---
title: "Adjustment headings: What is a deduction heading?"
slug: "adjustment-headings-what-is-a-deduction-heading"
updated: 2026-06-10T11:26:21Z
published: 2026-06-10T11:26:21Z
canonical: "help.cintra.co.uk/adjustment-headings-what-is-a-deduction-heading"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cintra.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Adjustment headings: What is a deduction heading?

In order to record payments and deductions on a payslip, **Cintra iQ** allows you to set up adjustments in different categories. The category used will invoke specific calculation features.

**Adjustment Headings** are **Payment (Addition)** and **Deduction** headings. In order to record **Payments** and **Deductions** on a payslip, **Cintra iQ** allows you to set up adjustments in different categories. The category used determines how the payment or deduction heading is used. You can flag, within each adjustment heading, to say it is taxable, NIable etc.

**Deduction Headings** fall into a number of categories described below with specific processing features.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** If you are going to pay using Third Party Payments functionality to create BACS files, you will need to set up payees to be attached to Deduction Headings.

## About the Deduction Heading window

Go to **Cintra iQ**: Payroll > Payroll Setup > Adjustments > Deduction Headings

Within the **Deduction Headings** window you can perform the following:

- Create a new **Deduction Heading** definition.
- Open an existing **Deduction Heading** definition.
- Delete a **Deduction Heading** definition.
- Report on the **Deduction Headings**.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/NE5LKQ3bThpJSw3Hb4lYeOGAoF_L0j5doA.png)

### Categories

These categories may vary, depending on how your system is set up.

| Name | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Ad Hoc Deduction** | These deductions have no calculation features and are purely for periodic input of ad-hoc values such as **Advances**. No standard values can be attached to this heading. |
| **AOE Admin** | If you choose to deduct an administration fee from employees for whom you are administering attachment of earnings orders you will need to create at least one deduction heading in this category. It is only the name that appears on the payslip that you are creating as the value, currently **£1** is strictly controlled through legislation. |
| **AOE Deduction** | You will need to create deduction headings that represent the name used on the payslip that represents the attachment of earnings order. You may choose to use the same heading for all **AOE’s** but usually it is preferable for employees that you create a heading that makes the deduction obvious, for example **CSA**, **Council Tax** or **Court Order**, etc. Again you cannot set up any calculation criteria within these headings. These are strictly controlled by legislation and managed through the **AOE** functionality. |
| **Employment Standard Deduction** | This category is where the majority of your voluntary deductions are created and will include things like Union Fees, Give as you Earn, NIPSA, Uniforms, etc. For this category you can create standard values that can be inherited when attached to an employee. You can also generate values using a conditional function if this is appropriate. |
| **Loan Deductions** | Loan deductions are self-explanatory in that where you have an amount of money that you want to be deducted from an employee using standard values each pay period until it is exhausted, then a loan deduction will need to be used. |
| **Pension Deductions** | Pension deduction headings can be viewed in the **Adjustment Headings** form but are created under **Benefit Schemes**. |

### Buttons

Use the following buttons to perform various tasks.

| Name | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **New** | Click this button to create a new **Deduction Heading**. |
| **Open** | Click this button to open a existing **Deduction Heading**. |
| **Delete** | Click this button to delete a **Deduction Heading**. |
| **Report** | Click this button to create a **Deduction Headings Report**. |

## About the New Deduction Heading Form

As default, the **Deduction Headings** are **NOT** NIable, Taxable, pro-rated or subject to arrears processing, should the employee not earn enough for the heading to be deducted.

The **New Deduction Heading** form appears once you have clicked the **New** button in the **Deduction Headings** definition window.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/WE3owTs5oLC_C7bOlme_rlUDkbGvf6Rcqw.png)

- **Name -** Enter a unique name to identify the **Deduction Heading**.
- **Reporting Group -** Select the **Reporting Group** that you want to show in this heading. These groups are created in Payroll > Payroll Setup > Adjustments > Reporting Groups.
- **Category**- Select the category as described in the [**About the Addition Headings window**](/iq/docs/adjustment-headings-what-is-an-addition-heading) section.

Once you have clicked the **Next** button on the **New Deduction Heading** form, the **Deduction Heading** details form appears. You can change these settings on the following tabs.

### Main Settings tab

The **Main Settings** tab displayed relates to **Standard Deductions**. As with **Addition** headings, standard values can be held and conditional functions can be used to derive values.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/ObQVUt6ppCO1dOZ1iUS2d2C0IVXg258TEg.png)

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** If creating a heading from one of the alternate categories some of the fields are greyed-out as they are not used in the category.

### Other tab

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/OvRqYTQly4pCRX2MFJUBYOucL8AbdZZFag.png)