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Income tax, National Insurance and net pay for any UK salary, 2026-27.
Statutory Paternity Pay is worth £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, for up to 2 weeks [1]. A father who works for himself cannot claim any of it, because the payment is tied to employment and paid by an employer through payroll [2].
The contrast with mothers is stark. A self-employed mother can claim Maternity Allowance of between £27 and £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks, depending on her Class 2 National Insurance record [3]. There is no equivalent "paternity allowance" for fathers or partners who run their own business, a gap the government's parental leave and pay review has been asked to examine [4].
The picture is not entirely empty, though. Self-employed work counts towards the partner test for shared parental pay, a director paid through PAYE can qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay as an office holder, and someone who is both employed and self-employed can claim from the employment side. This article sets out each route, the figures that apply in the 2026-27 tax year, and the payroll decisions that decide whether a self-employed parent receives anything at all.
Key takeaways
- Sole traders and partners in a partnership cannot receive Statutory Paternity Pay, because it is only paid by an employer to an employee or office holder with earnings.
- Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, for up to 2 weeks, and needs 26 weeks of service plus average earnings of at least £129 a week.
- A company director on payroll can qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay if salary averages at least £129 a week over the 8-week relevant period, which a salary set at the Lower Earnings Limit just meets.
- A self-employed mother's work counts towards the shared parental pay partner test, so an employed father may be able to share her untaken leave and pay.
- Self-employed partners helping in a spouse's business can receive £27 a week of Maternity Allowance for up to 14 weeks, but only where that business owner pays Class 2 contributions [3].
- The government's parental leave and pay review covers the needs of self-employed fathers and partners and is due to report early in 2027.
Why self-employed fathers cannot claim Statutory Paternity Pay
Statutory Paternity Pay sits inside the employment relationship. The qualifying conditions require the parent to be employed by the paying employer up to the date of birth, to have 26 weeks of continuous employment by the qualifying week, and to earn an average of at least £129 a week [2]. The employer pays the money, deducts tax and National Insurance through payroll, and then recovers most of the cost from HMRC [5].
What "employee" means for SPP
The legal definition is wider than an employment contract. Section 171ZJ of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 defines an employee for paternity pay as a person gainfully employed in Great Britain under a contract of service, or in an office, including elective office, with earnings [6]. That second limb matters for company directors, as later sections explain.
A sole trader falls outside both limbs. Government guidance on employment status describes a self-employed person as someone who runs a business for themselves and takes responsibility for its success or failure, and notes that self-employed workers are not paid through PAYE [7]. With no employer and no PAYE earnings, there is nobody to pay Statutory Paternity Pay and no earnings to test against the threshold [8].
The statutory tests a self-employed father cannot meet
The birth conditions in section 171ZA require continuous employment for at least 26 weeks ending with the relevant week, normal weekly earnings over the 8 weeks to that week of at least the Lower Earnings Limit, and continued employment until the birth [8]. The relevant week is the week immediately before the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth, which the employer guidance calls the qualifying week, the 15th week before the due date [9].
The table below compares the position of three types of father for the 2026-27 tax year [2].
| Test | Employee | Director on payroll | Sole trader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays SPP | The employer | The company | Nobody |
| 26 weeks' service by the qualifying week | Required | Required, as office holder | Not applicable |
| Average earnings of at least £129 a week | Salary and wages | Director's salary only, not dividends | Trading profits do not count |
| Paternity leave as an employment right | Day-one right | Only with an employment contract | None |
| Weekly rate if eligible | £194.32 or 90% of AWE | £194.32 or 90% of AWE | Not payable |
The employed parent: what Statutory Paternity Pay looks like
For comparison, it helps to see what the employed route provides. From 6 April 2026, paternity leave became a day-one right, so the leave itself no longer needs 26 weeks of service, although the pay still does [10]. The government said the change brings around 32,000 more parents into scope for paternity leave [4].
Rate, duration and timing
An eligible employee can take up to 2 weeks of leave, either together or as two separate one-week blocks, and the leave must end within 52 weeks of the birth [11]. Statutory Paternity Pay is paid at £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower [1].
Two full weeks at the flat rate come to £388.64 before tax and National Insurance, which pass through payroll in the normal way [12]. The statute also confirms that the daily rate is one seventh of the weekly rate, which is how part weeks are paid [13].
Notice and recovery
The employee must give the due date at least 15 weeks before the baby is expected, and at least 28 days' notice of when the leave starts [14]. Acas advises employers to confirm the dates in writing, and to use form SPP1 within 28 days if the employee does not qualify for pay [15].
