the appropriate amount”.

Summary: what money can be seized from the account

The summary made by the Central Economic-Administrative Court is that the amounts saved below the SMI are subject to seizure as they do not belong to that current month in which they cannot be seized.

The court makes it clear: “the available balance in the account on the date of the seizure is fully subject to seizure, regardless of whether it originates from the payment of previous salary payments.” For this reason, “the available balance of the account on the date of the seizure is seizable, deducting the amount of the last payment.”