# REQUEST TO CHILD MAINTENANCE SERVICE — INCOME AND OVERNIGHT CARE CHANGE
## Important legal and calculation warning
This is a fictional worked request to the Child Maintenance Service in England and Wales. It is not a CMS decision, a court order, a private agreement or a guarantee that the requested figure will be adopted. The CMS must obtain and verify information, apply the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 (as amended), decide which income and care evidence is admissible, consider any statutory variation grounds and notify both parents of the calculation. A self-employed turnover figure is not the same as gross income, and a parent's assertion about overnight care does not by itself establish a shared-care band. The worked arithmetic below is an estimate to help the CMS identify the issues. It does not replace CMS decision-making. The names, NINO ending, case numbers, dates and figures are fictional.
Date: 12 December 2027
By recorded post and CMS online journal
To: Child Maintenance Service, PO Box 249, Mitcham CR4 9DJ
Case reference: CMS-EN-58421973
Paying parent: Edward Thomas Larkin, 19 Willowbank Avenue, Coventry CV3 5QH
Email: edward.larkin@example.test
NINO ending: 64C
Receiving parent: Hannah Louise Larkin, 8 Meadow Rise, Coventry CV2 1DR
Children: Joshua Edward Larkin, born 7 May 2015, and Millie Rose Larkin, born 22 October 2018
Subject: Request to review gross self-employed income and overnight-care information, and to treat this as a variation request where the statutory test is met
Dear Child Maintenance Service,
I am Edward Thomas Larkin, the paying parent in case CMS-EN-58421973. I ask the CMS to update the information used in my calculation and to treat this letter as a request for a variation or other appropriate statutory reconsideration where the facts satisfy the applicable rules. I am not asking the CMS to adopt my estimate automatically. I ask it to obtain the relevant HMRC information, record my verified accounts evidence, ask both parents for responses, determine the correct gross income and care band, and issue a written decision with reasons and review rights.
## 1. Existing decision and material changes
The latest CMS calculation notice I hold is dated 15 January 2027 and uses gross annual income of £22,000.00. It records two qualifying children and one overnight of care each week. The notice states weekly maintenance of £67.69 from 6 February 2027, subject to the statutory collection arrangement. My dated ledger records a £67.69 payment for each scheduled period beginning on 6 February, 13 February, 20 February, 27 February, 6 March, 13 March, 20 March, 27 March, 3 April, 10 April, 17 April, 24 April, 1 May, 8 May, 15 May, 22 May, 29 May, 5 June, 12 June, 19 June, 26 June, 3 July, 10 July, 17 July, 24 July, 31 July, 7 August, 14 August, 21 August, 28 August, 4 September, 11 September, 18 September, 25 September, 2 October, 9 October, 16 October, 23 October, 30 October, 6 November, 13 November, 20 November and 27 November 2027. Those 43 dated payments total £2,910.67, calculated as 43 multiplied by £67.69. No payment is asserted here for a period after 27 November. The weekly rate has a 52-week notional annual equivalent of £3,519.88, calculated as 52 multiplied by £67.69, but that is not the amount paid in the February-to-November ledger. The CMS ledger and bank confirmations should be used to reconcile any difference.
My sole-trader business, Larkin Electrical Services, has now filed its 2026 to 2027 Self Assessment return and accounts. The accounts were prepared by Northfield Accountancy on 3 November 2027 and submitted to HMRC on 7 November 2027. The verified business result is not the £82,400 turnover that appears in a customer-facing invoice summary. Turnover was £82,400.00, allowable business expenses were £29,600.00 and accounting profit before pension adjustment was £52,800.00. I paid £4,800.00 in qualifying personal pension contributions during the tax year. The accounts identify the pension payment and retain the receipts. My proposed CMS income figure is therefore £48,000.00, subject to the CMS applying its statutory definition and HMRC data rather than treating my proposal as determinative.
The 2026 to 2027 tax year ended on 5 April 2027. HMRC's tax calculation SA302-2027-4418 dated 9 November 2027 records taxable self-employed profit of £52,800.00 and pension relief of £4,800.00. My accountant's letter explains the reconciliation and confirms that the business is not operated through a company from which I receive dividends. I have no rental income, foreign income or capital income that I seek to omit. If HMRC supplies a different figure or the CMS identifies another income source, please tell me and allow the statutory opportunity to respond.