A standard employer recovers 92% of the statutory payment, and an employer whose Class 1 National Insurance was £45,000 or less in the previous tax year recovers 109% under Small Employers' Relief [5]. On the £388.64 paid for two flat-rate weeks, that is £357.55 recovered at the standard rate or £423.62 with Small Employers' Relief, under the recovery rules on the same rates page [5]. The April Employer Bulletin set out the day-one paternity leave changes that sit alongside these unchanged recovery rules [16].
| Recovery position | Rate recovered | On £388.64 of SPP |
|---|---|---|
| Standard employer | 92% | £357.55 |
| Small Employers' Relief | 109% | £423.62 |
Directors of their own company: the payroll route
Many people who describe themselves as self-employed actually trade through a limited company. A director is classed as an office holder for tax and National Insurance purposes [17], and an office holder with earnings is an employee for Statutory Paternity Pay under section 171ZJ [6]. The company therefore pays the director Statutory Paternity Pay through its own payroll, then recovers it from HMRC like any other employer.
Salary, not dividends, sets the earnings test
The earnings test looks at normal weekly earnings over the 8 weeks ending with the relevant week [8]. Dividends are not earnings for this purpose, so only the director's salary counts towards the £129 a week threshold [9].
This is where the common low-salary approach becomes decisive. A monthly salary of £559 equals the monthly Lower Earnings Limit, and works out at an average of £129 a week, just enough to clear the test [18]. A salary set one pound a month lower would fail it, and the director would receive no Statutory Paternity Pay at all [2].
Two salary levels compared
A director paid £6,708 a year pays no income tax and no employee National Insurance, and the company pays £256.20 of employer National Insurance on the earnings above the £5,000 Secondary Threshold [18]. A director paid £12,570 a year also pays no income tax and no employee National Insurance, but the company's employer National Insurance rises to £1,135.50 [5].
Employment Allowance would normally absorb that employer cost, but it is not available where a company has only one director who is the only employee liable for secondary Class 1 National Insurance [19]. Both salary levels clear the £129 a week paternity pay test, so the choice between them turns on National Insurance record, corporation tax and cash flow rather than on paternity entitlement [2].
| Annual director salary | Income tax | Employee NI | Employer NI | Meets £129 SPP test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £6,708 | £0 | £0 | £256.20 | Yes, at the limit |
| £12,570 | £0 | £0 | £1,135.50 | Yes |
Leave versus pay for directors
Statutory Paternity Pay and statutory paternity leave are separate rights. Paternity leave belongs to employees [2], and guidance notes that a director only has employment rights where there is an employment contract for other work [17]. In practice, a director without an employment contract can still receive the pay, but Statutory Paternity Pay is not payable for any week in which the person works under a contract of service for the paying employer or works for another employer that is not liable to pay it [13].
Directors who keep working on the business during the two weeks should take advice on how those rules apply to their own arrangements, because the statute frames the restriction around work for an employer [13]. The company still needs a proper notice on file and payroll records showing the qualifying week and the 8-week average [14]. Owner-managers running their own payroll for one-person businesses need software that applies the qualifying-week test and records the recovery on the Employer Payment Summary.
When the mother is self-employed
A self-employed mother has her own statutory support, and her work record can also open a route for an employed partner.
Maternity Allowance for the self-employed mother
Maternity Allowance is paid by the state, not by an employer, and is open to a mother who has been registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the baby is due [20]. It can be paid for up to 39 weeks [21], and the claim can be made once the pregnancy reaches 26 weeks [22].
The amount depends on Class 2 contributions. The maximum of £194.32 a week needs Class 2 contributions for at least 13 of the 66 weeks before the due date, while a self-employed mother with no Class 2 contributions receives £27 a week [3]. Profits of £7,105 or more a year mean Class 2 contributions are treated as paid, and below that level voluntary Class 2 contributions cost £3.65 a week [23].
| Self-employed mother's record | Weekly Maternity Allowance | Maximum duration |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 paid or treated as paid for 13 of the 66 weeks | Up to £194.32 | 39 weeks |
| No Class 2 contributions | £27 | 39 weeks |
| Unpaid work in a self-employed spouse's business | £27 | 14 weeks |
Claiming within 3 months of the Maternity Allowance start date secures the full amount, and a decision normally follows within 20 working days [22]. The payment window opens from the 11th week before the due date [22], and the rates are confirmed on the dedicated rates page [3].
