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Everything you need to know about the UK Child Maintenance Service
32 articles
paying parentDo Pension Contributions Reduce Child Maintenance? Yes
Pensions come off your assessed income, but only automatically in some schemes. Pay into a personal pension and the CMS will not know unless you tell them.
Sole Trader vs Limited Company: Why Your CMS Bill Differs
Same profit, five times the difference in maintenance. Why directors are assessed on salary alone, and the free variation that closes the gap.
How Long Does the CMS Take? Realistic Times for Each Stage
4 to 12 weeks for a calculation, 6 to 8 for a deduction from earnings, up to 18 months for a liability order. What to do when yours overruns.
CMS Arrears Never Expire. Debt From the 1990s Still Counts
Child maintenance arrears do not become statute barred, and bankruptcy will not clear them. When they can be written off, and how to check the figure is right.
Child Maintenance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The formula is identical across the UK. But Northern Ireland runs a separate service, and in Scotland a child aged 12 can apply for maintenance themselves.
Who Actually Runs the CMS? The Names and the Chain
The CMS is not an agency. It is a directorate inside the DWP, and a named minister answers for it in Parliament. Who is accountable, and how to reach them.
Can You Go to Prison for Not Paying Child Maintenance?
The CMS can ask a court to jail you for arrears under section 40 of the Child Support Act 1991. Here is how rare it really is, and what actually happens.
Can the Other Parent Spend Child Maintenance on Themselves?
There is no legal duty to account for how child maintenance is spent, and the CMS cannot investigate it. What the law actually says, and why it was built that way.
Can the CMS Take Money From Your New Partner?
Your new partner's income can never raise your CMS assessment. But since 2018 the CMS can take money from a joint account. Both answers, explained plainly.
CMS Statistics: 1.1m Children and £791m Still Unpaid
The latest DWP figures on compliance, arrears and enforcement, and what they reveal about a system where a fifth of paying parents hand over nothing at all.
Inside the CMS: The Ageing Tech Behind Your Calculation
The systems that run child maintenance, where your HMRC data comes from, and what the technology explains about the errors parents keep reporting.
Self-Employed? How the CMS Really Works Out What You Owe
The CMS uses taxable profit from your Self Assessment, which can be two years out of date. How to get that changed, and which expenses actually reduce it.
Company Director? The CMS Only Counts Your Salary
Dividends, retained profits and director's loans sit outside the standard calculation. The free variation that pulls them back in, and when it succeeds.
What DWP Told the Lords About the CMS, and What They Left Out
Senior DWP officials gave evidence on the Child Maintenance Service in March 2025. Where their account and the department's own figures do not match.
Are CMS Liability Orders Even Real Court Orders?
High Court proceedings have raised serious questions about whether CMS liability orders are valid court orders at all. What the law actually says.
Regulation 50: Who Pays When You Share Care Equally?
When care is genuinely 50/50, one parent still pays. The rule that decides which one is not what most parents expect, and nights are counted strictly.
Parent Moved Abroad? The CMS Usually Loses All Power
The CMS cannot touch a parent living overseas, with a handful of exceptions. The REMO route, which countries enforce UK orders, and what to do if yours does not.
How Much the CMS Makes From Collect and Pay Fees
Both parents are charged to use Collect and Pay. We used DWP's own statistics to work out what that raised in the year to March 2026, and who really carries the cost.
Do I Have to Pay Child Maintenance? Almost Always, Yes
Not seeing your child, not being on the birth certificate and never wanting the pregnancy make no difference. The rare situations that genuinely do.
Private Arrangement or CMS? An Honest Comparison
A family arrangement is free and flexible. The CMS costs money but has legal teeth. Which one suits your situation, and when to switch.
When Does Child Maintenance Stop? Age 16, or 20 in Education
Payments end at 16, or up to 20 if your child stays in approved education. What counts as approved, what does not, and what ends it sooner.
Child Maintenance Advice for Fathers: Rights and Options
Paying does not buy contact, and being refused contact does not cancel paying. What fathers are actually entitled to, and the costliest mistakes.
Is Child Maintenance Taxable? No, and Nobody Declares It
You pay no tax on maintenance you receive, and you get no relief on maintenance you pay. What that means for your benefits and your tax return.
How Shared Care Cuts Child Maintenance: The Night Bands
52 nights a year cuts your payment by a seventh. 175 nights halves it and takes off another £7. Why a single extra night can be worth hundreds.
Don't Pay Child Maintenance? Wages, Bank Account, Then Court
The CMS can take money from your wages or your bank without going to court first. Losing your licence and prison are real, but rare. The order of escalation.
How to Reduce Child Maintenance Payments, Legitimately
Shared care nights, pension contributions and other children in your household all cut your liability. What genuinely works, and what gets challenged.
Can Child Maintenance Be Changed? Only If It Moves 25%
The CMS ignores income changes under 25% until your annual review comes round. What you must report, what gets ignored, and how to force a recalculation.
What Does Child Maintenance Cover? Less Than You Think
There is no legal list. Maintenance is a contribution towards everyday costs, not a bill for school trips, uniforms or birthdays. What to ask for separately.
What Counts as Income for Child Maintenance? And What Doesn't
The CMS uses gross income straight from HMRC. Bonuses and overtime count. Your new partner's wages do not. Dividends only count if someone asks.
How Is Child Maintenance Calculated? The Full CMS Formula
12% for one child, 16% for two, 19% for three. That is the headline. The income bands, deductions and shared care rules change the real figure.
The CSA No Longer Exists. This Is What Replaced It
The Child Support Agency closed years ago, but millions still search for it. What it was, why it failed, and what the CMS does differently.
What Is the CMS? The Child Maintenance Service Explained
The CMS works out and collects child maintenance when parents cannot agree. What it does, what it charges, and whether you need it at all.