Child Maintenance - online calculator v CMS calculator

[littleacceb]

Hi, all. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the .gov.uk child maintenance calculator differing significantly from the actual amount dictated by the CMS, and the factors that might cause this.

My ex-husband is refusing to pay the maintenance amount given out by the calculator. I get that it's because it's rather a lot and he'd rather have the money for himself, but he seems fixated on an amount £200 less each month, which he believes is correct because of "travel time", as he moved 40 minutes away from the family home and the children's school.

He is also applying through court for 50/50 time during the holidays, but as this will keep the average over the course of the year firmly in the 2-3 days a week range, that shouldn't come under the definition of "shared care" and therefore stop payments, should it?

I suppose I just want to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

Thanks in anticipation. x

Ignore him
Get the money your children are owed from CMO
They don’t take into account travel lmao he’s one isn’t he.they go by how many nights children stay not shared care as it’s not shared 52 weeks the year. Work out how many nights they sleep at his a year.

I’ve spent 16 years with an ex avoiding paying for his 2 daughters and left me to it he owes £5500 and I tell you he’s earn a lot more than they know. He never even had them or provided anything for them as I left him !

It takes a while to get a payment and if he won’t reoky to them they take his earning from the kat tax year from the tax man and if he ignores them CMO take it directly out his bank so try get his bank details.
I did the pay me to me thingy and he stopped after 6 months and never provided anything.

He can apply for a variation based on travel costs too and from picking up the children. He would have to provide evidence to show how often he is travelling, the type of car he is using etc. It does have to cost him more than £20 per week in travel costs (I think) before it Is considered under a variation.

If the holidays still keep him within the 2-3 nights shared card band then he will have a reduction for shared care but will still be expected to pay child maintenance

My advice, contact child maintenance pay the £20 to have him assessed & they do the rest (working out what he will need to pay etc) If he doesn’t pay as per their instructions then they will take further action against him eg take direct from his employer. I did it last year & found out my ex husband had been underpaying me by £120 (we had a private arrangement). Getting it done officially was the best thing & he’s assessed automatically each year. Good luck

I'm in a similar situation CMS have calculated what x should be paying including arrears - he has calculated a figure half this amount - I've asked them how they say probably through online calculator - he's company director of own company so basically can come up with whatever he likes - and this figure is from tax office. He's telling CMS they are using wrong figures and we are now going to tribunal - whatever this involves - imgetting to the point where I have had enough of all this - think I'm in danger of financially crippling myself and may just let him have the kids live with him - the ongoing stress has reduced me to a blob and I'm really not sure how much longer I can continue to pick up his responsibility - the relationship with kids is strained anyway they have been through too much shit maybe I just need to remove myself otherwise I think I am going to have a breakdown

Greenberet so sorry to read what you are going through. Hang in there, I nearly lost the plot but friends & family helped me through. I hope you have someone close you can talk things through with. Stick to your guns, CMS won’t be getting it wrong as they get info direct from the tax office so it’s totally correct. Sounds like he’s trying to shirt his responsibilities!! Please, please don’t give in to him. You will get through this, just take one step at a time. Take a deep breath (one more time) & do what you need to do. Take care X

@Fullfatlatte - thank you so much for your kind words of support - sometimes this is just what we need to hear - that we are not alone in our battle and that we can get through this - RL support all get that he is scum but there's only so much they can do - and honestly if anyone had said you would still be doing this 4 years down the line I don't think I would have believed them - his mother must be turning in her grave - to think that he could so nearly have been without kids if I had not stood by him and this is how he treats me and more to the point them - perhaps this is a lesson not to muck about with the flow of nature! And you. X

I pay csa every week earn 340 pay 161 need to pay rent and Coucil tax plus look after a family of 3 and a pregnant woman my ex gets Benifits and my money yes I agree you got to pay for kids but she gets more than me yet coz a work am shafted and not allowed to see my kids how is that fair

Maybe timeport you shouldn’t be getting people pregnant when you can’t affotd to pay for the kids you already have ?

I can afford it but my tax goes to benefits like I said I believe u should pay for your kids but when they sit on benefits getting everything while u work 80-90 hours a week to get by makes me sick

You work 80 hours a week and only earn £340? If you’re going to lie at least make it vaguely plausible

She’s raising your kids, that’s quite enough “work” for anyone.

And if you can afford it shut up and sit back down you’ve notjing constructive to say.