Shared parental pay for an employed father
Shared parental leave and pay let a mother end her maternity entitlement early and pass the balance to her partner. Where the partner is employed and the mother is self-employed, the mother must pass the work and pay test: working for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due week, and earning at least £390 in total across any 13 of those weeks [24].
Self-employed work counts. Regulation 29 of the Statutory Shared Parental Pay (General) Regulations 2014 requires engagement "as an employed or self-employed earner" in at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the calculation week [25]. The employed father must still meet his own test, including average earnings of at least £129 a week and employee status for the leave [24]. The detailed booking rules are covered in the Moonworkers guide to shared parental leave.
When the father is self-employed but his partner is not
The reverse case is harder. If the father is self-employed and the mother is an employee, the father cannot receive Statutory Paternity Pay or shared parental pay himself, because both are paid by an employer [2]. His self-employed work can still help her, because it can satisfy the partner's side of the work and pay test that unlocks her own shared parental leave [25].
The spouse-in-the-business route
One narrow route runs the other way. A partner who does unpaid work in a self-employed spouse's or civil partner's business, and is not otherwise employed or self-employed, can receive Maternity Allowance for up to 14 weeks [20]. The business owner must be registered as self-employed with HMRC and pay Class 2 contributions over the same 26 of 66 weeks, and the rate is £27 a week [3].
This route supports the birth parent, not the self-employed father, so it does not fill the paternity gap [21]. It is nonetheless relevant for family businesses where one partner does the books or answers the phone without drawing a wage [22].
Fathers who are both employed and self-employed
Someone can be employed and self-employed at the same time [7]. A self-employed electrician who also holds a part-time job can claim Statutory Paternity Pay from that employer if the job alone meets the 26-week service test and the £129 average earnings test [9].
The payment is then calculated only on the employed earnings, because trading profits play no part in the average weekly earnings calculation [12]. The employer runs the claim through its usual SME payroll software and reclaims the cost at 92% or 109% [5].
The policy debate and what may change
The gap has drawn sustained pressure. A University of Bath Institute for Policy Research brief proposed a Paternity Allowance, a six-week entitlement paid at the Statutory Paternity Pay rate and mirroring Maternity Allowance, for self-employed and worker fathers who are currently ineligible for any support [26]. The self-employed trade body IPSE campaigns on the point that self-employed fathers are not eligible for even a basic level of paternity pay [27].
The parental leave and pay review
The Department for Business and Trade opened a call for evidence on parental leave and pay from 1 July 2025 to 26 August 2025, and listed fairness across employment statuses, including self-employed, as a consideration [28]. In a Lords answer in May, the government said the review's terms of reference consider the needs of self-employed parents, including fathers and partners, and that almost 1,500 responses had been received [4].
The same answer said the review will conclude early in 2027 with findings and next steps for reform, and that costs were still being assessed [4]. The government's wider Employment Rights Act timeline, which lists the day-one paternity leave change of 6 April 2026, will show any follow-up legislation [29].
What a new entitlement would mean for payroll
If a state-paid allowance is introduced along Maternity Allowance lines, it would be claimed from the government rather than run through an employer's payroll, as Maternity Allowance is today [21]. Changes to Statutory Paternity Pay itself, by contrast, would land directly in payroll, because employers pay it and recover it through the Employer Payment Summary [5].
Platforms that embed payroll for small companies and freelancers through an HMRC-recognised payroll API need a statutory pay engine that can absorb a new payment type without a rebuild. Accountants advising owner-managers through a multi-client payroll dashboard can meanwhile check each director's salary against the £129 test well before the qualifying week [9].
Practical checklist for self-employed parents and their advisers
The table below sets out which route to test first, by household situation, for the 2026-27 tax year [24].
| Household situation | Route to check first | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Father is a sole trader, mother is employed | Mother's maternity pay and shared parental leave, using the father's work for her partner test | Mother's employer |
| Father is a director on payroll | Statutory Paternity Pay from his company | The company, recovered from HMRC |
| Mother is self-employed, father is employed | Maternity Allowance for the mother, then shared parental pay for the father | State, then the father's employer |
| Both parents are sole traders | Maternity Allowance for the mother only | State |
| Father has a job alongside self-employment | Statutory Paternity Pay from the job | The employer |
For a director, the qualifying week falls 15 weeks before the due date, so salary decisions for the 8 weeks before it need to be made early [8]. For a sole trader, the practical question is whether Class 2 contributions are in place for the mother's Maternity Allowance, since that decides between £27 and £194.32 a week [23]. The wider employer view of the payment is set out in the Moonworkers guide to Statutory Paternity Pay.
