Common changes you need to tell us about

Make sure your child support payments are right by telling us about certain changes to your living or family situation.

It's important to tell us within 28 days of the change happening.

If we find out about a change too late, you could:

• end up with a bill
• miss out on child support you could have had.

Your job or income changes

Tell us if:

• you have a new job and your child support is taken from your salary or wages – we’ll need to contact your new employer and set up your payments
• you expect your income to drop by more than 15% from the amount on your assessment notice – you may be able to estimate your income and change your child support amount
• your income goes up when you’ve already estimated it – you might need to change or cancel your estimation to avoid a bill.

About income estimations

Your living arrangements change

Tell us if:

• your overnight care arrangements for your children change, including dependent children 
• your children move house – if they move in to live with you, or move out
• you get back together with the other parent you pay or receive child support from, and move in with them.

Your child has a life change

Tell us if your child has any of these changes, as it may mean child support cannot be paid for them any longer.

• They are at least 16 and start full-time work of at least 30 hours a week on average, and they intend to keep working.
• They start getting a benefit or student allowance.
• They get married, move in with their partner in a marriage-like relationship, or begin a civil union.
• They turn 18 and leave school early, before it finishes for that year – this means a registered high school in New Zealand or any overseas school, but not university. (If they finish school in New Zealand when it ends, child support continues until 31 December.)
• They stop being a New Zealand citizen or ordinarily resident – that is, another country becomes their main home.

Also tell us if your child stops doing any of these things. If your child support stopped for them because they no longer qualified, and they still meet the requirements, you may be able to apply for child support again.

You get an Unsupported Child’s Benefit

Tell us if you start getting an Unsupported Child’s Benefit (UCB) for any child in your care. If you get a UCB, any child support will go back to the government to pay for the benefit. You’ll be paid any child support that’s leftover.

Your details change

You also need to tell us if:

• your phone number and email address changes
• you want your child support payments to go to a different bank account
• you move house or move overseas.

Help us get your details right

We’ll send you a notice of assessment every year and every time your details are updated, if they affect your child support.

Check the notice and let us know if any of your details are wrong.

Time limit for changes – 4 years

Generally we can only make changes to your child support for the last 4 years. Any further back, we will only make changes in certain situations, including if:

• we find that someone treated as the child's parent is not actually their parent
• one of the parents, the child or the receiving carer has died
• a court has ordered it
• someone has committed fraud or intentionally misled us
• we never sent you a notice when you first became a paying parent (were made liable for child support) because we did not have your address or contact details.

How to contact us

You can tell us about your change:

• in myIR, by filling out a form or sending a secure message
• by phone
• by sending us a letter by post.

Child support - contact us
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