Unsupported Child's Benefit excess payments

Unsupported Child's Benefit carers must apply for a formula assessment of Child Support. This rule applies unless they have a voluntary agreement in place before applying for Unsupported Child's Benefit.

For these carers, Inland Revenue keeps Child Support paid by liable parents to help pay for the Unsupported Child's Benefit the child's carer is getting.

When the amount of Child Support paid is more than the rate of Unsupported Child's Benefit, Inland Revenue pays the difference to the receiving carer. This is called an Unsupported Child's Benefit excess payment.

There are 2 types of Unsupported Child's Benefit excess payments:

• formula assessment excess (the most common type)
• voluntary agreement excess

Formula assessment excess payment

If the formula assessment is higher than the Unsupported Child's Benefit rate, Inland Revenue pays the difference to the receiving carer. This is called a formula assessment excess payment and is not assessable income when determining whether a client qualifies for social housing.

Voluntary agreement excess payment

If the Unsupported Child's Benefit carer has a voluntary agreement, and the formula assessment is lower than the voluntary agreement amount, Inland Revenue can only keep the amount of the formula assessment. The rest is paid to the receiving carer. This is called a voluntary agreement excess payment and is assessable income when determining whether a client qualifies for social housing.

Mixed payment not assessable income

In some cases a receiving carer may get an excess payment and another type of Inland Revenue Child Support payment from the same liable parent. This is called a mixed Child Support payment, and is not assessable income for social housing.