Schedule 1 contains transitional and savings provisions (relating to amendments made to this Act on or after 1 April 2014) that affect other provisions of this Act (see section 276).

A parent or non-parent carer of a qualifying child may apply to the Commissioner for a formula assessment of child support payable for that child by a liable parent.

The Commissioner will then determine the proportion of care that each carer of the child provides, and the income of each parent of the child, and, using that information, will identify the parent or parents who are liable to pay child support, and the carer or carers who are entitled to receive child support, in respect of the child.

A person will be a liable parent in respect of a child if his or her income percentage (which is a percentage of the combined child support income amounts of both the child’s parents) is greater than the person’s care cost percentage (which is a cost percentage directly related to the proportion of care that the parent provides to the child).

If annual child support is payable by a liable parent for a qualifying child, the amount is determined under Part 2. It is worked out by deducting the liable parent’s care cost percentage from their income percentage, and then multiplying the result by the appropriate amount set out in the relevant child expenditure table (which identifies, amongst other things, the average annual expenditure on children in New Zealand, by reference to average weekly earnings).

This section is by way of explanation only. If it is inconsistent with any other provision of this Act, the other provision prevails.

The Commissioner is entitled to assume, for the purposes of a formula assessment, that a qualifying child has 2 parents, and that those parents are living apart.

However, if the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that either of those assumptions is incorrect, the Commissioner must apply the provisions of this Act, with any necessary modifications, to reflect the true position as determined by the Commissioner.

Any parent or carer of a qualifying child may apply to the Commissioner for a formula assessment of child support payable by a liable parent in respect of the child, if the applicant is not living with that parent in a marriage, civil union, or de facto relationship.

However, if a qualifying child is a child in respect of whom payments are being made under section 363 of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989, then, despite subsection (1), the only person who may apply for a formula assessment in relation to the child is either of the following:

This section applies to a person who is a carer of a qualifying child (other than a child to whom section 8(2) applies) and—

A person to whom this section applies must apply for a formula assessment of child support in relation to every parent of the child.

An application for a formula assessment must be made at the same time as an application for social security benefit is made, and at any other time when the Commissioner notifies the beneficiary that an application for a formula assessment is required in relation to a qualifying child.

If a person who is or becomes a social security beneficiary receives child support pursuant to an order under Part 4 that relates to an overseas order (as referred to in section 67(b)),—

If the person is in receipt of an unsupported child’s benefit in respect of 1 or more children, but is not in receipt of any other social security benefit, subsection (2) applies only in relation to the child or children in respect of whom the unsupported child’s benefit is paid.

Any social security beneficiary who fails to comply with their obligations under this section is liable under section 70A of the Social Security Act 1964 to have their rate of benefit reduced.

In order to ensure the enforcement of section 70A of the Social Security Act 1964, the Commissioner may notify the chief executive of the department responsible for the administration of that Act if any social security beneficiary fails to comply with his or her obligations under this section, or if his or her application for a formula assessment is not properly completed.

An application for formula assessment must be in an approved form and be accompanied by the documents (if any) specified in the form.

Every application must—

The application, and every document accompanying it, must be verified as specified in the application form.

An application for a formula assessment is properly completed if—

If an application for a formula assessment is made on a single form in respect of 2 or more children, the form may be treated as if it contained separate applications for formula assessment of child support for each child.

Subsection (3) applies if—

When this subsection applies, the form may be treated as if it contained separate applications for a formula assessment of child support in respect of the child or each of the children from a parent from whom payment of child support is sought.

This section applies if a social security beneficiary is entitled to child support payments under a voluntary agreement but child support payments then cease to be payable under the agreement because—

If this section applies, on the day after the date on which the child support payments cease to be payable under the agreement, the Commissioner is deemed to have received from the beneficiary a properly completed application for a formula assessment for child support, as required by section 9, in relation to the same child or children, the same liable parent, and the same carer, as the voluntary agreement related to.

