If you run your own business and you’re expecting a baby, the rules on self employed maternity pay 2026 are different from those that apply to employees. You won’t get Statutory Maternity Pay, but you may qualify for Maternity Allowance, a separate payment from the Department for Work and Pensions worth up to £194.32 a week.
This guide sets out the current rates, the eligibility tests, and the practical steps to claim. It’s written for sole traders, freelancers, and directors of very small companies who don’t tick the usual employee boxes.
How self employed maternity pay 2026 actually works
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by employers to their employees. If you’re self-employed, you don’t have an employer, so SMP doesn’t apply. Instead, the government pays Maternity Allowance (MA) directly.
MA is paid by DWP when SMP does not apply, usually because you are self-employed, recently changed employer, or earn below the SMP threshold. There’s one important tax difference worth noting up front. SMP is taxable; MA is tax-free. For self-employed women, that makes Maternity Allowance genuinely useful money in the bank.
Payments can start early. Payments can start from 11 weeks before your baby is due or from the date your baby is born. Most claimants receive the money every two or four weeks straight into a bank account.
Self employed maternity pay 2026 rates
From April 2026, the statutory family payment rates in the UK went up. From April 2026, statutory sick pay will increase to £123.25 a week. Statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance, adoption pay, paternity pay, shared parental pay, neonatal care pay and parental bereavement pay will rise to £194.32 a week.
For self-employed claimants there are two possible rates:
- Standard rate: £194.32 a week (from April 2026 to April 2027) for up to 39 weeks. That’s a maximum of £7,578.48 over the full period.
- Lower rate: £27 a week for up to 39 weeks if you meet the work test but not the National Insurance test.
If you are self-employed, the amount of MA you can get will be either £194.32 or £27 per week. If you have paid (or are treated as having paid) at least 13 weeks’ Class 2 NI contributions in your 66 week test period, you are treated as having earned enough for the full rate.
To put the standard rate in context, at £194.32 a week it now matches Statutory Maternity Pay exactly, so a self-employed mum on the full rate receives the same headline payment as an employee. That’s a meaningful shift for anyone weighing up business structures. If you’re still deciding how to trade, our guide to sole trader versus limited company is worth a read.
The 66-week test period explained
Eligibility hangs on something called the test period. You can pay yourself SMP only if you’re technically your own employee through a limited company; for most self-employed women, MA is the route.
If you are registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the test period, how much MA you get depends on your Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs). The test period runs across the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due. Within those 66 weeks, you need to have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks (they don’t need to be consecutive).
You also need to have earned at least £30 a week on average across any 13 weeks of the test period. Those 13 weeks can be your best-earning weeks; you don’t have to use consecutive ones.
Since 6 April 2024, the rules on what counts as “earnings” changed slightly for self-employed applicants. For self-employed earnings from tax years on and after 6 April 2024, if your self-employed earnings meet or are above the ‘Small Profits Threshold’ (£6,845 per year in tax year 2025/26 and £7,105 per year in tax year 2026/27) you are treated as earning enough for the standard rate.
Class 2 National Insurance and self employed maternity pay 2026
This is where a lot of self-employed women get caught out. Class 2 National Insurance changed significantly in April 2024.
From April 2024, no one is required to pay Class 2 self-employed NI contributions. But Class 2 contributions still exist as a voluntary payment, and for expectant self-employed mothers they matter enormously. Paying Class 2 voluntarily is what unlocks the higher rate of Maternity Allowance.
For the 2026/27 tax year, the voluntary Class 2 weekly rate for 2026-27 is £3.65. That’s less than £190 a year for a full 52 weeks of contributions, and it can be the difference between £27 a week and £194.32 a week during your maternity leave.
If your profits are below the Small Profits Threshold of £7,105 for 2026/27, you don’t have to pay Class 2 at all, but you can choose to. If your profits are less than £7,105 a year. You do not have to pay anything but you can choose to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions to avoid gaps in your National Insurance record.
The maths is stark. Thirteen weeks of Class 2 contributions in 2026/27 costs £47.45. That’s what stands between a £1,053 total payout (39 weeks at £27) and a £7,578.48 payout (39 weeks at £194.32). If there’s any chance you might claim MA, pay the voluntary Class 2. Speak to your accountant about backdating where possible, and see our guide to getting the best out of your accountant.
How to claim self employed maternity pay 2026
The claim process is manual and paper-based, so give yourself time.
- Get your MAT B1 certificate. Your doctor or midwife issues this from around 20 weeks pregnant. It confirms your due date.
- Download form MA1. To claim, you’ll need a Maternity Allowance (MA1) claim form. Find it on gov.uk. If you can’t print it, HMRC will post one out.
- Complete the test period section. You’ll need to include your Test Period dates in the claim form. Your Test Period is the 66 weeks before the week you expect to have your baby.
- Gather your evidence. Include your MAT B1, proof of income (invoices, bank statements, or Self Assessment tax return), and proof of identity.
- Post the claim. Send everything to the address on the form. You can claim from 26 weeks pregnant. Late claims can be backdated up to three months, but a maximum three-month backdate applies, so don’t leave it.
Decisions usually take 20 working days. Once approved, payments arrive fortnightly or four-weekly.
Planning your finances around Maternity Allowance
Even at the full rate, £194.32 a week won’t replace the income of most self-employed women. The Office for National Statistics reported median weekly earnings for full-time UK employees at £728 in April 2024, and self-employed earnings for many women in professional services exceed that. Maternity Allowance is a floor, not a wage replacement.
Practical steps to bridge the gap:
- Start saving early. A common target is three to six months of essential outgoings held in a separate business or personal savings account.
- Check your Universal Credit position. MA counts as income for Universal Credit, so it may reduce a UC award pound for pound above the work allowance. Run the numbers on the gov.uk benefits calculator.
- Plan your work handover. If you have retainer clients, negotiate a pause rather than a termination. Warm client relationships are cheaper to keep than to rebuild.
- Check your business insurance. Some professional policies allow premium reductions during career breaks. Ask.
- Understand your tax position. Because MA is tax-free, it doesn’t count toward your personal allowance, but any trading income you do earn while on MA still does.
One final point worth stressing: you can do up to 10 Keeping In Touch days of paid work during your MA period without losing that week’s allowance. Beyond 10, you lose a week of MA for every week you work. Use those KIT days wisely, especially if you have deliverables that only you can complete.
For more on combining self-employment with motherhood, read our guides to freelance mums and everything you need to know about maternity leave. If you’re still in the planning stages, our overview of setting up a business today covers the tax, structure, and admin decisions that will affect your maternity rights later on.