Maternity pay calculator
How long Statutory Maternity Pay lasts and where it drops, mapped across the full 52 weeks of leave. Gross figures, so you can see the shape of the year before tax complicates it.
Maternity pay has two cliffs
Statutory Maternity Pay changes shape twice, and both drops are steep enough to matter when you are planning around them.
Everything on this page is gross, which is deliberate. This tool answers how long the money lasts and when it changes. For what actually lands in your account, SMP is taxed like wages and Wagepage's maternity pay calculator runs it through the 2026/27 tax and National Insurance bands against your normal take-home.
- Weeks 1 to 6. 90% of your average weekly earnings, with no cap.
- Weeks 7 to 39. The lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of your earnings.
- Weeks 40 to 52. Nothing.
What that looks like on £600 a week. The first six weeks pay £540. Week seven pays £194.32, a fall of £345.68 a week, because 90% of your earnings is far above the cap. Week 40 pays nothing at all, though you can still be on leave until week 52. Across the 39 paid weeks it comes to roughly £9,653.
The chart above draws all 52 weeks at your own earnings, because the shape of it is the part that catches people out.
39 weeks of pay, 52 weeks of leave
Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks: 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave, then 26 weeks Additional. SMP runs for 39 of them. The final 13 weeks are leave you are entitled to take and are simply unpaid.
Leave can start 11 weeks before the week the baby is due. It starts automatically if the baby arrives early, or if you are off with a pregnancy-related illness in the four weeks before the due week. You have to take at least two weeks after the birth, or four if you work in a factory.
How average weekly earnings are worked out
Average weekly earnings are measured over an 8-week relevant period ending with the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the week the baby is due. It counts the gross pay actually paid in that window, so overtime, commission or a bonus landing in those eight weeks all lift it.
Dividing an annual salary by 52 gets close, and the annual option above does exactly that. If your pay varies, or a bonus falls inside the reference period, the real figure will differ from the estimate.
Earning under £129 a week
SMP needs average weekly earnings of at least £129, which is the lower earnings limit for 2026/27. Below that, Maternity Allowance may be payable instead. It is claimed through Jobcentre Plus rather than paid by an employer, it has its own qualifying rules, and it can cover people SMP does not reach, including the self-employed.
Who qualifies, and what comes off it
You need 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer, running up to any day in the qualifying week, along with average weekly earnings of at least £129. You also have to give proper notice and hand over a MATB1 certificate or a doctor's letter.
SMP is taxable. Income tax and National Insurance come off it the same way they come off wages, so every figure here is gross. What lands in your account will be lower.
Your holiday keeps building up
This one is worth money and is routinely missed. You continue to accrue annual leave for the whole 52 weeks of maternity leave, including the 13 weeks that pay nothing.
What that is worth. On the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks a year, a full year of maternity leave builds up 28 days of paid holiday, on top of anything you had already accrued before you left. You can take it before the leave starts or after you return. Plenty of people add it to the end and effectively extend their time off on full pay.
Bank holidays falling during your leave are part of the same entitlement, so they do not vanish either. If your employer gives more than the statutory minimum, you accrue at the contractual rate.
Keeping in Touch days
You can work up to 10 days during maternity leave without losing any SMP, and without ending the leave. They are called Keeping in Touch days and they cover training, team meetings, or a phased look at coming back.
They are optional on both sides. Your employer cannot make you take them, and you cannot insist on them. Pay for a KIT day is whatever you agree, and there is no legal minimum beyond the National Minimum Wage for the hours worked.
Any part of a day counts as a whole one, so an hour on a call uses up a full KIT day. Take an eleventh day and you lose SMP for that week.
Sharing the leave with a partner
Shared Parental Leave lets you convert what you have not used into leave your partner can take. Between you there are up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay to share, and it comes out of your maternity entitlement rather than being added to it.
How the arithmetic works. Take 22 weeks of maternity leave and SMP, and you free up 30 weeks of Shared Parental Leave and 17 weeks of Shared Parental Pay to split with your partner. Everything has to be taken within the first year after the birth.
The two-week compulsory period after birth cannot be shared or shortened, which is why 50 rather than 52 weeks is the ceiling.
Going back to work
If you take 26 weeks or less, you have the right to return to the same job on the same terms. Take longer than 26 weeks and the right softens: your old job if it is practical, or a similar one on terms that are no worse.
That distinction is the reason the 26-week mark matters more than people expect when planning how long to take.
Related guides: Employing a nanny or home carer: your legal duties as an employer · What changes for UK pay and work in April 2027
Common questions
How much is maternity pay?
90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks with no cap, then the lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of your earnings for the next 33 weeks. After week 39 it stops. Put your earnings in above to see your own figures week by week.
How long is maternity pay paid for?
39 weeks. Maternity leave runs for 52 weeks, so the last 13 weeks of leave are unpaid. The two are often confused, which is why the chart above draws the full 52.
Do I get paid for all 52 weeks of maternity leave?
No. SMP covers 39 weeks. Weeks 40 to 52 are leave you are entitled to take without pay, unless your employer runs its own maternity scheme that pays more than the statutory minimum. Plenty do, so it is worth checking your contract before planning around these figures.
What is the maternity pay rate for 2026/27?
£194.32 a week for weeks 7 to 39, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that is lower. The first 6 weeks are always 90% of earnings with no cap. The rate changes each April.
What are average weekly earnings?
Your gross pay over an 8-week relevant period ending with the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the baby is due. Overtime and bonuses paid in that window count, so it is not always the same as your salary divided by 52.
Am I eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay?
You need 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer up to any day in the qualifying week, and average weekly earnings of at least £129. You also have to give notice and provide a MATB1 certificate.
What if I earn less than £129 a week?
You will not qualify for SMP, but Maternity Allowance may be payable instead. It is claimed from Jobcentre Plus rather than your employer, and it reaches some people SMP does not, including the self-employed.
Is maternity pay taxed?
Yes. Income tax and National Insurance come off SMP exactly as they do off wages. The figures here are gross, so your take-home will be lower.
Do I still build up holiday on maternity leave?
Yes, for the whole 52 weeks, including the 13 unpaid ones. On the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks that is 28 days accrued over a full year of leave, and you can take it before you go or after you return. Bank holidays falling in that time are part of the same entitlement.
What are Keeping in Touch days?
Up to 10 days you can work during maternity leave without losing SMP or ending the leave. They are optional on both sides, pay is whatever you agree, and any part of a day counts as a whole one. Work an eleventh day and you lose SMP for that week.
Can I share my maternity leave with my partner?
Yes, through Shared Parental Leave. Up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay can be shared, taken out of your maternity entitlement rather than added to it. Take 22 weeks yourself and you free up 30 weeks of leave and 17 weeks of pay to split. It all has to be used within the first year.
Do I get my old job back after maternity leave?
If you take 26 weeks or less, yes, the same job on the same terms. Take longer and you are entitled to your old job if it is practical, or a similar one on terms no worse. That is why the 26-week mark matters when planning how long to take.