Formula-assessed Child Support costs

Formula-assessed Child Support liability is the only type of Child Support that is an allowable cost for Temporary Additional Support.

These costs are essential to help meet the needs of a client's child(ren) and cannot be easily avoided or changed.

These costs must be verified by Inland Revenue.

Only the current amount of formula-assessed Child Support a liable parent is required to pay can be included as an allowable cost.

The allowable cost does not include any amount of:

• Child Support for a liability period before the commencement date of the Temporary Additional Support
• debts or penalties a liable parent may be paying to Inland Revenue alongside their regular Child Support liability
• court-ordered lump sum payments
• Child Support the liable parent does not have to pay (e.g. when their formula assessment is suspended or when the client has an exemption from paying Child Support)

Note if the liable parent has an offsetting arrangement, the full amount of formula-assessed Child Support liability may be included. This applies regardless of how much Child Support the liable parent is paying (if any) while the offsetting arrangement is in place.

Clients may have their formula-assessed Child Support liability included as an allowable cost in their Temporary Additional Support from 1 July 2023.

If a client who was getting Temporary Additional Support on 1 July 2023 applies to include Child Support as an allowable cost between 1 July 2023 and 29 September 2023, the inclusion of the cost can be backdated to the later of:

• the date the client is liable for the cost or
• 1 July 2023

Clients who do not apply to include Child Support as an allowable cost until on or after 30 September 2023 cannot have these costs backdated.

If the client applies on or after 30 September, formula-assessed Child Support costs can be included in their Temporary Additional Support from the later of:

• the date the client is liable for the cost or
• the date the client applies to have the cost included

Normal commencement date rules apply to new applications for Temporary Additional Support. This means clients who are not getting Temporary Additional Support on 1 July 2023 can only include the formula-assessed Child Support cost from the date they apply for Temporary Additional Support.

Inland Revenue may reassess how much Child Support a client is liable to pay, based on changes in the liable parent or receiving carer's circumstances. This may mean a client's formula-assessed Child Support costs change. The change may take effect from a date in the past or a date in the future.

For changes to formula-assessed Child Support costs, clients generally must notify MSD of a change in their costs within 14 days of the date that Inland Revenue notifies the client of the outcome of their reassessment.

This is different to the 14-day rule for changes in other allowable costs, where clients must tell MSD of a change in circumstances within 14 days of the date of the change (i.e. the date of event).