Child maintenance is an important aspect of family law and the CSA’s role is to ensure that all non-resident parents make a contribution to the financial support of their natural children.

If your child maintenance was assessed before 3 March 2003, the arrangement will be subject to different rules. We can explain those rules but this page relates to all assessments after that date.

From 3 March 2003, a new formula was implemented by the CSA for the calculation of child maintenance.

The provisions apply to a child who is under the age of 16 or under the age of 19 and receiving full time, non-advanced secondary education. The child and both parents must be habitually resident in the UK. A child must be the natural child of the parent and although the provisions apply to adopted children, they do not apply to step-children. The parent who cares for the child or children for the majority of the time is called the ‘parent with care’. The other parent is called the ‘absent parent’.

How to calculate child maintenance?

The level of child maintenance is determined by calculating the net income of the absent parent. The income of the parent with care of the child is not taken into consideration.

Net weekly income is any remuneration including any tax credits and pension payments less income tax, national insurance contributions and most monthly pension contributions.

There is a basic rate that is applicable in most situations where the absent parent is working. This is a specified percentage of the net income of the absent parent and varies depending on the number of qualifying children.

• Where there is one qualifying child to be maintained, the figure is 15% of net income
• Where there are two qualifying children, the figure is 20% of net income
• Where there are three or more children, the figure is 25% of net income

Example: if the absent parent earns £500 net a week, he would pay £75 in child maintenance per week if he has one child and £100 if he has two children.

The situation is slightly more complicated where the absent parent also has a child living at his home, for example from a second family. If this is the case, an allowance is made for such ‘other relevant children’ and a deduction is made from the income of the absent parent before the basic rate is calculated.

• Where there is one relevant child, there is a deduction of 15%
• Where there are two relevant children, there is a deduction of 20%
• Where there are three or more relevant children, there is a deduction of 25%

In the above example, if the absent parent has one relevant child living mainly with him, 15% is first deducted from his £500 income, leaving £425 available. Therefore, he now pays £63.75 for one qualifying child instead of £75.00 and £85.00 instead of £100.00 if he has two qualifying children.

Reductions will made if there is a shared care arrangement. Shared care exists when the absent parent has overnight care of the child. The following table sets out the relevant deductions.

Number of nights of overnight care per year by absent parent	Child maintenance reduced each week by
52-103	1/7
104-155	2/7
156-174	3/7
174 or more	1/2

Example: If the absent parent has contact on alternate weekends on Friday and Saturday evenings and every Wednesday during the week, that amounts to 104 nights per year. This would mean that the maintenance calculation would be reduced by 2/7. Using the first example of £500.00 net income per week, for one child, the £75.00 per week calculation would be reduced to £53.57 per week.

Reductions are also possible if you pay into a pension or if you have high expenses in travelling to see your children for contact visits.

You do not have to go to the CSA. You can agree a payment with the other parent. Often, if a couple are divorcing the agreed payment is recorded in a court document called a Consent Order. However, fourteen months after the date of the Consent Order, either parent can make an application to the CSA for a revised assessment.

The CSA aim to review maintenance assessments every two years.

This guide explains the basic way of calculating child maintenance. If you have a more complex situation, or you would like to discuss any issues raised here, please call Rachael Smethurst, head of our family team, on 01865 781181 or email.