Maternity Allowance Calculator (UK)
Work out how much Maternity Allowance you will get if you are self-employed or do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, and whether topping up your National Insurance would pay for itself.
Your details
Statutory Maternity Pay comes from an employer; Maternity Allowance comes from the DWP and is what most self-employed women claim.
You need at least 26. They do not have to be consecutive, and different jobs count together.
You need to have earned at least £30 a week in 13 of those 66 weeks. For the employed route the payment is capped at 90% of this figure.
Self-employed only. 13 weeks gets you the full rate. Below that you drop to £27 a week — but HMRC will usually let you pay the difference.
Your results
Your figures appear here as you fill in your details.
This calculator is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, nor a decision on your entitlement. Only the Department for Work and Pensions can decide a claim. Claim on form MA1 through gov.uk, and speak to HMRC about any National Insurance shortfall before you decide not to pay it.
How this works
Maternity Allowance is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions rather than an employer. It is what you claim if you are self-employed, or employed but not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay — for example because you changed jobs, earn below the lower earnings limit, or work for several employers.
To qualify at all, you need to have been employed or registered self-employed for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your due date, and to have earned at least £30 a week in 13 of those weeks. The weeks do not need to be consecutive, and separate jobs count together.
How much you get depends on the route.
- Self-employed: £194.32 a week for 39 weeks, provided you have paid Class 2 National Insurance for at least 13 weeks of that 66-week period. If you have not, you drop to £27 a week — the same 39 weeks, but £6,522 less in total.
- Employed but not eligible for SMP: £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that is lower, for 39 weeks.
- Unpaid work in your partner's business: £27 a week for 14 weeks, and only where your partner is registered self-employed and paying Class 2 contributions themselves.
The Class 2 point is the one that costs people money. Since Class 2 contributions became voluntary for many self-employed people, plenty of women reach maternity leave without the 13 weeks and never realise the connection. When you claim, HMRC will normally offer to let you pay the missing contributions — at a few pounds a week to unlock several thousand. Do not decline that letter without doing the arithmetic.
Assumptions
- Rates are the 2026/27 figures: £194.32 standard weekly rate, £27 reduced rate, 39 weeks (14 for the partner's-business route). These change each April.
- The 66-week window and the 26-week and 13-week tests all run backwards from the week your baby is due, not the date you stop working.
- The £30 earnings test is applied here to the average you enter. In practice the DWP looks at your best 13 weeks, which can be higher than your average — so a borderline result here may still qualify.
- The self-employed rate is shown as either the full or the reduced amount. Gov.uk notes that intermediate amounts are possible depending on the contributions made; if you are close to 13 weeks, treat the reduced figure as a floor.
- Maternity Allowance can affect Universal Credit, which is reduced pound for pound. It does not affect Child Benefit.
- You can claim from the 26th week of pregnancy, and payments can start 11 weeks before the baby is due.
- Adoption, surrogacy and multiple births have their own rules that are not modelled here.
Last updated . Figures are UK-specific — check current rates on GOV.UK before acting.