Child Maintenance: How Much Is Paid and How It's Worked Out

Enter the paying parent's gross weekly income and a few details to estimate the weekly amount. The calculator shows the figure whether you expect to pay or to receive.

Child maintenance is made when you have separated from the other parent, or if you have never been in a relationship. Either parent can apply to the CMS, and so can a grandparent with main day-to-day care of the child, the child's guardian, or a child over 12 living in Scotland. The options are:

• Private arrangement, made with the other parent if you both agree. No one else has to be involved, it is flexible and can be changed if your circumstances change, and it is up to you to decide how much payments should be. You cannot enforce a private arrangement you have made yourself unless you first make it legally binding.
• Child Maintenance Service (CMS), which can work out an amount to pay, arrange payments and take action if a parent does not pay. There is no application fee: the £20 fee was removed from 26 February 2024.
• Court order, in limited cases. The receiving parent can apply to the courts for extra child maintenance if the paying parent's gross weekly income is more than £3,000, and a court can still make an order made solely to meet a child's education or training expenses, or expenses linked to a child's disability.

If the paying parent lives and works outside the UK, you usually cannot apply to the CMS. GOV.UK has a separate guide on child maintenance if a parent lives abroad, including how to ask a court to change an existing decision or make a new one. If you live in Northern Ireland, GOV.UK gives a different phone number for the CMS, and a separate postal address for Northern Ireland cases.

The CMS finds out the paying parent's yearly gross income from information supplied by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), checks for things that could change it, such as pension payments or other children they support, and turns it into a weekly figure. One of 5 rates is then applied, based on that gross weekly income:

• Nil rate, £0 a week: income under £7, or the paying parent is a child, a prisoner or in one of the other groups the regulations list.
• Flat rate, £7 a week: income of £7 to £100, or if the paying parent gets certain benefits.
• Reduced rate: income of £100.01 to £199.99, £7 plus a percentage of the income between £100 and £200. The percentage is 17% for one qualifying child, 25% for two and 31% for three or more, and it is lower if the paying parent has other children.
• Basic rate: income of £200 to £800, 12% for one child, 16% for two children, 19% for three or more children.
• Basic plus rate: for the part of income between £800.01 and £3,000, an extra 9% for one child, 12% for two, 15% for three or more (on top of the basic rate on the first £800).

If the paying parent's gross weekly income is more than £3,000 a week, the receiving parent can apply to the courts for extra child maintenance. If the paying parent's income is unknown or not provided, a default rate applies: £38 a week for one child, £51 for two and £64 for three or more.

Two things can change the amount: other children the paying parent supports, and shared care.

Other children the paying parent supports. The CMS takes into account the number of children the paying parent has to pay child maintenance for, including any other children living with them and any arrangements made directly for other children. For the basic and basic plus rates, gross weekly income is treated as reduced by 11% for one other child, 14% for two, or 16% for three or more. The Act counts children other than the qualifying children for whom the paying parent or their partner receives Child Benefit.

Shared care. Shared care is when the paying parent's child stays overnight with them. The number of nights is based on a court order or any agreement between the parents. For the reduced and basic rates, the amount is reduced according to the number of nights a year:

• 52 to 103 nights a year (about one night a week), reduce by one seventh
• 104 to 155 nights (about two nights a week), reduce by two sevenths
• 156 to 174 nights, reduce by three sevenths
• 175 or more nights, reduce by half, plus a further £7 a week reduction for each child

The amount cannot go below £7 a week. If the paying parent pays the flat rate because they get benefits and the child stays overnight for 52 nights or more a year, they do not pay child maintenance for that child. If they do not get benefits, overnight stays do not affect the amount.

Changes in income and the annual review. The CMS reviews your child maintenance amount every 12 months and checks the paying parent's circumstances to see if the amount should change. The amount can also change when the paying parent has a change of circumstances that affects their income or expenses, or when either parent applies for a variation. Either parent can tell the CMS if the paying parent has an income change of 25% or more, or no longer has an income. If you think your child maintenance amount is wrong, you can ask the CMS to look at the decision again, which is called a mandatory reconsideration, and you must ask for it within one month of the decision.