On receiving a properly completed application for a formula assessment in respect of 1 or more qualifying children, the Commissioner must notify the applicant, and every parent and carer identified in the application, that the Commissioner has received an application for a formula assessment and will therefore ascertain—

If, in order to ascertain the matters listed in subsection (1), the Commissioner needs further information from the applicant (such as the name of the other parent), the Commissioner may require the applicant to provide that information and need not take further action with respect to the application until the information is provided.

If the Commissioner has already ascertained some or all of the matters listed in subsection (1), the notice under this section may include that information.

The Commissioner must establish, for each qualifying child to whom a properly completed application relates, the proportion of ongoing daily care that each parent and non-parent carer identified in the application, or in other information provided following a request under section 13(2), provides to the child.

If 2 or more people who live together each provide ongoing daily care to a child,—

The parents of a qualifying child in respect of whom payments are being made under section 363 of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 are deemed to provide no ongoing daily care to the child.

For the purpose of section 14, the Commissioner must (subject to subsection (3)) rely on the content of any care order or agreement relating to a qualifying child when establishing the proportion of ongoing daily care that a carer provides to the child.

If a care order or agreement specifies the proportion of nights that a child is to spend with a carer, that proportion of nights is taken to be the proportion of ongoing daily care provided to the child by that carer.

A parent or carer of a qualifying child may challenge the application of subsection (1) or (2) by providing evidence of—

If there is no care order or agreement relating to the child, or if the Commissioner is satisfied, on the basis of evidence provided, that a care order or agreement does not accurately reflect the proportion of ongoing daily care provided by a carer to a child, the Commissioner must establish the proportion of care provided by a carer primarily on the basis of the number of nights that the child spends with the carer.

If the Commissioner is satisfied, on the basis of evidence provided, that the number of nights spent with a carer is not a true reflection of the proportion of care actually provided by a carer to the child, the Commissioner must establish the proportion of care provided on the basis of the amount of time that the carer is the person responsible for the daily care of the child.

When establishing proportions of care, the Commissioner—

The Commissioner must determine the care cost percentage of each parent and carer of a qualifying child on the basis of the proportion of care that the Commissioner has established, under section 14, that each carer provides to the child.

The care cost percentage that applies is the relevant percentage set out in, or determined in accordance with, column 2 of the table in Schedule 2.

The Commissioner must determine the liable parents and receiving carers of each qualifying child, in accordance with this section.

A parent of a qualifying child is a liable parent of that child if the parent’s income percentage (as determined under section 33) is greater than or equal to their care cost percentage for that child (as determined under section 16).

A parent of a qualifying child is a receiving carer of the child if the parent’s income percentage is less than their care cost percentage for the child.

Despite subsections (2) and (3), a parent whose income percentage is 100% and whose care cost percentage is also 100% is a receiving carer.

A non-parent carer of a qualifying child is a receiving carer of the child if the carer provides at least 35% of ongoing daily care to the child.

A person who the Commissioner determines is a liable parent of a child is liable to make payments of child support in respect of that child, unless the parent’s liability is assessed as nil in accordance with section 31(1).

A person who the Commissioner determines is a receiving carer of a child is a person in relation to whom child support payments in respect of the child are payable, unless no child support is payable in accordance with section 36A(3) or 36C(4).

The liability of a liable parent to pay child support under a formula assessment starts—

If a parent becomes liable to pay child support to a person in relation to a child under a formula assessment, any existing liability of that parent to pay child support to the person in relation to that child under any voluntary agreement is suspended between the commencement of liability to pay under the formula assessment and the end of that liability.

