Statutory Fee & Collect & Pay Penalty Engine 2026 20% Paying Parent Surcharge • 4% Receiving Parent Fee • £20 Waiver Check Scheme: CMS Statutory Collection Fees

CSA Fee Calculator

Calculate the true financial cost of CMS Collect & Pay fees, application charges, and enforcement penalties compared to free Direct Pay.

Under the Child Maintenance Service, using Collect & Pay imposes a combined 24% penalty on the family: the paying parent pays 20% on top of the assessment, while the receiving parent loses 4% from their incoming maintenance.

Fee & Penalty Comparison

CMS Statutory Fee & Surcharge Calculator

Reveals how much money is lost to government administration fees over 1, 3, and 5 years

2014 Fee Regs

Weekly Maintenance Assessment (£) Base statutory weekly child maintenance

Calculation Horizon Time elapsed in Collect & Pay

Financial Loss Comparison (Direct Pay vs Collect & Pay) Fee Impact

Payer Pays (+20%)

£5,616.00

+£936.00 gov fee

Receiving Parent Gets (-4%)

£4,492.80

-£187.20 gov deduction

Total Government Fees

£1,123.20

Lost to Family

Direct Pay Saving

£1,123.20

100% Retained

Fee Comparison

Where Does the Child Maintenance Money Go?

24% Friction

Direct Pay (0% Friction)

Paying Parent pays £100. Receiving Parent receives exactly £100. The Department for Work and Pensions takes £0. 100% of the funds benefit the child directly.

Collect & Pay (24% Friction)

Paying Parent must pay £120. Receiving Parent receives only £96. The government retains £24 in administrative fees on every single £100 of base maintenance.

The Statutory Purpose of Collect & Pay Surcharges

Under the Child Maintenance Fees Regulations 2014, the UK government introduced substantial financial disincentives to encourage separated parents to use Direct Pay rather than relying on state-managed collection infrastructure.

The fee structure deliberately penalizes both sides, although the paying parent bears the majority of the cost:

Paying Parent: Must pay an additional 20% collection charge on top of the regular statutory maintenance award.
Receiving Parent: Has 4% automatically deducted from the money collected before it reaches their bank account.

Enforcement Action Legal Cost Schedule

In addition to regular collection percentages, if the CMS is forced to take legal enforcement measures against a defaulting payer, fixed statutory enforcement fees are billed directly to the paying parent:

Deduction from Earnings Order (DEO) setup: £50
Regular Deduction Order (RDO): £50
Lump Sum Deduction Order (LSDO): £175
Liability Order application fee: £300

How to Transition from Collect & Pay Back to Direct Pay

Paying parents locked into Collect & Pay can request a transfer back to Direct Pay once they have maintained a flawless payment record for at least 6 consecutive months. If the receiving parent refuses to provide bank details, the CMS can facilitate an encrypted Direct Pay account or mediate account exchange.

Legal Clarifications

Frequently Asked Questions: CSA Fee Calculator

Authoritative answers based on current statutory rules and legal precedents

Can the receiving parent refuse to switch from Collect & Pay to Direct Pay? ↓

If the paying parent demonstrates 6 months of prompt, full payments, the CMS will presume they are now compliant and will facilitate a switch to Direct Pay unless there is an ongoing risk of harassment or domestic abuse.

Does the £20 application fee have to be paid again when switching schemes? ↓

No. The £20 application fee is a one-off fee paid when the case is originally opened.

Are CMS fees tax deductible for self-employed paying parents? ↓

No. Neither child maintenance nor CMS collection and enforcement fees can be deducted as business expenses on HMRC Self Assessment returns.

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