[Solved] annual Review - can ANYONE interpret this logic?

No, your payments will not change until 26% they mean by HMRC the original figure .

1000 a month needs to be 750 or 1250 to affect current figure.

This is an extract from the CMS guidance on the annual review;

We compare the HMRC income figure with the amount of income that was previously reported to us by you, your employer or accountant. If this income amount is still at least 25 per cent different to the new figure from HMRC, the amount of child maintenance won't change.

If there is less than a 25 percent difference, the income figure from HMRC is used to work out the amount of child maintenance to be paid.

So, if I had a pay rise (or cut) of 26%, then the amount of child maintenance would not change. But if I had a pay rise of 2%, then they would change it? surely this is illogical or am I missing something?

You are missing something - although the wording, as is, is unclear. What is being discussed here is a maintenance calculation based off "Current Income" rather than the normal "historical (latest P60 annual amount) income" given to CMS by HMRC. Because "historical" is the default, when a calculation is performed - and your current income is at least 25% lower (say you recently moved into a new job...paying 30% less per month than was previously the case) compared to what the last tax year figures show (say, on a per month basis) - then CMS can be convinced to base a calculation on your "Current Income" and will set aside the P60 amount from HMRC. When the next annual review comes up (or otherwise...), what the above is saying is that the CMS will again compare the latest historical P60 amount to the "current income" amount "previously reported to us by you" . If the gap between the latest available historical HMRC income and "current income" has closed to less than 25% (say 24%) - then CMS no longer consider you "eligible" to allow you to use the "current amount" previously supplied (not from HMRC), and will revert to the usual HMRC figure.

In short - it is phrased backwards in the case where the CMS are reviewing a calculation that is using "current income" rather than HMRC figure.

Page 11 here clarifies the situation if you simply have a bog-standard calculation where CMS use the HMRC figures from the outset. This describes the usual situation when income (according to HMRC provided P60 amount) changes yearly. Outside of yearly reviews income must change by 25% or more before any maintenance calculation is amended.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261704/the-annual-review.pdf

Hi, thanks so much for your reply - it is related to a "current income" calculation, thanks for pointing this out. However, I am still confused because;

my original assessment made Nov 2014 (based on HMRC P60 Apr 2013) was, lets say based on a gross salary of £80k (made up number).
My salary at that time was >25% different to this, and the CMS made allowance for this and based my assessment on current salary of £55k (made up number).
In Nov 2015, my review was conducted. My HMRC gross salary for 2014/2015 was £66k (made up number), so I expected my maintenance to be based on £66k as the difference between £66k and £80k was not more than 25%. However, the letter I received stated that because my salary "was still at least 25% different" then the assessed amount would remain at the original assessed amount (ie based on £55k), and that I needed to tell them if my salary fluctuated by £55k +/- 25%.

Hope this makes sense - in short I cannot see why my payments were not adjusted based on 2015 HMRC figure.

PS Whilst the figures are fictional, the % difference is accurate.