How much child maintenance should I pay?

If you and your former partner cannot agree on the level of child support it will be calculated by reference to the specific formula in the child support legislation. For this reason most parents use that formula as the basis for making their own arrangements and the majority of the people we advise are able to reach agreement without having to go to the CMS. The formula has a earnings cap currently set at £3,000 per week before deductions which means the maximum weekly payment for one child is £294 (£1,274 per month), for two children £392 (£1,698 pm) and three children £452 (£1,958). This is before any deduction for the time children spend overnight with the paying parent or allowances for any other children the payer has living with them.

When does child maintenance stop?

Child maintenance through the CMS is paid until a child reaches the age of 16 or as long as they're under 20 until they finish Al-levels or equivalent. If you make your own arrangements or there is a court order the payments may continue into further education.

What does child maintenance cover?

Child support payments are intended to provide a contribution to the general expenses of looking after a child. However, the CMS formula is fixed rather than reflecting the actual expenses of each family, and the practical reality is that the boundaries between what a child needs specifically and the costs of the parents looking after them are blurred. This is why child maintenance has to be looked at as part of the wider financial picture.

Can child maintenance be backdated?

There are some circumstances in which child maintenance can be backdated through the CMS, but in most cases it can't. There are other options that can be considered if this is an issue.

Can I pay child maintenance direct to my child?

You and your ex can arrange this if you think it is the best approach and it's often done for children at University. It can't generally be done for other children unless both parents agree.

Child maintenance

Child maintenance (or child support) is a regular, reliable payment to help cover a child’s everyday living costs. There are different ways to arrange child maintenance and it’s up to you to choose the one that best suits your circumstances.

The government has set out a formula to help parents work out how child maintenance should be paid. Their online child maintenance calculator tool is a useful resource but does not deal with tricky situations - when you'll need specialist advice - but it does provide a useful benchmark.

There are three options for arranging child maintenance with your ex:

a family based arrangement - you and your ex can make any arrangement you like for child maintenance provided you both agree. However, it will not be legally binding
the Child Maintenance Service (or CMS, which used to be called the CSA) - the government-run CMS can calculate child maintenance for you and your ex if you can't agree the amount yourselves and can also do the administration around the payments by collecting them and paying them over if required
court - not only can court orders be used to turn voluntarily agreed arrangements into legally binding ones but the court can also deal with more complicated or unusual situations for example where the paying parent has a very high level of income, where school fees need to be paid and where either parent or the child lives abroad.

The interaction between child maintenance and other financial arrangements such as spousal maintenance can be tricky and it's important to get advice on the overall picture.

Our experience in child maintenance law

As experts in the full range of financial orders on divorce, we have guided clients from all walks of life through this highly technical area of law:

helping parents to negotiate and agree family based arrangements (including through mediation or collaborative law) tailored to their family's circumstances
successfully obtaining "top up" maintenance orders in the court where the paying parent has a very high income
advising clients where parentage is disputed
successfully obtaining school fees orders
successfully challenging incorrect CMS calculations, including appearing before the Child Support Tribunal
advising clients with complex or unusual income sources on their child maintenance obligations
regularly advising international families on their child maintenance obligations in England and Wales

Child maintenance FAQs

How much child maintenance should I pay?

If you and your former partner cannot agree on the level of child support it will be calculated by reference to the specific formula in the child support legislation. For this reason most parents use that formula as the basis for making their own arrangements and the majority of the people we advise are able to reach agreement without having to go to the CMS.

The formula has a earnings cap currently set at £3,000 per week before deductions which means the maximum weekly payment for one child is £294 (£1,274 per month), for two children £392 (£1,698 pm) and three children £452 (£1,958). This is before any deduction for the time children spend overnight with the paying parent or allowances for any other children the payer has living with them.
When does child maintenance stop?

Child maintenance through the CMS is paid until a child reaches the age of 16 or as long as they're under 20 until they finish Al-levels or equivalent.

If you make your own arrangements or there is a court order the payments may continue into further education.
What does child maintenance cover?

Child support payments are intended to provide a contribution to the general expenses of looking after a child. However, the CMS formula is fixed rather than reflecting the actual expenses of each family, and the practical reality is that the boundaries between what a child needs specifically and the costs of the parents looking after them are blurred. This is why child maintenance has to be looked at as part of the wider financial picture.
Can child maintenance be backdated?

There are some circumstances in which child maintenance can be backdated through the CMS, but in most cases it can't. There are other options that can be considered if this is an issue.
Can I pay child maintenance direct to my child?

You and your ex can arrange this if you think it is the best approach and it's often done for children at University. It can't generally be done for other children unless both parents agree.

Child maintenance

Our experience in child maintenance law

Further reading