Supporting evidence threshold set to £155.00 per month for July to September 2026

The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), the Scottish body that administers bankruptcy and the Debt Arrangement Scheme, has set a supporting evidence threshold of £155.00 per month for the period from 1 July to 30 September 2026¹. The change was recorded in its Notes for Guidance on the Common Financial Tool, which sets out the information and evidence requirements for debt solution applications¹.

Under section 6.8 of the guidance, the AiB requires sight of supporting evidence or estimates only where it has been determined that a debtor's spend will exceed a set monthly figure¹. The threshold for 1 July to 30 September 2026 is £155.00 per month¹. The guidance states:

The threshold has moved several times. It was amended from £154 to £143 on 3 June 2025, then from £143 to £146 from 1 October 2025, and from £146 to £143 from 1 April 2026¹. A further change recorded on 31 March 2026 set the trigger at spend exceeding £137¹. The AiB also said on 2 September 2026 that it had updated section 6.8 on supporting evidence figures and moved to Ofgem calculations for future changes¹.

Source: Accountant in Bankruptcy, Notes for Guidance, all updates¹

The same guidance lists the income sources from which a contribution can be taken, including earnings, private pension, annuities, grants, trusts, rents, maintenance or child support paid to the debtor, boarders or lodgers, non-dependant contribution, bursary and foster care professional fees, excluding the foster care allowance¹. It states this is not an exhaustive list, and that the terms of some agreements or awards may mean a contribution cannot be taken, which it says is relevant to annuities, grants and trusts only¹.

The guidance also lists non-deductible state benefits and payments from which a contribution cannot be taken, including Universal Credit, Child Benefit, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Scottish Child Payment and Winter heating assistance¹. The Care Leaver Payment was added to that list on 31 March 2026 as a payment excepted from contribution¹. The guidance notes the list is not exhaustive and that benefit titles and sources will change¹.

Why it matters for households

The threshold determines when someone in a Scottish debt solution, such as bankruptcy, a Protected Trust Deed or the Debt Arrangement Scheme, must produce evidence or estimates of their spending. Where spending is at or below the figure in force, the AiB does not require that evidence¹. For the three months from 1 July to 30 September 2026 the figure is £155.00 per month¹, up from the £137 trigger recorded on 31 March 2026 and the £143 figure applied from 1 April 2026¹. Households whose spending sits between those amounts face a different evidence requirement depending on when their case is assessed.

The list of income sources and non-deductible benefits also affects what can be counted towards a contribution, and therefore how much money a household is asked to pay¹. The guidance does not say how the £155.00 figure was calculated, and no reason for the change has been reported beyond the move to Ofgem calculations for future changes¹.

What happens next

The £155.00 threshold applies from 1 July to 30 September 2026¹. The AiB has said it has moved to Ofgem calculations for future changes to section 6.8, and the guidance page was last updated on 2 September 2026¹. No figure for periods after 30 September 2026 has been reported¹.