Check a director's salary against the thresholds
Before fixing a director's salary for the months around a birth, an owner-manager can test any figure with the Moonworkers UK salary calculator, which applies the 2026-27 PAYE and National Insurance rules and shows the employer cost alongside take-home pay.
£ per month
e.g. 1257L, S1257L, BR, D0
S = Scotland · C = Wales · W1/M1 = non-cumulative
Enter a salary or hourly rate above
About this calculator
This calculator gives you a close estimate of your UK payroll deductions for 2026-27, using HMRC's exact percentage method with periodised thresholds. It handles the three tax territories, K codes with the 50% regulatory limit and its carry-forward, weeks 53, 54 and 56, the cumulative and W1/M1/X bases, student and postgraduate loans, and pension contributions on qualifying earnings. It still won't match your payslip to the penny in every case: it does not cover in-year tax code changes, payrolled benefits in kind, NI deferral across more than one employment, directors on the annual earnings period, or employer-level annual adjustments such as the Employment Allowance and the apprenticeship levy. Powered by the same engine as the Moonworkers Payroll API.
Frequently asked questions
Why might the result differ from my payslip?
This calculator uses your current gross pay and tax code to produce an estimate. K-code carry-forwards and weeks 53, 54 and 56 are handled, and the Year-to-date section reproduces a specific period exactly. What your employer may apply that this does not: a mid-year tax code change, benefits in kind processed through payroll, or NI deferral across more than one employment. For most employees on a standard tax code the difference is negligible.
What tax code should I enter?
Use the tax code shown on your most recent payslip or the PAYE Coding Notice (P2) from HMRC. If you're not sure, 1257L is the standard code for most employees resident in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Use S1257L for Scotland or C1257L for Wales if you pay Scottish or Welsh income tax.
Which NI category applies to me?
Most employees use Category A. Use M if you are under 21, H if you are an apprentice under 25, or C if you are over State Pension age. Your employer is responsible for assigning the correct category. If in doubt, check your payslip.
Which student loan plan am I on?
Your plan depends on when and where you studied. Plan 1 covers students who started before September 2012. Plan 2 is for English and Welsh students who started from September 2012 to July 2023. Plan 5 applies to English students who started from August 2023. Plan 4 covers Scottish students. You can check your plan at gov.uk or on your payslip.
What is the YTD cumulative PAYE mode?
HMRC's standard method calculates income tax on your total earnings to date each period, then subtracts tax already paid. If you're mid-year and want to see exactly what tax should be deducted in a specific period, expand the Year-to-date section and enter your running totals from previous periods only.
Conclusion
Self-employed paternity pay, in the strict sense, does not exist. Statutory Paternity Pay is an employer payment built on service, earnings and payroll, and a sole trader has none of the three. What exists instead is a set of indirect routes: Statutory Paternity Pay for directors who draw a salary of at least £129 a week, shared parental pay unlocked by a self-employed partner's work record, and Maternity Allowance for the birth parent.
The structure of each household's working arrangements therefore decides the outcome far more than the father's intentions. With the parental leave and pay review due to report, the shape of any future support for self-employed fathers, and whether it is state-paid or employer-paid, will determine how much of it ends up in payroll systems.
Frequently asked questions
Can a sole trader get paternity pay in the UK?
No. Statutory Paternity Pay is only paid by an employer to an employee or office holder with earnings, so a sole trader with no employer cannot receive it. There is currently no state-paid paternity allowance equivalent to Maternity Allowance. The government's parental leave and pay review is considering support for self-employed fathers and partners [4], and payment by an employer remains a core condition of the current scheme [2].
Can a limited company director pay himself Statutory Paternity Pay?
Yes, if the conditions are met. A director is an office holder with earnings, which counts as an employee for paternity pay, so the company can pay Statutory Paternity Pay and recover it from HMRC. The director needs 26 weeks of service by the qualifying week and average salary of at least £129 a week over the 8-week relevant period, and dividends do not count [6] [9].
Does self-employed work count for shared parental pay?
It counts towards the partner's side of the test. The regulations require the partner to have worked as an employed or self-employed earner in at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due week, and to have earned at least £390 in 13 of those weeks. The parent actually taking shared parental pay must still be an employee or worker who meets their own earnings test [25] [24].
How much Maternity Allowance does a self-employed mother get?
Between £27 and £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks. The full rate needs Class 2 National Insurance contributions paid or treated as paid for at least 13 of the 66 weeks before the due date. Where no Class 2 contributions have been made, the rate is £27 a week [3]. Profits of £7,105 or more a year mean Class 2 contributions are treated as paid [23].
