Glossary of child support words and phrases

Glossary of child support terms

Administrative review
A method of looking at a child support formula assessment to see if it can be altered to fit a particular situation.

Commissioner initiated review
A method by which the Commissioner of Inland Revenue looks at a child support assessment to see if it can be altered to more accurately reflect a paying parents financial situation.

Custodian
A person looking after the child - this person can be an aunt, uncle, grandparent, legal guardian or any other person.

Child support formula
Inland Revenue's process of calculating the amount of child support that must be paid.

Estimation of income
Use of your current year's income in the formula rather than your income from the previous year.

Exemption
Payment relief available to long-term prison inmates, hospital patients, customers under 16 years of age, and victims of sexual offences in certain circumstances.

Exemption review
A method by which a custodian can ask for a paying parents exemption to be looked at and possibly overturned.

INFOexpress
Freephone 0800 257 777. An automated telephone line, available from 6 am to 12 midnight, 7 days a week. When you call, please have your IRD number handy.

Living allowance
Part of the child support formula - an amount deducted from the paying parent's taxable income according to their personal circumstances.

Objection
Written advice to us that you disagree with a decision or an assessment we have made.

Partner
A person who you are living with - either legally married or in a relationship in the nature of a marriage (includes same sex couples).

Paying parent
A parent not living with their child who is obliged to pay money to support the child (or children) financially.

Protected net earnings
The 60% of net earnings (after tax) that a person must be allowed keep from their pay after child support has been deducted.

Qualifying child
A child who is:

• under 19
• a New Zealand citizen or ordinarily resident in New Zealand
• not married or living with another person in a civil union or de facto relationship
• financially dependant, that is not working more than 30 hours a week on average, or receiving a benefit or a student allowance.

Shared care
Where both people care for a child substantially equally.

Square-up
The process of working out how much child support should have been paid, based on the paying parent's actual income for the whole year.

Voluntary agreement
An agreement to pay child support or domestic maintenance where both parties agree on the amount to be paid.

Date published: 21 Oct 2004

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