Guidance

Working out the cost of raising your children (You can view online)

Published 12 August 2019

© Crown copyright 2019

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at /government/publications/working-out-the-cost-of-raising-your-children/working-out-the-cost-of-raising-your-children-you-can-view-online

Use this form as a guide to help you think about the items you would like to include in your child maintenance arrangement. You might find this form is a useful way of sorting out who’s going to pay for what and what the maintenance contribution should be.

The items each child may need depends on their age � you may find things listed that you do not want to include, and there may be things that you want to add.

How to fill in this form

Think about the cost of each item and how much it would cost each parent. Then work out what the maintenance should be. You might want to split the cost equally, or change it depending on what you both agree.

Baby: day-to-day items

Baby: day-to-day items Parent or guardian’s name: Parent or guardian’s name: Maintenance contribution Are these one-off, weekly, monthly or yearly payments?
Food Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Nappies Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Childcare (including playgroups) Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Clothing Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Toiletries and medicines Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Toys, books and other play items Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Other expenses Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

Baby: larger items

Baby: larger items Parent or guardian’s name: Parent or guardian’s name: Maintenance contribution Are these one-off, weekly, monthly or yearly payments?
Cot or crib Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Bedding Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Pram, pushchair or buggy Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Car seat Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
High chair Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Baby monitor Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Changing equipment Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Feeding equipment Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Bathing equipment Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Other expenses Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

Younger child: day-to-day items

Younger child: day-to-day items Parent or guardian’s name: Parent or guardian’s name: Maintenance contribution Are these one-off, weekly, monthly or yearly payments?
Food Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Childcare Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Clothing (including school uniforms) Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Toiletries and medicines Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Toys, books and other play items Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Travel Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Activities (including sports or social clubs) Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Other expenses Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

Younger child: larger items

Younger child: larger items Parent or guardian’s name: Parent or guardian’s name: Maintenance contribution Are these one-off, weekly, monthly or yearly payments?
School trips Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Computer Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Bike Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Other expenses Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

Older child and teens: day-to-day items

Older child and teens: day-to-day items Parent or guardian’s name: Parent or guardian’s name: Maintenance contribution Are these one-off, weekly, monthly or yearly payments?
Food Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Clothing Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Toiletries and medicines Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Entertainment Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Travel Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Other expenses Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

Older child and teens: larger items

Older child and teens: larger items Parent or guardian’s name: Parent or guardian’s name: Maintenance contribution Are these one-off, weekly, monthly or yearly payments?
School trips Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Computer Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Bike Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Mobile phone Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Other expenses Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

Total support given to your children

Total support given to your children Parent or guardian’s name: Parent or guardian’s name: Maintenance contribution Are these one-off, weekly, monthly or yearly payments?
Weekly Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Monthly Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Yearly Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý
Back to top