How Much Is Statutory Maternity Pay? 2026/27 Rates, Examples and Key Dates

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for up to 39 weeks. For the first 6 weeks you get 90% of your average weekly earnings before tax, with no cap. For the next 33 weeks you get £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The 2026/27 rate applies from 5 April 2026. To qualify, you need average earnings of at least £129 a week and 26 weeks with your employer by the 15th week before the week your baby is due.

Everyone tells you to sort out maternity pay early, and hardly anyone explains how it actually works. The short version: the first six weeks are generous, the next 33 are not, and your employer can pay more but never less. Here are the 2026/27 figures, examples by salary and the dates that decide what you get.

How much is statutory maternity pay in 2026/27?

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SMP is paid the same way as your wages, weekly or monthly, with income tax and National Insurance taken off as usual. On its own, the flat rate of about £842 a month is below the £1,048-a-month point where employee National Insurance starts, so months paid entirely at that rate should have no employee National Insurance deducted. Income tax depends on your tax code and what you have earned so far in the tax year.

Worked examples by salary

These assume a steady salary, so average weekly earnings are simply yearly pay divided by 52. Figures are before tax and rounded.

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Notice that the £10,000 salary gets 90% of pay for the whole 39 weeks. That happens whenever average weekly earnings are below about £216 (roughly £11,227 a year), because 90% of pay is then the lower of the two figures. If your average is under £129 a week, you will not get SMP, but you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance instead.

For a monthly view: someone on £30,000 normally earns £2,500 a month before tax. During the first six weeks, SMP works out at about £2,250 a month; once the flat rate starts, it drops to about £842 a month. That second figure is the one to plan the household budget around.

How your average weekly earnings are worked out

Your employer looks at an eight-week slice of pay just before the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the week your baby is due. They add up your gross pay from the paydays in the eight weeks up to and including your last normal payday before the end of that week, then turn it into a weekly average.

• Overtime, bonuses, sick pay, holiday pay and arrears of pay all count if they are paid in that window. What matters is when the money is paid, not when you earned it.
• Only pay that counts for National Insurance is included, so salary you give up through a salary sacrifice scheme does not count.
• If a pay rise takes effect at any point from the start of the window to the end of your maternity leave, your employer must recalculate your SMP and pay any difference, including when the rise is backdated.
• If you were only on statutory sick pay or reduced pay during the window, your average can be lower, and in some cases it can affect whether you qualify at all.

Who qualifies for SMP

• You are an employee on your employer’s payroll in the qualifying week.
• You have worked for them continuously for at least 26 weeks, continuing into the qualifying week.
• Your average weekly earnings are at least £129 before tax.
• You give the right notice and proof of pregnancy (the dates are below).

Whether you plan to go back afterwards makes no difference. SMP is never repayable if you leave, although extra company maternity pay sometimes comes with conditions about returning, so read your contract. If you start working for a new employer after the birth, SMP stops from the beginning of that week.

Maternity leave itself has a lower bar. Every employee can take up to 52 weeks, however long they have worked there and whatever they earn, as long as they give the right notice.

If you do not qualify: Maternity Allowance

If your employer decides you cannot get SMP, they must give you form SMP1 within seven days of deciding, explaining why. You may then be able to claim Maternity Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions. You need to have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your baby is due.

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Maternity Allowance has no six-week 90% period, is paid every two or four weeks and is not taxed. You can claim once you have been pregnant for 26 weeks; claim within three months of your chosen start date to get the full amount. Self-employed parents who have paid fewer than 13 weeks of Class 2 contributions can top them up, at £3.65 a week, to increase a lower award, and HMRC will say how many are needed.

When to tell your employer and claim

1. By the end of the qualifying week, 15 weeks before the week your baby is due, tell your employer your due date and when you want your leave to start. They can ask for this in writing, and must confirm your leave dates within 28 days.
2. Give at least 28 days’ notice of the date you want SMP to start. It is usually the same day your leave begins.
3. Get your MATB1 certificate from your midwife or GP; it can be issued up to 20 weeks before your due date. Give it, or a letter from your doctor or midwife, to your employer within 21 days of your SMP starting.
4. Your employer must then confirm, within 28 days, how much SMP you will get and when it starts and stops.

The earliest you can start leave is 11 weeks before the week your baby is due. Leave and SMP start automatically if you are off with a pregnancy-related illness in the four weeks before your due week, or the day after the birth if your baby arrives early. You must take at least two weeks off after the birth, or four if you work in a factory. To change your return date, give eight weeks’ notice.

Your right to leave and SMP also stands if your baby is born early, is stillborn after the start of the 24th week of pregnancy, or dies after being born.

Keeping in touch days, pay rises and holiday

• You can work up to 10 keeping in touch days without losing SMP. They are optional on both sides, and the work and pay should be agreed before you come in.
• Your employment rights continue: you still build up holiday and get any pay rises given while you are away.
• Pension contributions usually stop during unpaid weeks unless your contract says otherwise.
• If you take more than 26 weeks, you can return to your job, or to a similar one on the same or better terms if your old job is not available.

Company maternity pay and shared parental pay

Many employers pay more than the statutory minimum, for example full pay for a set number of weeks, and none can offer less than SMP. When you read the policy, check how the enhanced pay is calculated, whether it depends on length of service, and whether any of it would have to be repaid if you did not return.

If you and your partner share some of the leave, Statutory Shared Parental Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. It has no six-week 90% period at the start, so check the figures before swapping early weeks of maternity leave for shared leave. Your partner’s own two weeks off are covered in our paternity leave and pay guide.

Other money worth checking

• Sure Start Maternity Grant: a one-off £500 if you or your partner get Universal Credit, Pension Credit or income-related Employment and Support Allowance and you are expecting your first child, or a multiple birth. Claim from 11 weeks before your due date until six months after the birth. In Scotland, the Pregnancy and Baby Payment replaces it.
• Child Benefit, and Universal Credit if your income drops enough to qualify. A benefits calculator on GOV.UK will show what applies to you.
• Childcare for your return. Tax-Free Childcare adds £2 for every £8 you pay for registered childcare, and you can apply while you are still on leave.

Budgeting for nursery fees before you go back? Our guide to UK childcare costs shows what to ask each provider and how funded hours change the bill.

If your SMP looks wrong

Ask your employer to explain how they worked it out, including which paydays fell in your eight-week window and whether any pay rise was included. If you still disagree, or your employer cannot pay, for example because the business is insolvent, contact HMRC’s Statutory Payment Disputes Team.

Quick questions about maternity pay

Is statutory maternity pay taxed?

Yes. SMP goes through payroll like your wages, with income tax and National Insurance deducted in the usual way. Maternity Allowance, paid by the DWP, is not taxed.

Do I have to pay SMP back if I do not go back to work?

No. SMP is never repayable. Extra company maternity pay can have conditions attached, so check your employer’s policy.

What if I earn less than £129 a week?

You will not get SMP, but you may qualify for Maternity Allowance if you earned at least £30 a week in 13 of the 66 weeks before your due date.

When is statutory maternity pay paid?

On your normal paydays, weekly or monthly, in the same way as your wages.

Can I start maternity leave more than 11 weeks before my due date?

No. The earliest start is 11 weeks before the week your baby is due, unless the baby is born before then.