[Solved] Help with maintenance and childcare

Hi,
No. The short answer is you don't have to pay anything towards childcare. Maintenance at the cmo rate is all that is legally required.

Do you know what you ex earns? Do you understand how child and working tax credits work? Depending on her wage, she will recieve up to 70% paid childcare. From the potential 30% she has to pay, perhaps you could both agree to go half on the remaining... that's your call.
If you know her earnings I can tell you what she is likely to recieve in help towards childcare.
I'd broach this carefully though as she may not realise she can claim this. She may be defensive if she is claiming it and hasn't told you... good luck.

I would say you are paying way over the required amount - I would check the Child Maintenance calculator - https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-child-maintenance/y - anything you chose to pay on top of this is voluntary on your part.

Hi

Thanks for your response her salary gross is 32,000 per year.
No I don't know how working tax credits work. She says she doesnt get anything but I'm not sure if that is true.

Hi,
No. The short answer is you don't have to pay anything towards childcare. Maintenance at the cmo rate is all that is legally required.

Do you know what you ex earns? Do you understand how child and working tax credits work? Depending on her wage, she will recieve up to 70% paid childcare. From the potential 30% she has to pay, perhaps you could both agree to go half on the remaining... that's your call.
If you know her earnings I can tell you what she is likely to recieve in help towards childcare.
I'd broach this carefully though as she may not realise she can claim this. She may be defensive if she is claiming it and hasn't told you... good luck.

Also is childcare vouchers compulsory coming out of my salary do I have to pay this towards my son? Or can I opt out and she just do this from her salary if she wants too?

In that case, she does earn too much for tax credits for one child, but the threshold for childcare is earnings up to £40,000.

I think I'd suggest she applies as she should get a proportion although not huge. Perhaps coming to an agreement on the remaining amount with a proportional split based on earnings.

You certainly don't have to, but if you want to help your child, I would suggest this is a fairer way.

Hello Flapjack55

Child maintenance is calculated using the gross income of the paying parent and their maintenance payments are a percentage of this. There are many factors which are taken into account and you can receive an estimate by using the Online Calculator on the Child Maintenance Options website.

The calculator does follow the guidelines of the Government's statutory scheme and provides you with a maintenance amount the Government consider to be a reasonable payment. If an application was to be made with the Child Maintenance Service, this would be the approximate amount you would be required to pay, and legally you are not obliged to contribute any further. Any further financial payments, or otherwise, to help with childcare would be up to the both of you to negotiate between yourselves.

It does sound like you do have quite a flexible family-based arrangement already in place with your ex-partner. Many parents do now choose to sort out their maintenance between themselves as it can be the quickest and easiest way of setting up a maintenance agreement. Although family-based arrangements are not legally binding, they are very flexible and can be easily changed. Child Maintenance Options do have some supporting tools on their website at https://www.cmoptions.org that might help you both come to an agreement that you find more reasonable.

Their Talking About Money Guide and our Discussion Guide are full of information about how you can plan your conversation with your ex-partner and how to negotiate your agreement. They also point out the financial costs involved in raising a child and can give you both new ideas about what can be included in your agreement.

You may also find their Family-based Arrangement Form useful. Although it is not a legally binding document it can put your agreement on a more formal basis. You can also agree a renewal date for your agreement in case either of you do have a change in circumstances in the future.

In regards to information about Child and Working Tax Credits, you or your ex-partner would need to contact the HM Revenue and Customs services directly, Alternatively, you can find more information about this on the Government website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk.

You may also be interested to know the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have a website, 'Sorting out Separation'. It aims to make it much easier for separating and separated parents (and childless couples) to find the support they need, when and where they need it, and encourages them to collaborate on a range of issues. The link is http://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/

For more information and for a more personalised service, you may wish to visit the Child Maintenance Options website yourself.

Regards

William