Statutory Maternity Pay calculator

How it works

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is the minimum your employer must pay you while you’re on maternity leave, if you qualify. It’s paid for up to 39 weeks and is based on your average weekly earnings (AWE) before you go on leave.

How SMP is worked out

• Weeks 1 to 6: 90% of your average weekly earnings, with no upper limit.
• Weeks 7 to 39: the lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings.

The flat rate usually rises each April. If your leave runs past 6 April, weeks from then on use the new rate once it has been published; until then the calculator uses the current rate and says so.

Average weekly earnings

Your employer works out your AWE from the pay you received in the 8 weeks (or 2 months if you’re paid monthly) up to and including the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the week your baby is due. If you enter a yearly salary, the calculator divides it by 52; enter your AWE directly if you know it, especially if your pay varies.

To get SMP your AWE must be at least the lower earnings limit of £129.00 a week. If it isn’t, you may be able to get Maternity Allowance from the government instead.

Tax and National Insurance

SMP is taxable and paid through payroll. To estimate the deductions, the calculator groups the weekly payments by month and works out income tax and National Insurance as if you were paid that much every month. Your real deductions depend on your tax code and what you were paid earlier in the tax year, so treat them as a guide.

Planning your leave

Statutory Maternity Leave can last up to 52 weeks, but Statutory Maternity Pay stops after week 39. Any leave after that is unpaid unless your employer offers more. Many parents use the calculator to see how much their income drops after the first 6 weeks, when the higher rate ends, and to plan savings for the later months.

You may also be able to share some of the leave and pay with your partner through Shared Parental Leave and Pay, and you keep building up holiday while you’re on maternity leave. Pension contributions continue too: your employer must keep paying its contributions based on your normal pay during paid maternity leave, while yours are based on what you actually receive. If you use salary sacrifice, check how your scheme treats maternity pay before your leave starts.

Rates verified against HMRC on 5 October 2026.

Worked example

On a £32,000 salary your average weekly earnings are £615.38. For the first 6 weeks you get £553.84 a week, then £194.32 a week for the next 33 weeks: £9,735.60 in total before tax.