If the Commissioner receives an application for a formula assessment that names a person as a parent of a qualifying child (person P), but person P is not at that time a parent of the child within the meaning of section 7, then, if the application is otherwise properly completed, liability by person P to pay child support in respect of the child starts from the day on which the application was received if—

A liable parent ceases to be liable to pay child support in respect of a qualifying child under a formula assessment on the day before the date on which the child—

A liable parent ceases to be liable to pay child support under a formula assessment on the day the parent ceases to be a liable parent under section 17, or on the day before the date on which the parent—

A liable parent ceases to be liable to pay child support in respect of a particular receiving carer of a qualifying child under a formula assessment on the earliest of the following:

As soon as practicable after identifying a liable parent under Part 1, the Commissioner must—

Before, or as soon as practicable after, the start of each later child support year in which child support continues, or appears likely to continue, to be payable in respect of any qualifying child of the parent, the Commissioner must make the assessments referred to in subsection (1)(a) and (b) in relation to that later child support year.

Every assessment must be done in accordance with this Part and Part 5.

The formula for assessing the annual amount of child support payable under a formula assessment by a liable parent in a child support year in respect of a qualifying child is the parent’s income percentage minus the parent’s care cost percentage, multiplied by the child expenditure amount for the child. This formula can be expressed as—

The child expenditure amount for a qualifying child in a child support year is—

The annual amount of child support payable under a formula assessment by a liable parent in respect of a qualifying child is nil, and section 32 does not apply, if—

Where subsection (1) does not apply, the annual amount of child support payable under a formula assessment by a liable parent in a child support year in respect of a qualifying child is as follows:

The multi-group cap for a child is the amount determined as follows:

The purpose of the multi-group cap is to avoid liable parents paying more in child support than they would pay if all the children for whom they are liable to pay child support were living together.

If, after assessing the annual amount of child support payable by a liable parent in respect of each of his or her qualifying children, the Commissioner determines that the total amount payable by the parent is less than the minimum annual rate referred to in section 72(1)(a), the Commissioner must, despite sections 30 and 31(2),—

A parent’s income percentage, in relation to a qualifying child, is the percentage figure derived by dividing the person’s child support income amount (as determined under section 34) by the sum of the child support income amounts, in relation to that child, of all the parents of the child.

A parent’s child support income amount for a child support year in relation to a child is the person’s adjusted taxable income (determined under section 35) for the relevant tax year minus each of the following:

If the result of the calculation in subsection (1) is zero or less, the parent’s child support income amount must be treated as being nil.

If the adjusted taxable income of a parent of a qualifying child cannot reasonably be ascertained, or cannot be applied by the Commissioner, the parent’s child support income amount is to be treated as being,—

A person’s adjusted taxable income for a child support year is the person’s taxable income for the relevant tax year adjusted by the adjustments (if any) that would be made to the person’s taxable income to determine the person’s family scheme income under subpart MB of the Income Tax Act 2007, except that the following are not to be treated as being part of the person’s family scheme income for this purpose:

However, for the purposes of an assessment of child support for the child support year commencing 1 April 2015 only, the adjustments referred to in subsection (1) must not be applied to a person’s taxable income.

A person’s taxable income must be taken to be their income from employment for the calendar year immediately preceding the start of the child support year if, in the most recent tax year,—

If subsection (3) does not apply, a person’s taxable income for a child support year must be taken to be their taxable income in the tax year immediately preceding the most recent tax year, inflated by the inflation percentage for the child support year.

The adjustments under subsection (1) that must be applied are those that applied in the tax year immediately preceding the most recent tax year.

If a person’s taxable income for a tax year has not been assessed, the Commissioner must determine the person’s taxable income,—

Subsections (3) to (6) are subject to sections 38 to 39A.

A parent’s living allowance in a child support year is the appropriate amount referred to in subsection (2)—

The amount of living allowance is as follows:

The version of the appropriate schedule of the Social Security Act 1964 that applies in a child support year is the version in force on 1 January in the immediately preceding child support year.

The Commissioner must ensure that notice of the applicable living allowances under this section that apply to the current and (if applicable) the previous child support year is available at all reasonable times on an Internet site maintained by or on behalf of the Inland Revenue Department.

For the purpose of calculating a parent’s child support income amount under section 34 in a child support year, a parent is entitled to a dependent child allowance in respect of each of his or her dependent children.

