CSA | Mumsnet

emsantana99 · 2025-03-30T02:26:01+00:00

hello I wondered if anyone could help me gain abit of knowledge on how child maintenance is calculated. My daughters dad all of a sudden decided he wasn’t going to contribute towards our daughter anymore so I went down the CMS / CMS route. they’ve calculated to him only having to pay me £7 a week, yet he claims he works literally 6 days a week. The £7 is a reflection of someone that gets between £7-£100 a week or is on benefits. And now I’m not an idiot this probably means he’s lying and he just doesn’t work, but he’s constantly going on about how they’ve calculated it from last years tax year which is when he clearly wasn’t working - could this possibly the case? I only ask before I ring CMS on Monday and may possibly make myself look like a fool. Thanks :)

prh47bridge · 30/03/2025 08:44

The CMS get information from HMRC to calculate maintenance. They want information for a complete tax year. The most recent information they can get, therefore, is for 2023/24. When informing you of the calculation, they should have told you which tax year they had used. If his income is now at least 25% higher than it was then, you can request a new calculation based on his current income.

femfemlicious · 30/03/2025 08:47

Why are these men so wicked?. They just don't care about their children at all!

Collaborate · 30/03/2025 09:02

femfemlicious · 30/03/2025 08:47

Why are these men so wicked?. They just don't care about their children at all!

They’re not wicked. Look at the post before yours, which explains the reason for the low assessment. Whilst the payer should have informed the CMS if he was earning more now, if he’s self employed and just starting out in business his drawings may be minimal, and it’s not made very clear to him what his reporting responsibilities are. He’s made no attempt to hide the fact he’s working so OP can challenge the assessment and any change will be backdated to day one provided if the challenge is made within a month of the original decision.

NorthernGirl1981 · 30/03/2025 09:05

Collaborate · 30/03/2025 09:02

They’re not wicked. Look at the post before yours, which explains the reason for the low assessment. Whilst the payer should have informed the CMS if he was earning more now, if he’s self employed and just starting out in business his drawings may be minimal, and it’s not made very clear to him what his reporting responsibilities are. He’s made no attempt to hide the fact he’s working so OP can challenge the assessment and any change will be backdated to day one provided if the challenge is made within a month of the original decision.

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I think any man who decides he doesn’t want to financially support his child is pretty wicked.

femfemlicious · 31/03/2025 07:46

Collaborate · 30/03/2025 09:02

They’re not wicked. Look at the post before yours, which explains the reason for the low assessment. Whilst the payer should have informed the CMS if he was earning more now, if he’s self employed and just starting out in business his drawings may be minimal, and it’s not made very clear to him what his reporting responsibilities are. He’s made no attempt to hide the fact he’s working so OP can challenge the assessment and any change will be backdated to day one provided if the challenge is made within a month of the original decision.

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He is very wicked. Why would he stop providing for his child?. Then he forced her to have to go to cms and then found a way to only pay £7 a month. What does he expect his child to live on? Why is he comfortable with his child not having what they need ?. That is our wickedness!

Motheranddaughter · 31/03/2025 07:49

Any parent who doesn’t support their children is the lowest of the low
Going self employed is a recognised way of hiding earnings

Original poster

emsantana99 · 01/04/2025 09:37

Collaborate · 30/03/2025 09:02

They’re not wicked. Look at the post before yours, which explains the reason for the low assessment. Whilst the payer should have informed the CMS if he was earning more now, if he’s self employed and just starting out in business his drawings may be minimal, and it’s not made very clear to him what his reporting responsibilities are. He’s made no attempt to hide the fact he’s working so OP can challenge the assessment and any change will be backdated to day one provided if the challenge is made within a month of the original decision.

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My baby dad is an awful man. He lies 24/7 and uses every excuse under the sun to not provide for our daughter - the fact I’m having to chase him to help towards our daughter is pretty poor from the get go

OP posts:

Barbarathebuilder · 10/05/2025 18:28

They used last year's tax year to calculate my exes contributions which ended up being pennies. He's self employed and clearly fiddled his taxes. Anyway, I requested to speak with their Financial Investigation Unit and they are now investigating him and going through his bank etc. So I'm hoping in a few months he will be paying the full whack that he owes! Plus they backdate the payments. So would recommend speaking with them too :)

Eastenders2025 · 14/05/2025 15:46

I am currently going through a similar situation with my child’s father. I know he works full time for a building company on a self employed basis, yet he hasn’t submitted a tax return since 2020!!! It baffles me how these deadbeats get away with it!

I am about to send an application to the Tribunal as CMS can’t get nothing more other than a tax return since from 2020 claiming he only earns £10k a year! I am hoping the Tribunal will look and agree it’s not right and how would he be surviving and escalate to HMRC and look into his bank accounts etc