CMS and Salary Sacrifice

[Daffodils2023]

Hi, can anyone help me on the tax efficient savings that companies offer their employees, particulary Car Salary Sacrifice? The reason I'm asking is my ex has a Salary Package of £85k but the Child Maintenance Service are only taking into consideration £71k, they apparently get their figures direct from HMRC so I am trying to work out if it is the Car Salary Sacrifice which is bringing down the taxable income figure with HMRC. He works for a large company on payroll so there isn't any self-assessment. All I can think of is that it is the Car that is billed on the Companies benefits blurb as being a "tax efficient savings scheme"..... Anyone up on tax and can understand whether this is what is happening here? Ive applied for a Variations on the grounds of "Additional Income" and "Diverted Income" but they've rejected it by saying that I havent provided enough evidence... I provided a copy of his salary package and benefits and they said they only get their figures from HMRC, but if its a tax efficient saving presumably it isn't evident in the HMRC figures?

@Collaborate finally someone who knows what they’re talking about! Thanks a lot. That’s what I thought, just need clarification as it’s all so new so little evidential documentation or case law.

I know this thread is a few months old, I just wondered if you got any where with applying for a variation?
im in the same situation, my ex is getting a car on his salary sacrifice and it’s going to reduce his wage from 55k to 45k which makes a big difference to his Cms payments!

i didn’t get a direct response, but his contributions actually went down in the last annual review in October and was based on a lower salary than previously even though he’s 7 years in the same job same place…. 🤔 I haven’t had the energy to query it further. CMS are a complete mess and joke. I have £3.5k arrears outstanding too. I can see now why people get weary with it and just see it as an added extra/holiday fund. The latest outcome supported by Gingerbread was also depressing and didn’t instill any hope for change. Sorry not to be more helpful. Everything I read on the salary sacrifice pointed to it not being legal but it’s so new with the cars that I don’t think they’ve caught up with the idea. Depressing

I have a pension and salary sacrifice electric car. My salary is approx 80k but my taxable income is approx 60k. I do an additional tax return for self employed income so see it reported there which is I assume the same figures HMRC will see.

I’ve no idea where you stand with child maintenance though sorry

It's always worth taking it to a tribunal. Caseworkers at CMS have little automity (or so it seems to me) and seem scared to make a decision. The tribunal judges know their stuff and I've always been successful with clients seeking variations on grounds such as these.

@Collaborate thank you, they have just never acknowledged my letters so don’t know if I’m now out of time, I didn’t know I could take it to Tribunal if they just hadn’t bothered replying or acknowledging

You need to get an initial refusal, then you ask for a mandatory reconsideration. When they refuse after that they should write to you informing you of your right to appeal.

Would be interested to see if anyone has got anywhere with salary sacrifice on CM payments.

Mine has just been reduced by £83 a month due to my ex getting a top of the range BMW electric car and his “overall income” being reduced by £200 / week as the car is salary sacrificed.

The real issue of course is that the regs were never written properly in the first place.

Another 'for example' is that income from pensions isnt taken into account for CMS purposes, while perhaps less common than in the past there must me a significant number of NRP's who receive a pension of some sort.

AFAIK the CMS tend to take it into account anyway using some powers they have but in my opinion that is an abuse of the system, the regs should have been written properly in the first place

CLA, this is the same in my scenario.

if you get anywhere please update this thread :)

Sorry still haven't got anywhere, like most women I gave up the will to live with it as they just ignore the requests, then they answer, when I then query what they say, they then say I'm out of time for a "mandatory reconsideration" even though its due to their original delay - the whole system is totally messed up. What I have recently become aware of is that you can ask for a freedom of information request from CMS. My ex did it to try and prove something but from it I've realised I can then get evidence of the millions of conversations I have had with them too. I'm waiting for the next Annual Review which is due soon and I'm going to work really hard on it to get it sorted this time. I'm sick to death of the whole system and genuinally feel like I have ptsd from it which is why I just gave up. It becomes soul destroying especially when you are also fighting against an ex partner aggravating the process from his end as well as CMS general ineptness. Will update the post when I have any information.

Update - just saw this on the CMS website - they've updated the Variations you can apply for as a Receiving parent.... It FINALLY includes the company car dodge...
https://www.gov.uk/how-child-maintenance-is-worked-out/ask-other-income-expenses-included
@Kate1234512 @Cla1977

Would you update on here if you do end up applying for variation and how that goes. I’m not so confident based on their lack of knowledge in this area previously.

@Daffodils2023 just curious, did you ever get any further with this at all? X

@Kate1234512 Not yet but has been passed onto the Finanicals Investigation Unit and I was told this could take 6 months and not to expect any communication that this had happened, or update that they would be in touch. Seems very covert and underhand. Helpfully the company he works for produced a 80 page document entitled "Our Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme" 😂😂so I've sent them that. The car is now paid off, in 3 years so you can imagine how much has been going towards it c.£22k/year! I imagine CMS will try and squirm out of it as its the past but I'm not letting this one go. So sick of their dodginess. Promise to update.

Thank you for updating!
6 months is just ridiculous. Why does it take so long! Surely if they just contacted his employer they could confirm? I don’t understand.
ahh that’s great re: the document they sent. Could I ask what other ‘proof’ you were able to supply?
Although the car is paid off, generally the SS are leases so never owned by the employee so chances are he’ll swap it and get a new one anyway so good job your looking into it now