I think I am paying too much to the CSA. How can I tell?

October 27, 2012

I wonder if you can help me.

I’m currently paying my ex £580.00 per month a fee that the CSA worked out in 2002 but having recently spoken to a friend who does the same line of work, he pays his ex 350.00 per month i earn around £1300.00 per month (before Tax) but this fluctuates as I work on a free lance basis and may only work 9 to 10 month a year.

My main worry is, that the CSA contacted me originally and without any corespondance told me that the £580.00 per month is what I would be paying.

Not once did the ask me how much I earnt.

So how did they work this out.

Comments

  • Smithy says:

    http://www.csacalculator.dsdni.gov.uk/calc.asp

    What they use for freelancers is last years total reported income. So if you’ve done like £1,300 for 10 months so say £13000 p/y or £250 p/w. Currently they use an after tax rate of 15%,20%,25% for 1,2 or 3+ children so I’m estimating but say your take home is £200 then you would pay £30 p/w so £120 p/m for one child or £200 p/m for three or more.

    If you have some money to spare to deal with this and you don’t want to do it yourself I’d recommend these people who will act on your behalf and speak with the CSA for you.

    http://www.nacsa.co.uk/

    From the sounds of it you could save in one month how much it would cost to talk with them and they will basically sort it all out for you.

  • wilf says:

    Andrew:- If the last calculated assessment was in 2002 it would have been made using the formula from 1993 (Old Rules) which is extremely complex taking into account not only income but family circumstances and housing costs.
    If you did not supply information you might have an interim assessment which needs to be converted to formal assessment. This can be done if you supply all the required information for the correct date.
    You need to telephone the CSA and request a reassessment for now and find out if a conversion is needed.
    Your friends assessment might be based on the new rules from 2003 as outlined by Smithy.
    If you’re PAYE they will require pays lips or P60s if self employed tax returns.

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