What is child maintenance?

Child maintenance is the regular financial support that a parent who does not have main day-to-day care of a child is required to pay towards the child's everyday living costs, including food, clothing, and housing.

In the United Kingdom, child maintenance is payable until the child is 16, or until 20 if the child is in full-time non-advanced education (for example, A-levels or an equivalent). It can be agreed privately between parents, arranged through the statutory Child Maintenance Service (CMS), or, in limited circumstances, ordered by a court.

A private arrangement, sometimes called a family-based arrangement, is the government's preferred starting point. Parents agree an amount directly, decide how it will be paid, and keep their own records. No fees are involved. The arrangement is flexible but not legally enforceable unless it is formalised in a consent order through a family court.

The Child Maintenance Service is the statutory scheme that replaced the Child Support Agency in 2012. CMS calculates how much maintenance is due using a formula based on the paying parent's gross weekly income, the number of qualifying children, the number of nights each year the child stays overnight with the paying parent, and whether the paying parent has other children living with them. For gross income up to £800 a week, the basic rate is 12 per cent of gross income for one child, 16 per cent for two, and 19 per cent for three or more. Higher earners pay a reduced percentage on income above £800.

CMS offers two services. Direct Pay arranges the calculation and then leaves the parents to transfer money between themselves. Collect and Pay involves CMS taking the money from the paying parent and passing it to the receiving parent. Collect and Pay carries a 20 per cent fee for the paying parent and a 4 per cent deduction for the receiving parent. CMS can enforce payment through deductions from earnings, deductions from bank accounts, or a liability order leading to bailiff action or, in extreme cases, prosecution or driving licence suspension.

Court-ordered maintenance is now rare and is mainly limited to specific situations, including cases involving very high earners above the CMS statutory maximum, children with a disability who need additional support, children attending boarding school, or cases where one parent lives overseas.

Child maintenance is separate from child benefit, which is a universal payment from HMRC to the parent who has main care of the child.