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Hi,does child maintenance pay for childcare when it’s my day with the kids? Eg I leave work at 5, kids go to a childminder at 330 to 5 and my ex pays for this, but states I should be paying. Isn’t that what my CM is for?
hi,
are you paying maintenance through CMS? if so I would have thought your payments help your ex to look after the kids when they are in her care. I have heard from other dads that if they are expected to pick up the kids from school on their day, if they can't because of work, they can pay for childcare, until they pick up kids after work.
CMS have a list of special expenses you can claim. so if you end up paying for that child care, you could possible claim expenses for it:
Expenses a paying parent can ask us to consider
A paying parent can ask us to take certain expenses into account.
These are called ‘special expenses’ and can reduce the paying parent’s gross income figure at Step 2.
You can apply for a ‘special expenses variation’ for:
- the cost of keeping up regular contact with a child or children you are paying child maintenance for – for example, the cost of fuel to travel between your home and the child’s home (must be at least £10 a week)
- costs connected with supporting a child with a disability or a long-term illness who lives with the paying parent or their partner
- repaying debts from a former relationship – for example, if you are paying a car loan for a car the receiving parent has kept (must be at least £10 a week)
- boarding school fees for a child or children that qualify for child maintenance – but only the everyday living costs or ‘boarding’ part of the fees (must be at least £10 a week)
- making payments on a mortgage, loan or insurance policy for the home that the paying parent and receiving parent used to share – the receiving parent and the child or children must still live in the home and the paying parent must have no legal or ‘equitable’ interest in it (must be at least £10 a week)
A paying parent cannot ask us to take special expenses into account if their gross income is less than £7 a week or if they are getting benefits.
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