[Solved] how much should i be paying?

If your on benefits it's £7 odd

When your unemployed with no benefits you will be classed as a nil assessment, so zero is due

Do you currently have a private arrangement or do you use the CSA?

it was initially through CSA but she wasnt working so they were taking a huge percentage so was cancelled then private arragement.

also not on benefits as self employed im due to start work in next 2 weeks im not entitled to any benefits

If its a private agreement then you can pay what you want

I don't think they take anything off her now, that was the old system and I'm sure they don't touch the PWC benefits

If you or her applied for CSA now it would be via the CMS as the CSA are no longer taking on new cases.

They use your last April 2013 P60 direct from HMRC to calculate what your payments should be, you can only query this if there is a 25% difference

It's nearly time for this years P60... So if she applied in April 14 they would use that P60

Hi Me Myself and I

Thank you for your post. I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. I will provide some information that may help answer your query around child maintenance.

As Huxley has mentioned, with you having a private or family-based arrangement in place with your ex-partner, there are no strict rules stick to. Therefore, both you and your ex-partner have the freedom to decide the terms of your own arrangement, such as how you will contribute when you do not have an income.

A family-based arrangement does not need to be all about money although many parents do include regular contributions. Your arrangement can include other kinds of support, such as you directly paying for things that your son may need. Family-based arrangements are not legally-binding, however, many parents prefer them because of their flexibility and ease of which they can be reviewed (such as if you or your ex-partner’s circumstances change). You can find more information on family-based arrangements on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/family/index.asp.

We have a range of tools and guides on our website that may help you renegotiate your family-based arrangement ( http://www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox/index.asp). We have a discussion guide which you can use to help plan your conversations around child maintenance. We also have a family-based arrangement form, that is not a legally-binding document, but if you and your ex-partner write down what you have agreed, it can help to formalise your arrangement. To help you talk to your ex-partner we have a page on talking about child maintenance that you may find use ( http://www.cmoptions.org/en/family/index.asp).

If you and your ex-partner are unable to agree, both of you may wish to use the current statutory rules that are employed by the Child Maintenance Service. They will use the amount of gross income given to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by a paying parent, their employer or their accountant to work out the average amount of earnings, or, where the paying parent is self-employed, their taxable profits to work out a payable amount. For every case, the gross income figure will be reviewed each year in order to take account of newer income information given to HMRC.

The Child Maintenance Service have four different child maintenance rates and the rate that is to be paid is dependent on the gross weekly income of the paying parent. The four different rates are as follows:

• Basic rate is for paying parents with a weekly gross income of between £200 and £799.99 (and Basic Plus for paying parents with a gross weekly income of £800 or more).

• Reduced rate is for paying parents on a weekly gross income of between £100 and £199.99.

• Nil rate is where paying parent’s gross weekly income is less than £7 a week or because they receive certain benefits, are under sixteen, in prison or living in care.

• Flat rate is when the paying parents pay a flat rate of £7 child maintenance per week, no matter how many children they have, if their weekly gross income is between £7 and £100. This also applies if the partner they live with is receiving certain benefits.

If during the year earnings from employment change temporarily from week to week due to overtime or bonuses, this usually would not make a difference to the amount a paying parent must pay in the 2012 scheme. But if there is a more permanent change to current income and this differs from this by 25% or more from the income figure previously used then the paying parent can apply to have a temporary new calculation put in place. They will need to provide evidence for this but, if successful, the new calculation will usually apply at least up until the next Annual Review. You can find more information on how the Child Maintenance Service works out child maintenance on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/how-child-maintenance-is-worked-out/how-the-child-maintenance-service-works-out-child-maintenance.

For more information on the ways to set up child maintenance, please visit our website at http://www.cmoptions.org. Alternatively, you can call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on a Saturday. We have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.

Regards

William