@timeport 80 hours for 340 = 4.35 p/hr so either you're 17 on minimum wage for that age group or pulling a fast one!

I've just opened a case after 18 months of zero from my EH - unfortunately he runs his own business and pays himself dividends which cms have said they won't ask for his self assessment, just p60 showing paye so he'll be smiling when they calculate at 5p a week 

Thanks familylaw - it's a shame it's so long winded process and not helped we don't get on enough to sort out ourselves (hence zero for 18 months!!)

No by the time I do 70 hours I walk away with 276 by the time csa take there money and council tax arrears tax there bit all on wage slips that I am happy to prove Cms take 37%

Like I said u should pay for your kids without a doubt but needs to be a fair system there are woman that run there own company have millions and still takes csa of a guy with a new family coz she is trying to ruin him

Or takes CMS from a guy because he is the father of the children. If you are paying 37% that would only be due to arrears and not paying previously, or not paying the right amount. And no, you shouldn't be supporting 3 others (step kids?) and one on the way if you can't afford the first lot. Not seeing them is entirely unrelated to money paid or not paid by the way.

Just picking on a small part of the argument. If you pay maintenance it is reasonable to expect you should be able to see your kids. Unfortunately denial of access has become so prevalent the courts were instructed to uphold child arrangement orders more comprehensively than they have been. One estimate has said for every maintenance avoider three access deniers exist. A simple FOI request to the CMS returns a figure 99.7% of maintenance payments are made from father to mother. 0.3% of fathers receive maintenance payments. The system isn't working.

The figures are that way round because the vast majority of RPs are women so yes they predominantly receive rather than pay maintenance. I know there are women who don't of course but I'm not sure that it's relevant - it's not about the gender of the recipient or payee but about how easy it is for an NRP to avoid paying.

I disagree that if you pay you should see automatically. You might pay very little due to being on benefit or minimum wage, or you might be paying CMS at a high rate due to high income but be an abusive person whose presence or inconsistency or malice to the RP makes you poor parent. Linking money and access is a terrible idea.

By linking the payment of maintenance and access you provide further motivation for the NRP to pay maintenance. That has to be a good thing in general. I whole-heartedly disagree with you that if the dad is a low income earner he should be denied access because he provides a low level of maintenance. Very 1984. In Sweden if you pay maintenance then it is actually illegal for the mother to move the child out of the locality without the father's permission.

Without the link the mother is free to live a parasitic existence without being held to account. Too often the RP is able to make unsupported accusations about the NRP or simply make the visiting logistics impossible ( e.g... they're not well this weekend or move to the other side of the country or even another country). The system isn't working. Young men today would be much better off following the surrogacy route which is now on the rise in this country.

50:50 contact during the school holidays is the norm if it went to court.

He can have his travel costs deducted (if his costs average more than £10 a week). It’s called from memory a special vairations order. It’s calculated on mileage and the deduction is made off his net salary. So if for example you live 10 miles apart. That’s a 40 mile round trip (pick up and drop off). Mileage is calculated at the government rate of 45p per mile. So that’s £18. If he has the kids EOW & half the holidays - it’s circa 30 round trips - £540 a year. That amount would be deducted off his net to calculate the CMS payment.

God just read more of the thread. Can’t believe that some posters are saying maintenance and contact should be linked. Children aren’t pay per view.

I don’t think anyone is saying the children are pay per view that’s never been my interpretation or actions. However I object to having to pack them lunches to take to see their father with, to make sure they were fed and all that and other reasonable actions being thrown in your face as “so what” in the eyes of the court. One party seems to have to bend over backwards to accommodate and the other gets to move 400 miles away, claim their petrol from work AND get it deducted from the CSA payments

99.7% suggests the courts are far from against you. The system isn't working.

£200 less each month sounds huge. As NorthernSpirit has advised the travel costs are deducted from Gross Earnings before the calculation of maintenance is made. It is not deducted after the calculation has been made.

Pay the £20 for CMS to make an assessment. At least then you have something that is binding in Law. Before you call CMS write down everything you know about your Ex. Full name, date of Birth, Address. If you have his National Insurance number that would be a big help. If he is operating through a Ltd Company give the company name.

If part of his income is Dividends then under the current CMS system you will have to apply for a Variation. Should not be difficult as Dividends will be on his Self Assessment Tax Return, unless he is trying to fiddle HMRC?