Can I get maternity pay if I'm self-employed?

Not Statutory Maternity Pay from your self-employment, because it comes from an employer. You can get Maternity Allowance instead: between £27 and £194.32 a week (2026-27) for up to 39 weeks, depending on your Class 2 National Insurance.

This follows GOV.UK as checked on 19 October 2026.

Maternity Allowance: who can get it

GOV.UK says you can get Maternity Allowance if, in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due, you were registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks, or employed for at least 26 weeks earning £30 a week or more in at least 13 of them. The weeks needn't be together. If you had both a job and self-employment, the weeks can combine; GOV.UK's maternity entitlement calculator checks.

The 66 weeks before your due week are called the test period.

How much you get

If you were only self-employed in the test period, the amount depends on your weeks of Class 2 National Insurance:

If you also had a job, its earnings count too, so you may get the top rate with fewer Class 2 weeks; the calculator works it out.

It is paid every 2 or 4 weeks. You may get £27 a week at first; payments are then increased and backdated.

Class 2 for sole traders

You don't have to pay Class 2 to have it count:

• Profits at or above the small profits threshold (£7,105 for 2026-27, £6,845 for 2025-26). GOV.UK says Class 2 is treated as paid to protect your National Insurance record, so you pay nothing.
• Profits under the threshold. Nothing is treated as paid. You can choose to pay voluntary Class 2, at £3.65 a week for 2026-27.

Your 66 weeks usually cover two tax years, each with its own threshold. Class 2 only counts as treated as paid once HMRC has your tax return for that year. If part of your 66 weeks falls in a year you haven't filed yet, HMRC may ask you to pay Class 2 for those weeks. You get it back if your filed return shows profits at or above the threshold.

If you're short of 13 weeks, you can top up after you apply. GOV.UK says HMRC will contact you and tell you how many extra weeks you need to pay to get the most you're entitled to. At the 2026-27 rate, 13 weeks cost £47.45 (earlier years have their own rate), a small top-up that can be worth a lot. See should I pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance?

If you work unpaid in your partner's business

GOV.UK says you might get £27 a week for up to 14 weeks if, for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your baby is due, you did unpaid work for the business of your spouse or civil partner and weren't employed or self-employed yourself. In the same 26 weeks, your spouse or civil partner must have been registered as self-employed with HMRC and paying Class 2, or having it treated as paid because their profits were at or above the threshold. For an unfiled year, HMRC may ask them to pay early and refund it later.

If your partner pays you a wage instead, see can I pay my partner a wage from my business?

Self-employed dads and partners

There is no statutory paternity pay from self-employment. GOV.UK says that for Paternity Leave you must be an employee, and for Paternity Pay you must be employed by your employer up to the date of birth. If you also have a job, check those conditions for it.

Likewise, a mum whose job pays her Statutory Maternity Pay can't get Maternity Allowance too.

How to claim

1. Apply once you've been pregnant for 26 weeks.
2. Fill in the Maternity Allowance claim form (MA1), online or on paper, and send it to the address on the form.
3. Send proof of your due date: a MATB1 certificate, or a letter on headed paper from your doctor or midwife. If your baby has already been born, send proof of the birth too.
4. Choose your start date. Payments can start any time from the 11th week before your baby is due to the day after the birth.
5. Claim within 3 months of your Maternity Allowance start date, or you may not get the full amount.

GOV.UK says a decision should come within 20 working days.

Working while you get it

You must report going back to work, or starting or stopping work, straight away. If you don't, your Maternity Allowance could be stopped or reduced, you might have to pay some back, and you might have to pay a £50 fine. You can work up to 10 "keeping in touch" days without affecting the amount, and you must report them. This doesn't apply to the 14-week Maternity Allowance for unpaid work in a partner's business, where any work can stop it.

Tax and other benefits

GOV.UK lists Maternity Allowance as tax-free.

It can change other benefits, including Universal Credit, but GOV.UK says your total benefits usually go up or stay the same. See how Universal Credit works if you're self-employed.

Your tax deadlines don't stop for a new baby. If you're still registered as self-employed, your Self Assessment return and any Making Tax Digital quarterly updates are still due, so plan for them or have someone do them for you.

What this means for you

If you've been trading for at least 6 months of the last 66 weeks and your profits are at or above the small profits threshold, you are probably on track for the top rate of £194.32 a week without paying Class 2 yourself. Filing your return early avoids HMRC asking for Class 2 on unfiled weeks. If your profits have been low, check your record and price up a Class 2 top-up before you claim.

Steps to take

1. Check your National Insurance record for the years your test period covers.
2. File any outstanding tax return for those years.
3. Apply with the MA1 form from 26 weeks pregnant, then weigh up any Class 2 top-up HMRC offers.
4. Put your tax return and quarterly update dates in the diary for your time off.

Use the free MTD check to see when Making Tax Digital starts for you, and the trades section for more guides.