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Statutory Legal Guides & Insights

Comprehensive statutory explanations of the CMS 2012 gross income scheme, pension deductions, overnight shared custody rules, self-employed trading profits, and Family Court legal precedents.

100% Calibrated to SI 2012/2677
Independent LegalTech Research
Updated for 2026 Regulations

Flagship Statutory Guide

Updated January 2026
Statutory Regulations SI 2012/2677 Gateway • 6 min read

Understanding the CMS 2012 Gross Income Scheme: A Complete Statutory Guide

A comprehensive breakdown of how the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates statutory maintenance under the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012. The 2012 scheme replaces legacy CSA formulas with real-time HMRC data feeds, introducing 5 rate bands, 100% pension deductions, and statutory shared custody reductions.

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Senior Family Law Counsel
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Statutory Highlights:
  • ✓ 6 Step Statutory Calculation Gateways
  • ✓ HMRC Real-Time Information (RTI)
  • ✓ 5 Statutory Rate Bands Breakdown
  • ✓ Shared Care Overnight Thresholds
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All Statutory Guides & Legal Analyses

Authoritative references for separated parents, family mediators, and legal advisors.

Showing 8 Guides
CMS 2012 Reference Matrix

Official Statutory Rate Bands at a Glance

Baseline rates under Schedule 1 of the Child Support Act 1991 prior to shared care overnight reductions.

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Rate Band Gross Weekly Income 1 Qualifying Child 2 Qualifying Children 3+ Qualifying Children Primary Legal Rule
Nil Rate Under £7.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 Under £7/wk or full-time student / prison
Flat Rate £7.00 to £100.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 Fixed statutory £7/week (or on qualifying benefits)
Reduced Rate £100.01 to £200.00 £7 + 17% excess £7 + 22% excess £7 + 31% excess Sliding scale formula on income above £100
Basic Rate £200.01 to £800.00 12.0% 16.0% 19.0% Standard percentage applied to all assessable income
Basic Plus Rate £800.01 to £3,000.00 Basic + 9% excess Basic + 12% excess Basic + 15% excess Basic rate on first £800; lower % on balance up to cap
Statutory Cap Over £3,000 / week £294.00 / wk £392.00 / wk £482.00 / wk Maximum statutory liability; Family Court top-up apply
Financial Preservation

Avoid Paying 24% in Government CMS Collection Surcharges

When using Collect & Pay, the paying parent is charged an extra +20% fee and the receiving parent loses -4% from each payment. Using our statutory calculations to establish an amicable Direct Pay arrangement keeps 100% of funds inside the family.

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