The amount of a parent’s dependent child allowance, in relation to each dependent child, is—

In this section, a person’s dependent child means a child of whom the person is a parent (within the meaning in section 7) and who—

This section applies to a parent who has more than 1 child support group.

For the purpose of calculating a parent’s child support income amount in relation to a particular child (child C) in a child support year, a parent to whom this section applies is entitled to a multi-group allowance in relation to child C.

The multi-group allowance in relation to child C is the sum of the multi-group costs of each child (child D) of the parent who is not in the same child support group as child C.

The multi-group cost of child D is—

This section applies where, in respect of a qualifying child, there is only 1 receiving carer, and that carer (person P) is a parent of the child.

When this section applies, the amount of child support payable in respect of person P is—

However, no child support is payable under subsection (2) in respect of a receiving carer of a qualifying child if the receiving carer provides less than 35% of ongoing daily care to the child.

This section applies if, in respect of a qualifying child, there are 1 or 2 receiving carers, and neither of them is a parent of the child.

If the liable parent is liable to pay child support in respect of just 1 non-parent receiving carer, the amount of child support payable in respect of that carer is the annual amount of child support payable by the liable parent for the child.

If the liable parent is liable to pay child support in respect of 2 non-parent receiving carers, the amount of child support payable in respect of each carer is—

This section applies if, in respect of a qualifying child, there are 2 receiving carers, where 1 of them is a parent of the child and the other is a non-parent carer of the child.

The amount of child support payable in respect of the receiving parent (person P) is—

The amount of child support payable in respect of the non-parent receiving carer is the annual amount of child support payable by the liable parent for the child, minus the amount payable under subsection (2) to person P.

However, no child support is payable under subsection (2) in respect of a receiving carer who is a parent of a qualifying child if the parent provides less than 35% of ongoing daily care to the child.

Before the start of a child support year, the Commissioner must approve a child expenditure table for that child support year, based on the expenditure on children table in Schedule 3, that identifies, for the relevant child support year,—

The Commissioner must ensure that the child expenditure table for the current and (if applicable) the previous child support year is available—

Whenever an income amount is used in relation to the child expenditure table, the income amount must be truncated to whole dollars.

In sections 40 to 45, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Any person may, by notice to the Commissioner, elect that the taxable income to be used to assess their adjusted taxable income for an election period must be the estimated taxable income specified in the notice of election.

The Commissioner, subject to subsections (4) and (6), must accept an election if the sum of the person’s year-to-date income (if any) and the person’s estimated taxable income is 85% or less than the person’s original taxable income.

A notice of election must,—

The Commissioner may not accept an election if—

A notice under this section may be given in any form acceptable to the Commissioner, and is to be treated by the Commissioner as having been given in the month in which it was sent or provided by the person making the election, even if it is received by the Commissioner in the following month.

The Commissioner may decline to accept an election if the person making the election does not, on request by the Commissioner, provide the information and evidence that the Commissioner requires in order to support the making of the estimate.

If the Commissioner accepts an election made by a person, the Commissioner must determine the person’s adjusted taxable income by—

The Commissioner must then adjust any formula assessment applying to the person during the election period and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the amount of child support payable per day during the election period reflects the adjusted assessment.

The making of an election does not prevent the Commissioner making a determination under Part 5A, 6A, or 6B, or the court making an order under Part 7.

A person who has made an election in relation to a child support year may revoke the election, before or during the child support year, by giving notice to the Commissioner; and the revocation takes effect from the start of the election period to which any election applied.

If an election is in effect but the person then makes a later election,—

A revocation is of no effect to the extent that it is inconsistent with an income amount order.

When an election is revoked, or deemed to be revoked, the Commissioner must—

The revocation of an election does not prevent the Commissioner making a determination under Part 5A, 6A, or 6B, or the court making an order under Part 7, or a person making a further election.

For the purpose of determining whether a person has, or has been, underpaid or overpaid child support in an election period, after the end of the child support year to which an election relates, the Commissioner must complete an assessment for the person based on the income amount determined under subsection (2).