## 2. Calculation request based on evidence
For transparency, the indicative calculation uses gross annual income of £48,000.00. Dividing £48,000.00 by 52 gives £923.0769 per week, rounded by the CMS in accordance with its calculation rules. The basic rate for two qualifying children is used only as a worked illustration: £923.08 multiplied by 16 per cent equals £147.69 per week before any care adjustment. I do not contend that this arithmetic determines the result if the CMS applies a different income definition, rate, threshold, pension treatment or relevant-year rule.
The proposed overnight-care schedule is measured over the 12 months from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. It is supported by calendar entries, school collection messages and signed confirmations from the children's after-school club. Joshua stayed with me every Wednesday overnight and on alternate weekends from Friday after school to Sunday at 18:00. Millie followed the Wednesday arrangement from 1 January 2027, when her school transport changed; before 1 January she stayed every other weekend only. I have counted only actual overnight stays and have not counted earlier nights twice.
The corrected count is 52 Wednesday nights for Joshua between 1 October 2026 and 30 September 2027, plus 26 alternate-weekend Friday nights and 26 alternate-weekend Saturday nights, totalling 104 nights for Joshua. Millie's Wednesday overnights begin on 1 January 2027: there are 39 Wednesdays from 1 January through 30 September 2027, plus 26 alternate-weekend Friday nights and 26 alternate-weekend Saturday nights, totalling 91 nights for Millie. Joshua's verified 104 nights fall in the statutory 104-to-155 shared-care band, for which the worked reduction is two-sevenths. Millie's verified 91 nights fall in the statutory 52-to-103 band, for which the worked reduction is one-seventh. These bands are assigned separately from the corrected evidence; neither child is placed in the 104-to-155 band merely because the other child reaches it.
For a transparent but non-binding calculation, £48,000.00 divided by 52 gives £923.0769 per week and £923.08 multiplied by 16 per cent gives a two-child basic-rate illustration of £147.69. Dividing that £147.69 illustration equally gives £73.845 per child. Joshua's illustrative component after a two-sevenths reduction is £73.845 multiplied by 5 divided by 7, or £52.7464. Millie's illustrative component after a one-seventh reduction is £73.845 multiplied by 6 divided by 7, or £63.2957. Their unrounded total is £116.0421, which rounds to £116.04; rounding each component separately to pennies would produce a one-penny difference. The CMS must apply the Regulations 2012 (as amended), its rounding rules and any other statutory adjustment, so this arithmetic is not a CMS demand.
For comparison, the £67.69 weekly amount in the January notice has a 52-week notional annual equivalent of £3,519.88, while the dated 6 February to 27 November ledger contains £2,910.67 for 43 periods. The non-binding illustrative care-adjusted total of £116.04 has a 52-week equivalent of £6,034.08, calculated as 52 multiplied by £116.04, but it is not an arrears demand or a proposed effective-date calculation. Any effective date, arrears, credit, variation, compliance fee or collection charge must be set by the CMS notice and not by my calculation.
## 3. Evidence and verification
Please consider or obtain the following evidence:
1. HMRC tax calculation SA302-2027-4418 dated 9 November 2027 and the filed return for 2026 to 2027. 2. Northfield Accountancy signed accounts dated 3 November 2027, showing turnover £82,400.00, allowable expenses £29,600.00, profit £52,800.00 and pension contribution £4,800.00. 3. Business bank statements for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, with unrelated customer details redacted only where necessary to protect third parties. 4. The pension provider receipt dated 30 March 2027 and the accountant's reconciliation letter. 5. The overnight calendar for 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, school attendance and collection records, and messages agreeing the Wednesday and alternate-weekend routine. 6. A statement from Priya Desai, manager of Oakbridge After-School Club, dated 27 November 2027, confirming my regular collections on Wednesdays and alternate Fridays. 7. My payment ledger and CMS Collect and Pay statements, which are supplied to reconcile maintenance already paid.
