If you run your business through a limited company and pay yourself a salary through payroll, you can usually pay yourself Statutory Maternity Pay [SMP]. Better still, most small companies get back 109% of what they pay from HMRC, so it costs the business nothing.
Many female directors don’t realise this, or find out too late to plan for it. The key is that you’re an employee of your own company. That means the same rules apply to you as to anyone on your payroll, and a little planning in the months before your due date can make a real difference.
This guide explains who qualifies, what you can claim, how it’s worked out and how to claim it. Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year.
Do you qualify?
You qualify for SMP if you meet all of these tests:
- You’re an employee of the company. You must be paid a salary through the company’s payroll. If you only take dividends, you won’t qualify for SMP.
- You’ve been employed for 26 weeks. You need at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the end of the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the week your baby is due.
- You earn enough. Your average weekly earnings must be at least the lower earnings limit, which is £129 a week for 2026/27. They’re measured over the relevant period, roughly the eight weeks before the end of the qualifying week.
- You give notice and proof. You need to give the company notice and a maternity certificate (form MATB1). More on this below.
Why your salary matters
Most directors take a modest salary and the rest as dividends. Dividends don’t count for SMP, so your salary is what drives your entitlement.
Timing matters too. If your salary is paid once a year, or irregularly, you may have little or nothing paid in the relevant period. That could mean you don’t qualify, even though you earn well over the year. Paying yourself a regular monthly salary through the months before your qualifying week avoids that risk.
Because SMP is based on what you’re paid in those eight weeks, a genuine pay rise before or during that window can increase your maternity pay. Speak to us early so we can plan this properly.
What you can claim and how it’s worked out
SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks, in two stages:
|
Weeks |
Weekly amount |
|---|---|
|
1 to 6 |
90% of your average weekly earnings, with no upper limit |
|
7 to 39 |
£194.32, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that’s lower |
The £194.32 rate applies from 6 April 2026 and usually goes up each April. You can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave in total, but only the first 39 are paid. The earliest SMP can start is 11 weeks before the week your baby is due.
SMP is treated like salary. It goes through payroll, and Income Tax and National Insurance [NI] are deducted in the normal way.
Worked examples
|
Annual salary |
Average weekly earnings | Weeks 1 to 6 (90%) | Weeks 7 to 39 |
Total SMP over 39 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
£12,570 |
£241.73 | £217.56 a week | £194.32 a week |
£7,717.92 |
|
£30,000 |
£576.92 | £519.23 a week | £194.32 a week |
£9,527.94 |
For most directors, the extra comes in the first six weeks. After that, everyone earning above about £216 a week gets the same flat £194.32.
Average weekly earnings here assume a regular monthly salary. Your actual figure depends on what’s paid in your relevant period.
How your company gets the money back
Your company pays the SMP, then claws it back from HMRC.
- Small companies get back 109%. This applies if the company’s total Class 1 NI bill (yours and the company’s) was £45,000 or less in the previous tax year. The extra 9% is compensation for the employer NI on the payments. Almost every one-person or small-team company qualifies.
- Larger employers get back 92%.
On the £12,570 salary example above, a small company paying £7,717.92 of SMP would recover £8,412.53.
The reclaim is made through the company’s monthly payroll return to HMRC, the Employer Payment Summary [EPS]. It reduces the PAYE and NI the company owes that month.
If the amount you can reclaim is more than the company owes HMRC, you can ask HMRC for the difference to be paid to the company in advance. That helps when you’re a sole director and there’s little other payroll to offset it against.
As well as SMP, the company can keep paying for business costs while you’re on leave, and you’re still entitled to any dividends you’d normally receive as a shareholder. Dividends don’t affect your SMP.
How to claim, step by step
It can feel odd giving notice to yourself, but HMRC can ask to see the paperwork, so do it properly.
- Check your salary early. Ideally before you’re 20 weeks pregnant, make sure you’re paid a regular salary through payroll, and work out your qualifying week and relevant period with us.
- Give the company notice. By the 15th week before your due week, put in writing that you’re pregnant, your due date and when you want your leave and pay to start. For SMP, give at least 28 days’ notice of the start date. A short letter or board minute kept with the company records is fine.
- Get your MATB1. Your midwife or GP can issue the maternity certificate from 20 weeks before your due date. Keep a copy on file. The company needs it within 21 days of SMP starting.
- Set up SMP in payroll. Your accountant or payroll provider enters the details, and the software works out your average weekly earnings and the weekly SMP. If your salary was paid in the relevant period, it does the rest automatically.
- Reclaim it each month. The payroll return to HMRC includes the SMP paid and the 109% (or 92%) reclaim, reducing the company’s PAYE bill.
- Keep records. Hold onto the notice, MATB1, payroll records and SMP calculations for at least three years.
If you’re off work for a pregnancy-related reason in the four weeks before your due week, your leave and SMP start automatically from the next day.
Running your business while on leave
As a director, you can’t switch off completely, and you don’t have to. You’re allowed up to 10 keeping in touch days during maternity leave without losing SMP or ending your leave. Use them for client meetings, approving accounts or other essential work.
Work beyond that can stop SMP for the week it’s done, so plan which tasks others can cover. Your legal duties as a director, such as signing off the annual accounts, carry on regardless.
If you don’t qualify for SMP
If you don’t meet the SMP tests, perhaps because your salary was too low or you started the company recently, you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance instead. It’s paid by the government, not your company, for up to 39 weeks at £194.32 a week or 90% of your average earnings, whichever is lower. You can apply once you’re 26 weeks pregnant.
How MAP can help
The best time to plan maternity pay is before you’re pregnant, or as early as possible after. We’ll check your salary is set up to qualify, work out your relevant period and SMP, run it through payroll, and make sure the company reclaims every penny from HMRC.
Get in touch at wearemap.co.uk and we’ll help you plan ahead.
This article is general guidance based on 2026/27 rates. It isn’t tailored advice; please speak to us about your own situation.
