Child maintenance, explained clearly.
Clear, sourced answers on child maintenance and every other way to arrange financial support for your children in England and Wales. No jargon, no sides taken, just what both parents need to know.
Child maintenance calculator
An estimate using the same rates and bands as the Child Maintenance Service. It runs entirely in your browser, nothing you enter is stored or sent to us.
Fill in the details and your estimate will appear here, worked out with the same rates the CMS uses.
Many parents simply talk it through and write it down. A parenting plan keeps everything in one place.
Free parenting plan from The Divorce Circle →The calculation settles the standard amount. Mediation helps you agree what sits outside it, like shared costs and school fees, and claims such as Schedule 1, spousal or global maintenance.
Book a MIAM with Mediate UK →If you cannot agree the standard amount between you, the Child Maintenance Service calculation is the one to go by. It can also collect payments, though fees apply.
Child Maintenance Service on GOV.UK →Payments reduce by about a seventh once children stay over 52 nights a year or more. Shared care explained
The fees added when the CMS collects and passes on payments, paid by both parents. Direct Pay vs Collect and Pay
The government voucher towards family mediation where children are involved. Check eligibility
Start where you need answers
Every guide is written for both parents, checked against primary sources and reviewed before it is published.
Three ways to sort child maintenance
There is no single right answer. What works depends on how well you can communicate, and how much certainty you both want.
- Free and private, you follow the calculator or agree your own figure
- Can include things the CMS formula leaves out, like school trips
- Not legally enforceable on its own
- The CMS calculation settles the standard amount, so there is nothing to argue over there
- Mediation helps with what the formula leaves out: extra costs, school fees, and Schedule 1, spousal or global maintenance
- £500 voucher for cases involving children, and it can be made binding
- A fixed statutory calculation, and the definitive figure if you cannot agree
- Can collect payments and take enforcement action if needed
- Collect and Pay adds fees for both parents
Child maintenance written into a financial consent order is binding for one year. After that, either parent can apply to the Child Maintenance Service, and the CMS calculation takes over. A consent order is still the right place for a clean break and other financial claims, so it is worth getting the wording right.
If you want help beyond information
These services are run by our publisher, Family Legal Ltd. Family Legal Ltd also publishes the reference encyclopaedias Family Law Wiki, Separation Wiki, Family Court Wiki, Divorce Law Wiki, Family Mediation Wiki and Mediate UK Wiki. We link to them because they fit, and we say so openly.
Start mediation with an accredited mediator at Mediate UK, online or near you.
mediateuk.co.uk →Clear prices for consent orders, Schedule 1 advice and family law help at Family Law Service.
familylawservice.co.uk →Write down what you agree, including money, with The Divorce Circle’s free plan.
thedivorcecircle.co.uk →Every page on this site is checked against primary sources before publication and reviewed when the rules change. Figures on this page were last checked on 18 July 2026 against GOV.UK guidance on how child maintenance is worked out.