Success fee after an enforcement order: securing the debtor’s future remuneration
Review a success fee after an enforcement order: future remuneration, third-party debtor, scope of attachment, ranking and payment.
4 September 2026, Mag. Bernhard Brandauer, Rechtsanwalt
A success fee may become reachable after an enforcement order. The key questions are whether it arises from employment or another continuing earning relationship, when it becomes due and which person must pay as third-party debtor.
Section 294 EO provides for a payment prohibition to the third-party debtor and a disposal prohibition for the debtor when a claim is attached. Under section 299 EO, the lien on continuing payments may extend to amounts falling due later.
This article distinguishes success-based remuneration from an ordinary salary attachment. It explains which information matters for the enforcement application, the third-party debtor statement and the review of later payments.
What should be clarified first about the success fee?
The answers do not replace legal advice. They help structure documents for an initial review.
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Where is the current review point?
Choose the answer that best describes the situation.
Overview of all answers.
Structure origin and due date
Record which performance triggers the success fee, who calculates it and when it can fall due. A mere prospect of a bonus does not answer the attachment question.
Identify the third-party debtor
Assign the employer, customer or other payer to the relevant legal relationship. If a third party pays part of the remuneration, section 299a EO may require separate review.
Match service and ranking
Keep payment prohibitions, the third-party debtor statement, remuneration statements and payment records together. For ranking, the date on which the payment prohibition reached the third-party debtor can matter.
What an enforcement order does for future success fees
In a claim attachment, section 294 EO prohibits the third-party debtor from paying the debtor. The debtor is also prohibited from disposing of the attached claim. Attachment is effective when the payment prohibition is served on the third-party debtor.
Under section 299(1) EO, a lien on a salary claim or another claim consisting of continuing payments extends to payments falling due later. A recurring success fee can therefore fall within the existing attachment if it belongs to the underlying legal relationship. Its creation, calculation and due date still require review.
How the success fee is classified
Section 290a EO lists income from employment and other recurring remuneration for work as claims that may be attached subject to the protected amount. Under section 290a(2) EO, all benefits from the activity are included regardless of their name or method of calculation. Calling a payment a success fee therefore does not decide attachability.
A one-off payment may be subject to the separate calculation in section 291d EO if it is a limited-attachability claim. Section 291e EO contains specific rules for non-recurring remuneration for personally performed work. Whether the fee is continuing employment income, one-off work remuneration or another claim depends on the agreement, the work and the accounting.
Which information matters for an employer or customer
The payer should be identified as precisely as possible. The application should also show the employment, service or assignment relationship, the success-fee agreement, the relevant performance period, the conditions for earning the fee and any statement already issued.
If the debtor is an employee and part of the remuneration is owed by agreement to a third party, section 299a EO may be relevant. Where the third-party debtor is unknown, section 295 EO provides, under conditions, for a court inquiry into possible employment income. The appropriate procedural route depends on the application and on whether the debtor is a natural person.
How the statement, ranking and later payment interact
Under section 301 EO, the court may order the third-party debtor together with the payment prohibition to provide a third-party debtor statement. Within four weeks, the statement covers whether and to what extent the claim is acknowledged, whether payment depends on counter-performance, whether other persons assert claims and which liens of other creditors are known.
For ranking between several liens on ordinary claims, section 300 EO refers to the time when the payment prohibition reaches the third-party debtor. A statement about a future success fee does not replace review of its creation or proof of later payment. Statement, due date, ranking and actual receipt should be recorded separately.
Common mistake: A success fee is treated like fixed salary simply because of its label. The relevant points are the legal relationship, performance conditions, due date, scope of the attachment and third-party debtor.
Success fee in debt enforcement
Can a success fee be attached?
It may be possible if the fee is a claim arising from employment or a continuing earning relationship. Its label alone is not decisive. The legal basis, conditions, due date and protected limits require review.
Does an existing attachment cover a fee that falls due later?
For a salary claim or another claim consisting of continuing payments, section 299 EO can extend the lien to payments falling due later. Whether the specific fee is covered depends on the underlying legal relationship.
What applies to a one-off success payment?
A one-off payment may require classification under section 291d EO or, for personally performed work, section 291e EO. The calculation basis and protected amount must be assessed by reference to the payment.
Who must provide the third-party debtor statement?
The addressee is generally the third-party debtor served with the payment prohibition. Section 301 EO governs the statement and its period. The employer or customer should therefore be identified with the specific payment claim.
Does attachment automatically secure later payment?
Attachment creates legal protection under the enforcement rules. Whether and when money is received still depends on creation, due date, protected limits, ranking and the third-party debtor statement.
Further reviews on claim enforcement
Success fee, Variable remuneration, Claim attachment, Third-party debtor, Enforcement, Austria