Child maintenance - do they check with hmrc to confirm ex’s earnings?

[T42and24T]

I know, for sure, that stbx earned another 50% on his already high income in bonuses last year.

Yet, he is stating £800 pcm as what he’s planning to pay in child maintenance on the consent order forms. If I put his last year’s income (as declared to hmrc) into the CMS calculator, it comes up with c.£1000 pcm.

My question is - is the amount paid for child maintenance actually cross referenced with the paying parent’s income via HMRC? Or do they just take the paying parent’s word for it?

thank you.

Go via cms. They do check.

They do an annual review and check with HMRC

Did he make any personal pension contributions from his net earnings as they would reduce the amount for the CMS calculator, "adjusted income"

But as others say CMS can validate the amount based on records and they'd have to query him. But will come down to if that would make things potentially less amicable if he has a genuine reason for the lower figure

He will have upped his pension OP

and CM based after deductions for pensions

Bear in mind child maintenance is calculated on gross earnings after pension deductions. I'm not really sure why because it creates a silly layer of complexity, makes it easier to avoid paying child maintenance at least temporarily and it would be easy to adapt the calculator to assume a fair deduction of gross of about 6% but I digress....

If your ex is piling money into his pension you might find it reduces what he has to pay though I suspect there are steps you can take if the pension saving is ridiculous (question to ask the CMS and, when they fail as they normally do, then to a solicitor). HMRC will tell the CMS what his earnings are but they'll also take into account the deductions for pension and do nothing about it unless you take action yourself.

I'm also assuming you've agreed and therefore factored in how many days he has the children which obviously also alters the payment slightly?