The income amount to be used for the assessment is the least of the following:

The formula for annualising a person’s actual taxable income in an election period is—

After comparing the result of the assessment done under subsection (1) with the results obtained under section 41, the Commissioner must take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the correct amount of child support is assessed for the child support year.

A reconciliation under this section is subject to any income amount order that applies during all or any part of an election period.

This section applies if the Commissioner cannot determine the person’s actual taxable income during a child support year because the person, having been required to provide a return of income in respect of the tax year that corresponds to the child support year, has failed to provide it within 28 days of the requirement to provide it.

Where this section applies, the Commissioner must determine that the amount to be used for the purpose of the assessment under section 44(2) is the same as the person’s original adjusted taxable income, unless the Commissioner is satisfied that there is reasonable cause for the failure to provide the return of income.

A determination under subsection (2) is final unless, within 28 days after the person receives notification from the Commissioner of the determination, the person—

In subsection (2), reasonable cause means a circumstance that, on application being made by the person under section 37(3) of the Tax Administration Act 1994, results in the Commissioner extending the time for providing the return.

A person is liable to a penalty under this section if their year-to-date income (if any) specified in the notice of election plus the estimated taxable income for the election period is less than 80% of—

The penalty is 10% of the difference between—

However, no penalty is payable by a receiving parent if the amount that the liable parent pays has been determined under the multi-group cap referred to in section 31(3).

The Commissioner must write off a penalty to which a person is liable under this section, or any part of the penalty, if the Commissioner is satisfied that the person, in relation to an election period in a child support year, has become liable to pay a penalty under this section as the result of the taxable income derived by the person in the child support year being higher than it would otherwise have been by reason of—

Subject to the other provisions of this Part, the other Parts of this Act apply with respect to any penalty payable under this section as if it were a penalty payable under section 134, except that late payment penalties do not apply to penalties imposed under this section.

For the purpose of enabling the Commissioner to make or amend a calculation of child support payable in respect of a child in any child support year under a formula assessment, every parent and every receiving carer of the child must advise the Commissioner of any change in the parent’s or carer’s living circumstances occurring during the child support year that affects, or may affect, any of the following:

If the Commissioner is satisfied that a relevant change of living circumstances has occurred, the change is to be treated as having occurred—

Every notification of a change must be accompanied by such documentation as the Commissioner requires.

The Commissioner may disregard subsection (2), and may determine the date on which a particular change in living circumstances is to be treated as having occurred, in any case where 2 or more people give notice under this section relating to the same change, and the application of subsection (2) would result in the same change having to be treated as having occurred on different days in relation to different people.

The Commissioner must give written notice (a notice of assessment) to each parent and receiving carer of a qualifying child—

The notice of assessment must set out, as a minimum, the relevant matters identified in section 88A, but in no case may a notice of assessment reveal any more detail about another person who is a parent or carer than the person’s name (subject to subsection (5)) and, in relation to a qualifying child, the person’s proportion of care and care cost percentage.

Without limiting subsection (2), the notice of assessment must contain sufficient information to enable the recipient to exercise his or her rights to object under section 90 or 91.

The notice must also include, or be accompanied by, statements that specifically draw to the attention of the recipient the recipient’s right to—

Despite anything in this section, the Commissioner may omit from a notice of assessment or any related communication the name of any parent or carer if—

A notice of assessment given to a liable parent must set out all of the following that are applicable in relation to each qualifying child to whom the notice relates:

A notice of assessment given to a parent of a child who is a receiving carer must set out all of the following that are applicable in relation to each qualifying child to whom the notice relates:

A notice of assessment given under this section to a non-parent receiving carer of a child must set out all of the following that are applicable in relation to each qualifying child to whom the notice relates:

The Commissioner must give written notice under this section to every person who is required under this Act to make payments, and every person entitled under this Act to receive payments, of—

The notice must set out—

The notice must be given—

The notice must contain sufficient information to enable the recipient to exercise his or her rights to object under section 90 or 91.