I will upload identity evidence through the CMS portal and will not send a full bank statement containing third-party data to an unverified email address. Please tell me if an original, certified or HMRC-direct verification is required. I consent to the CMS using this evidence for the case and checking information with HMRC, but I do not consent to disclosure of my business customers' unnecessary personal data to the receiving parent.
## 4. Questions and requested decision
Please confirm whether the Service treats this as an application for a variation under the statutory scheme, a request to supersede the existing calculation because updated HMRC income is available, a change-of-care report, or more than one of those routes. If a variation ground is not legally available on these facts, please still record and use the verified self-employed income and care information through the correct statutory route. Do not reject this letter solely because I used the word “variation”.
Please ask Hannah Louise Larkin to respond to the overnight-care schedule and identify any nights she says did not occur. I will provide school holiday arrangements separately if the CMS requires them. Please calculate care for Joshua and Millie separately if the regulations require that approach, then explain how the final rate is reached. Please identify the income year, HMRC figure, pension treatment, care nights, effective date, weekly amount, payment frequency, any arrears or credit and the reasons for accepting or rejecting each material document.
Until a new notice is issued, I will continue paying the amount currently required by the CMS. I ask the CMS not to treat this request as permission to stop, reduce or redirect payments. If the decision produces arrears, I request an affordable payment arrangement and a clear statement of the period covered, but I accept that the CMS decides whether such an arrangement is available. This request does not vary the existing liability by private agreement and does not ask the Service to ignore a court order or statutory rule.
## 5. Review and appeal rights
Please issue a formal written decision rather than an informal telephone estimate. I understand that the decision may be subject to mandatory reconsideration and, where the statutory conditions are met, an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. I will use the deadline and method stated in the CMS notice. This letter preserves my right to challenge an incorrect effective date, income figure, care decision, arrears calculation or refusal to consider evidence. It is not a mandatory reconsideration request against a future notice before that notice exists, but it should be retained in the case file and linked to any notice made on this information.
Please acknowledge this request by 22 December 2027 and tell me if a decision cannot be made within the Service's applicable timescale. Send notices to 19 Willowbank Avenue, Coventry CV3 5QH and place copies in my secure CMS journal. I request written confirmation that this request has been received. Whether and when a notice or request is legally served is governed by the CMS service rules and any other applicable statute or procedural rule; this letter does not set the legal time of receipt. I will retain postal, portal and confirmation records.
The case is administered under the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 (as amended) and other child-support legislation applicable in England and Wales. The CMS's statutory decision-making prevails over the indicative arithmetic in this letter. I will inform the Service promptly of a change in income, business status, address, qualifying-child circumstances or overnight care.
Yours faithfully,
Edward Thomas Larkin
Signature: __________________________
Date: 12 December 2027
## Schedule 1 — income reconciliation
Larkin Electrical Services turnover for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027: £82,400.00. Allowable materials, vehicle, insurance, premises and accountancy expenses: £29,600.00. Profit before pension adjustment: £52,800.00, calculated as £82,400.00 less £29,600.00. Qualifying pension contributions: £4,800.00. Proposed adjusted figure: £48,000.00, calculated as £52,800.00 less £4,800.00. The CMS and HMRC must determine which figure the regulations require.
## Schedule 2 — overnight-care evidence
The requested period is 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. The schedule records Joshua's 52 Wednesdays, 26 alternate-weekend Fridays and 26 alternate-weekend Saturdays, totalling 104 nights. It records Millie's 39 Wednesdays from 1 January to 30 September, 26 alternate-weekend Fridays and 26 alternate-weekend Saturdays, totalling 91 nights. It excludes evenings when a child returned home before sleeping and does not count a night twice merely because both children stayed. The CMS must verify the dates and apply the 104-to-155 band to Joshua and the 52-to-103 band to Millie only if the evidence supports those counts.
## Schedule 3 — enclosed records
Enclosed are the CMS notice dated 15 January 2027, SA302-2027-4418, filed accounts, accountant's reconciliation, pension receipt, selected bank confirmations, overnight calendar, Oakbridge statement, school collection confirmations and CMS payment statements. Copies are marked with the case reference and the originals can be produced through the portal.