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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Child Support Act 1991

Automatic deductions - Automatic deductions

165: Protected net earnings rate

You could also call this:

“How much money you keep when child support is taken from your pay”

When your employer takes money from your pay for child support, they must make sure you still have enough money left to live on. They can’t take so much that you’re left with less than 60% of your pay after tax. This rule applies to each time you get paid, whether it’s weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

Your employer might use someone else to handle the payroll. This person is called a PAYE intermediary. They must follow the same rules about how much they can take from your pay for child support.

Sometimes, there might be special instructions about how much to take from your pay. These instructions come from section 166 of the Child Support Act, and they can change the usual 60% rule.

A PAYE intermediary is someone who helps employers with their tax and payroll duties. They’re defined in the Income Tax Act 2007.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM256577.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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164: Discharge of liable person's liability to Commissioner and payer's liability to liable person, or

"Taking child support money from your pay means you don't have to pay it yourself"

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166: Position where liable person has 2 or more employers, or

"How child support is paid when you have more than one job"

Part 10 Automatic deductions
Automatic deductions

165Protected net earnings rate

  1. Notwithstanding anything in this Part, the employer of a liable person, or a PAYE intermediary for the employer, shall not in making deductions under a deduction notice reduce the net earnings of the liable person in respect of any pay period (within the meaning of section YA 1 of the Income Tax Act 2007) to an amount that is less than 60% of the residue that remains after deducting from the source deduction payment the amount of any tax withheld or deducted under the PAYE rules of the Income Tax Act 2007.

  2. This section is subject to any instruction received by an employer or a PAYE intermediary under section 166.

  3. In this section, PAYE intermediary means a PAYE intermediary as defined in section YA 1 of the Income Tax Act 2007.

Compare
Notes
  • Section 165(1): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later), by section ZA 2(1) of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
  • Section 165(1): amended, on , by section 5(1) of the Child Support Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 8).
  • Section 165(1): amended, on , by section 29(a) of the Child Support Amendment Act 1999 (1999 No 81).
  • Section 165(2): added, on , by section 29(b) of the Child Support Amendment Act 1999 (1999 No 81).
  • Section 165(2): amended, on , by section 5(2) of the Child Support Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 8).
  • Section 165(3): added, on , by section 5(3) of the Child Support Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 8).
  • Section 165(3): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later), by section ZA 2(1) of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 35).