The notice must also include, or be accompanied by, statements that specifically draw to the attention of the recipient his or her right to—

If 2 parents are each to be liable to pay the other an amount of child support, the Commissioner may at any time before both of the amounts of child support concerned become due and payable offset one liability against the other.

However, the Commissioner cannot exercise this power in respect of any liability of a parent in respect of a period if during that period the parent is expected to be a social security beneficiary (as defined in section 2(1)).

A payee who is a non-parent receiving carer of a qualifying child (other than a payee who is in receipt of an unsupported child’s benefit for that child) may, by notice to the Commissioner, waive their right to receive the child support payments yet to be paid by a liable parent.

The notice takes effect as a waiver on the date specified in the notice; but if no date is specified, it takes effect on the date on which the notice is received by the Commissioner.

On and from the date on which a waiver takes effect, no unpaid child support payments constitute a debt payable by the liable parent to the Crown, whether the payments were due before, on, or after the date on which the waiver takes effect.

A waiver under this section is revocable at any time, by notice to the Commissioner, and the revocation takes effect on the later of the following:

A waiver under this section is deemed to be revoked if, and on the date that, the payee begins to receive an unsupported child’s benefit for the child to whom the waiver relates.

If a waiver is revoked, the liable parent must pay the child support due in relation to the child from the date the revocation takes effect, and must pay it within 30 days after the date on which the notice of revocation is given to the liable parent.

The following amounts must be rounded to whole dollars:

Except as provided elsewhere in this Act, the Commissioner may round any other amount referred to in, or arrived at in accordance with, this Act to a whole dollar or to any amount less than a whole dollar.

If an amount that is rounded to a whole dollar consists of a number of whole dollars and 50 cents, the amount must be rounded down to the nearest whole dollar.

The transitional and savings provisions set out in Schedule 1, which relate to amendments to this Act that come into force on and after 1 April 2014, have effect for the purposes of this Act.

A person liable to pay a financial support debt (whether that debt is incurred before, on, or after 1 April 2016) is liable to pay to the Commissioner a penalty of the amount stated in subsection (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) if—

At the expiry of the due date, the penalty is the greater of the following amounts:

At the expiry of the seventh day after the due date, the penalty is an amount equal to 8% of so much (if any) of the amount of financial support (excluding the penalty imposed under subsection (2)) remaining unpaid at that expiry.

At the expiry of the period of 1 month that starts on the day after the due date, the penalty is an amount equal to 2% of so much (if any) of the sum of the following as remains unpaid at that expiry:

At the expiry of each of the first 11 periods of 1 month (if any) that, consecutively, follow the 1-month period referred to in subsection (4), the penalty is an amount equal to 2% of so much (if any) of the sum of the following as remains unpaid at that expiry:

At the expiry of each of the periods of 1 month (if any) that, consecutively, follow the last of the 11 periods of 1 month referred to in subsection (5), the penalty is an amount equal to 1% of so much (if any) of the sum of the following as remains unpaid at that expiry:

A penalty payable under section 134—

This Act’s provisions on a liable person’s financial support debt (including, without limitation, sections 134 and 135 to 135N) also apply, in accordance with sections 151(2) and 151AA(5) and (6), to payees’ debts arising from overpayments.

The Commissioner may decline to enter into a payment agreement with a liable person solely for the reason that the Commissioner is satisfied on the basis of information available to the Commissioner of both of the following matters:

This section does not prevent the Commissioner from—

For the purposes of section 96 (which identifies matters with respect to which Part 6 does not confer any right of objection), the Commissioner’s decision whether to enter into or make a payment agreement is a matter left by this section to the discretion of the Commissioner.

For the purposes of this section,—

The Commissioner may grant relief to the liable person in the manner prescribed by section 135A in respect of the incremental penalties of the liable person that were unpaid at the time a payment agreement was entered into if the Commissioner is satisfied—

Before making a decision under subsection (2)(a), the Commissioner must have regard to the matters referred to in sections 6 and 6A of the Tax Administration Act 1994.