Other income and expenses (variations). You can ask the CMS to take other income and expenses into account when working out child maintenance payments, which is called applying for a variation. You can ask when you apply for child maintenance or after your child maintenance has been worked out, and after you apply it can take up to 3 months for the payment amount to change. Both the paying and receiving parent can ask for the following types of income and assets to be taken into account:

• ✓Yes: Rental income over £2,500 a year
• ✓Yes: Interest and dividends from savings and investments over £2,500 a year
• ✓Yes: Gross earnings or pension of at least £100 a week, if the paying parent gets benefits and qualifies to pay the flat rate of child maintenance
• ✓Yes: Any income the paying parent may be diverting so that it is not included in the calculation, for example giving it to someone else or choosing to have a company car instead of a higher salary
• ✓Yes: Assets like shares, stocks, gold or money worth more than £31,250

A paying parent can ask for the following expenses to be taken into account:

• ✓Yes: The costs of keeping in regular contact with a child they pay maintenance for, for example fuel to travel between their home and the child's
• ✓Yes: The costs of supporting a child with a disability or long-term illness who lives with them
• ✓Yes: Repaying debts from a previous relationship
• ✓Yes: The boarding part of boarding school fees for a child they pay maintenance for
• ✓Yes: Mortgage, loan or insurance payments for the home they used to share with the receiving parent, if the receiving parent and the child still live there

Each type of expense must be more than £10 a week, although the costs of supporting a child with a disability or long-term illness can be less. A paying parent cannot ask for expenses to be taken into account if their gross income is less than £7 a week.

GOV.UK describes child maintenance as regular, reliable financial support that helps towards a child's everyday living costs. It is a financial arrangement between you and the other parent, and making arrangements to see your child happens separately.

A court can make an order made solely to meet a child's education or training expenses, or expenses linked to a child's disability.

Child maintenance payments will not affect any benefits you and your children get, including Universal Credit, and you will not have to pay tax on them.

If you use the CMS, there are 2 ways to manage payments:

• Direct Pay, the paying parent makes payments directly to the receiving parent. There are no collection fees.
• Collect and Pay, the CMS collects the money from the paying parent and passes it on. The fee is 20% added to the payment for the paying parent and 4% taken off the payment for the receiving parent.

After you apply you get a letter with your payment plan, which tells you how much you need to pay and when if you are the paying parent, or how much you will receive and when if you are the receiving parent. The first payment is usually made within 12 weeks of applying.

The CMS cannot take action while the receiving parent is on Direct Pay. If the paying parent does not pay in full and on time, the CMS can change the payment method to Collect and Pay. On Collect and Pay, if a payment is not made in full and on time, the CMS can make deductions directly from pay, pension or benefits, take money directly from a bank account, or get a court order for payments called a liability order. The paying parent pays an extra fee if the CMS uses these actions.

There are laws about how much the CMS can collect from a paying parent. GOV.UK says they must be left with enough money to live on and must pay priority debts first, such as mortgage repayments, rent, utility bills, taxes and court fines.

Child maintenance is payable while the child is:

• ✓Yes: Under 16, or
• ✓Yes: Under 20 and in approved education or training. Education must be full-time, which means more than an average of 12 hours a week of supervised study or course-related work experience. A child with an illness or disability can do fewer hours if that is appropriate for them.

Payments end when the child leaves education or training or turns 20, whichever happens first. They stop automatically after the child's 20th birthday, or on the last day of February, May, August or November (whichever comes first) after the child completes an education or training course. Child maintenance stops if the child starts studying an advanced course, such as a university degree.

The paying parent might still need to make payments after regular child maintenance stops if they have missed payments in the past. Child maintenance is linked to Child Benefit, so tell the Child Benefit Office if your child stays in education or training after turning 16, starts a new course or leaves a course before it is complete.

The CMS defines the paying parent as the parent who does not have main day-to-day care of the child and the receiving parent as the parent who does. A father who has main day-to-day care of the child receives child maintenance, and a mother who does not have it pays.

More guides on separation, divorce and children are in our family rights section.