The Rates of Child Support and Qualifying & Relevant Children pages help to explain the parameters used for Child Support calculation.
There is a free online calculator, however, please be aware this is a very basic calculator. We can help with more advanced calculations, such as other children resident in your home (as an NRP), etc., as demonstrated below. Alternatively, if you think you have been assessed incorrectly, request a consultation with us, by clicking Request a Consultation.
CMS Calculation where NRP earns in excess of the £3,000 weekly limit
Tony, the non-resident parent (NRP) is due to pay Child Support to Shona, the resident parent (RP) for two qualifying children. Tony lives with his new partner, Gemma, and Gemma has two children from a previous relationship.
Tony is a company director, and pays himself a salary and dividends. His salary is kept below the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) where employees do not pay National Insurance but get the benefits of paying. In 2020/2021 this is £120 per week. He then takes dividends throughout the year, totalling £243,360 which equates to £4,680 per week.
Tony’s gross income is £4,800 per week. The ‘basic rate plus’ of child support applies because his gross weekly income is over £800 per week.
Step One:
Gross Weekly income = £4,800
The maximum amount of gross weekly income that can be included in the Child Support calculation is £3,000.
Gross weekly income (for the purposes of this calculation) = £3,000
There is 14% reduction as there are two relevant other children = £420
Gross Weekly income after the reduction for relevant other children = £2,580
Income between £0 and £800 = £800
Income over £800 = £1,780
Step Two:
There are two qualifying children, so child support is 16% of £800 plus 12% of the excess above £800 (£1,780) in this example).
16% of £800 = £128
12% of £1,780 = £213.60
£128 + £213.60 = £341.60
Tony is due to pay £341.60 child support per week to Shona.
If you would like to arrange an initial consultation with us, please click here to talk to us.
Basic rate; reduction in gross income for relevant other children
| Number of relevant other children | Percentage by which gross income is reduced |
| One | 11% |
| Two | 14% |
| Three | 16% |
Basic rate; percentages used to calculate Child Support payable are shown below:
| Number of qualifying children (including relevant non-resident children) | Percentage of gross income up to £800 | Percentage of gross income above £800 |
| One | 12% | 9% |
| Two | 16% | 12% |
| Three or more | 19% | 15% |
Further examples of calculations can be found by clicking here.
If you would like to arrange an initial consultation with us, please click here or select one of the options below.
