Maintenance Arrears: How to Calculate What You're Actually Owed in SA

When a paying parent falls behind on their maintenance obligations, the unpaid amounts don't simply disappear. They accumulate as maintenance arrears - a legally enforceable debt that continues to grow with each missed payment. Yet many South African parents struggle to work out exactly how much they are owed, which makes recovery harder than it needs to be. This guide breaks down how arrears are calculated and what you can do to claim them.

What Exactly Are Maintenance Arrears?

Maintenance arrears are the total of all maintenance payments that fell due under a court order but were never paid, either in full or in part. Under the Maintenance Act 99 of 1998, an existing maintenance order remains binding until it is varied or discharged by a court. This means that even if the paying parent's circumstances change, they remain liable for the full ordered amount until they successfully apply to have the order reduced.

Importantly, arrears do not become extinguished simply because time has passed or because the child has since turned 18. The debt survives - and it can be pursued years later.

How to Calculate What You Are Owed

Calculating arrears is essentially a careful bookkeeping exercise. Follow these steps:

Establish the monthly amount ordered. Start with the figure specified in your maintenance order or agreement made an order of court.
Account for annual escalations. Many orders include an annual increase linked to inflation. If yours does, apply the correct percentage each year. You can read more about why these adjustments matter in our article on maintenance orders and inflation.
List every month the payment fell due. Create a month-by-month table from the date payments should have started.
Record every payment actually made. Use bank statements to log the exact date and amount of each payment received, including partial payments.
Subtract payments from what was owed. The running balance is your arrears figure.

Keep supporting proof for every line - your maintenance order, bank statements, and any correspondence acknowledging missed payments. Solid record-keeping is the backbone of a successful claim, as we explain in our guide on documenting maintenance expenses for court.

Can You Claim Interest on Arrears?

Yes. Maintenance arrears constitute a judgment debt, and interest may be claimed on outstanding amounts at the prescribed legal rate. Courts have confirmed that a maintenance creditor is entitled to interest on unpaid instalments from the date each instalment became due. If you are claiming interest, calculate it separately for each overdue amount, as each instalment starts accruing interest on its own due date.

Watch Out for Partial Payments and "Gifts"

A common dispute arises when the paying parent claims that money handed over - a birthday gift, clothing bought directly, or an ad hoc cash transfer - should count towards arrears. Generally, voluntary payments made outside the terms of the order do not automatically reduce the arrears unless both parents agreed they would. Keep this in mind when reconciling your figures, and be prepared for the other parent to raise it. For more warning signs to watch for, see our piece on common red flags in maintenance disputes.

How to Recover Your Arrears

Once you have an accurate arrears calculation, the Maintenance Act gives you several enforcement mechanisms:

Warrant of execution - the sheriff attaches and sells the defaulter's movable or immovable property.
Emoluments attachment order (garnishee) - deductions are made directly from the defaulter's salary by their employer.
Attachment of debt - money owed to the defaulter by a third party (like a bank) is redirected to you.

You can also lay a criminal complaint, as failing to pay maintenance is an offence. For a fuller breakdown of these remedies, read our guide on enforcing maintenance orders in South Africa.

When Arrears Reach Back Years

If you never had a formal order and are only now seeking support for a past period, the position differs. That involves a retrospective maintenance claim, which follows a distinct legal path from enforcing arrears under an existing order. Knowing which situation you're in will shape your entire approach.

Take the Guesswork Out of Your Arrears Calculation

Working out arrears by hand across years of payments is tedious and error-prone. With MMaintenance, you can create a free account, build an accurate maintenance schedule using the legal apportionment formula, and upload your bank statements to extract payment records automatically. What used to take hours of spreadsheet work now takes minutes - and you can auto-generate court-ready documents with your figures pre-filled. Create your free account and get a clear picture of what you're owed.