re my ex dh. what debts of his are put first-before they start calculating child maintenance.

[piratecat]

Hope that makes sense, because it looks like very bad English to me.

I want to pursue him through the CSA, but in broaching the subject he said that he owes bla bla amount in arrears to the tax man which will affect the amount I will get.

No it won't. Child maintenance will come first, as long as it is the CSA minimum or a court order.

He has to pay a percebtage based in his gross income less tax, NI and any pension contributions.

So unless he's paying extra tax back via PAYE, his debts are irrelevant for the purposes of the calculation.

ok, thanks. He's prob trying to put me off. I don't know if it's being paid paye, as he is self employed, I would guess not in that case. The rules seem to have changed with the csa, in that they aren't the csa anymore. I have read that they encourage an agreement first, but if not I can go a legal route. Must find out more. This is long overdue. Not paid for years.

If he's self employed it is more difficult to get money as he can declare that he pays himself less of a wage than he actually does but it is still worth pursuing.