BrowsePetitions#730665
PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk

Calculate child maintenance from net pay, not gross pay

For child maintenance to be calculated from net pay not gross pay.

Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
128
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 128/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 128/100,000
Background
We want reform to the current method used to calculate child maintenance payments, which is based on a paying parent's gross income. While we fully support the fundamental principle that both parents should contribute to the upbringing and welfare of their children, we consider that the current system places an undue financial burden on the paying parent by not accounting for their actual take-home pay. This often results in a situation where child maintenance payments are calculated on an amount that the parent never actually receives.