Rates last checked 6 April 2026, for the 2026/27 tax year.
What this calculator does that others don’t
Work out “maternity pay” on most sites and you get a single number: what the person on leave will be paid. That number is real, but it isn’t the question you’re actually asking. The question is whether the rent still gets paid in month seven.
So this planner does four things differently:
- It counts the whole household. Your pay, your partner’s pay and any other regular income, set against your essential outgoings, month by month — and for three months after you go back.
- It runs tax cumulatively, the way PAYE actually works. When your pay drops mid-year you usually start getting tax back in your payslip. Most calculators miss this and understate your income by hundreds of pounds.
- It takes leave in weeks, not tidy blocks. If you’re back after 22 weeks, statutory pay stops at 22 weeks, and the month you return blends maternity pay and salary in one packet. That’s modelled properly.
- It knows salary sacrifice can’t touch statutory pay. Your employer can’t take pension contributions out of SMP by sacrifice, so during the statutory-only months your contributions largely stop. That shows up here.
What you’ll actually be paid in 2026/27
Statutory Maternity Pay runs for up to 39 weeks, in two stages:
| Period | What SMP pays |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1–6 | 90% of average weekly earnings, uncapped |
| Weeks 7–39 | £194.32, or 90% of earnings if lower |
| Weeks 40–52 | £0 |
The flat rate rose from £187.18 to £194.32 on 6 April 2026, a 3.8% uprating in line with September 2025 inflation. To qualify you need average weekly earnings of at least £129 and 26 weeks’ continuous service by the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before your baby is due.
SMP is treated as pay, so income tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments all come off it in the normal way. The first six weeks are the ones people misjudge: because 90% is uncapped, a higher earner can be paid well over the flat rate at the start and then fall off a cliff in week seven.
A worked example
Amara earns £38,000 and her employer offers statutory pay only. Her average weekly earnings are about £731, so weeks 1–6 pay £658 a week — roughly £2,850 in her first month off, not far below her usual take-home.
From week seven she drops to £194.32 a week: about £842 a month, which arrives almost untouched by deductions because it sits under her monthly tax-free allowance. Her partner on £42,000 brings home around £2,730. Against essentials of £2,400 the household stays just about level — helped by several hundred pounds of tax refunds landing in her first few payslips on leave.
Take the partner away and the same numbers produce a shortfall of roughly £1,550 a month from month two onward. That’s the gap this tool exists to show you before it happens.
Why your tax goes down but your student loan doesn’t
These three deductions behave completely differently when your pay drops, and it catches almost everyone out.
Income tax is cumulative. HMRC gives you a twelfth of your tax-free allowance each month and works out tax on your year to date. If you’ve been taxed as though you’d earn £38,000 and you now won’t, you’ve overpaid — so your payslip shows a refund. If you start leave partway through the tax year, expect real money back in the first months.
National Insurance is not. It’s worked out fresh each pay period. Earn under £1,048 in a month and you simply pay none — but you never get back the NI you paid in the months before.
Student loan repayments are not either, and there’s no year-end reconciliation. Once your monthly pay falls under your plan’s threshold — £2,448.75 a month on Plan 2, for instance — deductions stop entirely. What came off earlier in the year stays off. You can ask the Student Loans Company for a refund if your annual income ended up below the threshold, but it isn’t automatic and most people never claim it.
Common questions
Do I get paid for all 52 weeks of maternity leave?
No. You can take up to 52 weeks off, but statutory pay covers at most 39 of them. The final 13 weeks are unpaid unless your employer’s scheme goes further. Plenty of people plan for a year and are surprised by the unpaid tail, which is why this planner lets you set leave in weeks and shows the zero-income months plainly.
Will I get a tax refund while I’m on maternity leave?
Usually, yes — if your leave starts partway through the tax year. Your tax-free allowance keeps accruing at a twelfth a month whether you’re earning or not, so once your pay drops below it, the tax you’ve already paid starts coming back through your payslip. Start leave in April and there’s little to refund; start in October and it can be several hundred pounds.
Can my employer take pension contributions out of my maternity pay?
Not out of statutory maternity pay, if you’re on a salary sacrifice arrangement — SMP is protected and can’t be sacrificed. Your employer must also keep paying their contributions at the rate based on your normal pay for the whole of your paid leave. If your contributions come out by a different method, ask your payroll team what happens during the statutory-only period.
Does enhanced maternity pay include SMP or come on top of it?
It depends entirely on your employer’s wording, and it’s the single biggest variable in the whole calculation. Most schemes are inclusive: “full pay” means you receive your normal pay, of which SMP forms part. Some — the NHS scheme being the well-known one — pay half pay plus SMP on top. On a £38,000 salary the difference between those two readings of the same policy is around £3,500 over the leave. Find the sentence in your maternity policy before you plan around it.
What if I go back to work early?
Statutory pay stops when you return. There’s no lump sum for the weeks you didn’t take, so returning at week 30 means 30 weeks of pay, not 39. You need to give your employer at least eight weeks’ notice of the date. Set the weeks figure here to your real return point rather than the full entitlement.
What about Maternity Allowance?
If you don’t qualify for SMP — you’re self-employed, recently changed jobs, or earn under £129 a week — you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance from the DWP instead. It pays the same £194.32 weekly rate for up to 39 weeks, but it works differently: it’s paid fortnightly rather than through payroll, and it isn’t taxable. This planner assumes you qualify for SMP through an employer, so it won’t model an MA claim correctly.
What this tool assumes
- 2026/27 rates throughout: personal allowance £12,570, basic rate to £50,270, higher rate to £125,140, allowance tapered above £100,000. Scottish rates use the six 2026/27 bands. National Insurance at 8% between £1,048 and £4,189 a month, 2% above.
- Student loan thresholds: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000, postgraduate £21,000, all charged per pay period.
- Average weekly earnings are estimated as your annual salary divided by 52. Real AWE uses the eight weeks up to your qualifying week, so bonuses, overtime or a recent pay rise in that window will shift your first six weeks’ pay.
- A standard tax code (1257L, or S1257L in Scotland). If yours differs — because of a company car, underpaid tax or the marriage allowance — your figures will differ too.
- Each calendar month is treated as one tax month. Real tax months run from the 6th, and some employers pay four-weekly rather than monthly.
- Your partner’s pay is steady across the period, with no bonuses, overtime or leave of their own.
- Nothing is stored. Every figure is worked out in your browser. There’s no account, no cookie and no analytics reading what you typed.
These are estimates, not financial advice. This planner is here to help you see the shape of your household budget through maternity leave. It can’t know your tax code, your exact average weekly earnings or the precise wording of your employer’s scheme. Check your entitlement with your employer’s HR or payroll team and at gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave, and speak to a regulated adviser before making decisions that depend on these numbers.