How to Reduce Child Maintenance Payments UK

Can you legitimately reduce child maintenance?

Yes - there are several legitimate ways that child maintenance payments may be reduced. The key word is "legitimate": attempting to hide income or artificially reduce your declared earnings is risky and can backfire badly.

1. Increase your overnight stays

The most direct way to reduce payments is to increase the number of nights your children stay with you. The CMS reduces maintenance based on shared care:

• 52–103 nights per year → 1/7 reduction
• 104–155 nights per year → 2/7 reduction
• 156–174 nights per year → 3/7 reduction, minus £7
• 175+ nights per year → 50% reduction, minus £7

Read more in our guide: How shared care affects child maintenance.

2. Request an income review if your earnings have dropped

If your gross income has fallen by more than 25% since the last CMS calculation, you can request an early review. This could happen if you've been made redundant, gone part-time, or changed jobs. Contact the CMS straight away with evidence of your changed income.

3. Declare legitimate pension contributions

Gross pension contributions can reduce the income figure the CMS uses. If you are paying into a private pension, the CMS should take contributions into account, which lowers your assessed gross income and therefore your payments.

4. Apply for a variation (special expenses)

If you have exceptional costs - such as long-distance travel costs to maintain contact with your children - you can apply for a variation to reduce your payment. The CMS assesses these on a case-by-case basis.

5. Have additional qualifying children

If you have other children living with you (your own biological children or legally adopted children), the CMS adjusts its calculation to account for this. More dependants means a lower percentage applied to your income.

"Child maintenance leaves me with nothing" - what can you do?

If you feel your payments are leaving you without enough to live on, you have options:

• Request a review if your income figure is wrong or outdated
• Apply for a variation for special expenses
• Increase shared care to reduce the amount
• Contact Citizens Advice for free guidance

Our living costs calculator can show you what payments would look like if essential costs were factored in - this is useful for discussions with a solicitor.