The Commissioner may grant relief to a liable person from the payment of initial late payment penalties or incremental penalties or both in the manner prescribed by section 135A if—

The Commissioner may grant relief to a liable person from the payment of initial late payment penalties or incremental penalties or both in the manner prescribed by section 135A if—

Before making a decision under subsection (1)(b) or (2)(b), the Commissioner must have regard to the matters referred to in sections 6 and 6A of the Tax Administration Act 1994.

The Commissioner must write off an initial late payment penalty if satisfied that—

The payment arrangement referred to in subsection (1)(b) must be a payment agreement specified in subsection (3) or a deduction notice specified in subsection (4).

The payment agreement is one that the liable person entered into with the Commissioner to pay, in 1 sum or 2 or more instalments of specified amounts,—

The deduction notice is one that the Commissioner gave a person under section 154 in relation to the liable person in order to collect, in 1 sum or 2 or more deductions and payments,—

The payment arrangement referred to in subsection (1)(b) has been fully or substantially complied with in accordance with this subsection if the arrangement has operated for a period that the Commissioner considers reasonable and—

If an initial late payment penalty written off under subsection (1) has been paid in whole or in part, the Commissioner must refund to the liable person the whole or part of the penalty paid.

The Commissioner must write off an initial late payment penalty if satisfied that—

The payment arrangement referred to in subsection (1)(b) must be a payment agreement specified in subsection (3) or a deduction notice specified in subsection (4).

The payment agreement is one that the liable person entered into with the Commissioner to pay, in 1 sum or 2 or more instalments of specified amounts,—

The deduction notice is one that the Commissioner gave a person under section 154 in relation to the liable person in order to collect, in 1 sum or 2 or more deductions and payments,—

The payment arrangement referred to in subsection (1)(b) has been fully complied with in accordance with this subsection if—

If an initial late payment penalty written off under subsection (1) has been paid in whole or in part, the Commissioner must refund to the liable person the whole or part of the penalty paid.

This subsection applies to an amount that on or after 1 April 2016 is paid to a payee under any provision of this Part if—

An amount to which subsection (1) applies is, if that amount is assessed by the Commissioner in the exercise of the Commissioner’s discretion under subsection (3),—

The Commissioner may assess an amount to which subsection (1) applies.

The Commissioner must notify the payee in writing of the assessment under subsection (3).

This Act (subject to subsection (6)) applies to the amount assessed, and to the payee, as if—

Sections 134, 134A, and 135 to 135N (which relate to penalties and to relief from them) apply to an amount assessed under subsection (3) and to the payee unless the Commissioner, in the Commissioner’s discretion under this subsection, determines that all of those sections do not apply to the amount assessed.

The Commissioner must notify the payee in writing of a determination under subsection (6), and the determination may be combined with an assessment under subsection (3).

If the payee is entitled to receive further payments under any provision of this Part, the amount of the debt due to the Crown by the payee may be recovered by reducing such of those payments by such amount as is determined in writing by the Commissioner.

The Commissioner may write off some or all of the benefit component of an amount of child support that is payable by the liable person to the Crown under this Act, and that is unpaid and in arrear, if—

The benefit component of an amount of child support, in subsection (1), means the proportion of that amount that is deductible under section 142 or 143 in respect of social security benefit or unsupported child’s benefit (or any lesser amount that would be deductible in lieu of that proportion under those sections).

The Commissioner may write off some or all of an amount of child support debt that is payable by the estate of a liable person to the Crown under this Act, and that is unpaid and in arrear, if—

Subsection (1) applies even if no order has been made that the liable person’s estate be administered under Part 6 (insolvent deceased estates) of the Insolvency Act 2006.

The Commissioner may write off some or all of an amount of child support debt that is payable by a liable person to the Crown under this Act, and that is unpaid and in arrear, if—

In sections 180B and 180C, child support debt includes the following: