Net weekly income of employed earner
3.—(1) The net weekly income of the non-resident parent as an employed earner shall be—
(a)his earnings provided for in paragraph 4 less the deductions provided for in paragraph 5 and calculated or estimated by reference to the relevant week as provided for in paragraph 6; or
(b)where the Department is satisfied that the person is unable to provide information or evidence relating to the deductions provided for in paragraph 5, the non-resident parent’s net earnings estimated by the Department on the basis of information available to it as to the non-resident parent’s net income.
(2) Where any provision of these Regulations requires the income of a person to be estimated, and that or any other provision of these Regulations requires that the amount of such estimated income is to be taken into account for any purpose, after deducting from it a sum in respect of income tax, or of primary Class 1 contributions under the Contributions and Benefits Act or, as the case may be, the Great Britain Contributions and Benefits Act, or contributions paid by that person towards an occupational pension scheme or personal pension scheme, then—
(a)subject to sub-paragraph (c), the amount to be deducted in respect of income tax shall be calculated by applying to that income the rates of income tax applicable at the effective date less only the personal relief to which that person is entitled under Chapter 1 of Part VII of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (personal reliefs); but if the period in respect of which that income is to be estimated is less than a year, the amount of the personal relief deductible under this paragraph shall be calculated on a pro-rata basis and the amount of income to which each tax rate applies shall be determined on the basis that the ratio of that amount to the full amount of the income to which each tax rate applies is the same as the ratio of the proportionate part of that personal relief to the full personal relief;
(b)subject to sub-paragraph (c), the amount to be deducted in respect of Class 1 contributions under the Contributions and Benefits Act or, as the case may be, the Great Britain Contributions and Benefits Act, shall be calculated by applying to that income the appropriate primary percentage applicable on the effective date;
(c)in relation to any bonus or commission which may be included in that person’s income—
(i)the amount to be deducted in respect of income tax shall be calculated by applying to the gross amount of that bonus or commission the rate or rates of income tax applicable at the effective date;
(ii)the amount to be deducted in respect of primary Class 1 contributions under the Contributions and Benefits Act or, as the case may be, the Great Britain Contributions and Benefits Act, shall be calculated by applying to the gross amount of that bonus or commission the appropriate main primary percentage applicable on the effective date but no deduction shall be made in respect of the portion (if any) of the bonus or commission which, if added to the estimated income, would cause such income to exceed the upper earnings limit for Class 1 contributions as provided for in section 5(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act(1) or, as the case may be, the Great Britain Contributions and Benefits Act;
(d)the amount to be deducted in respect of any sums or contributions towards an occupational pension scheme or personal pension scheme shall be the full amount of any such payments made or, where that scheme is intended partly to provide a capital sum to discharge a mortgage secured upon that parent’s home, 75 per centum of any such payments made.
Section 5(1)(b) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 was substituted by Article 48(1) of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 and section 5(1)(b) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (c. 4) was substituted by section 51(1) of the Social Security Act 1998 (c. 14)