Having a baby when you're self-employed: a practical money plan

The short answer: In 2026/27, a self-employed mum can usually claim Maternity Allowance of £27 to £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks. The amount depends on her Class 2 National Insurance. Self-employed dads and partners get no paternity pay until a new Parental Allowance starts in April 2029. So plan month by month, with room for late invoices.

There's a lot you can't know in advance when you're preparing for a baby. Your money plan can leave room for that, without assuming you'll be back at full speed on a perfectly chosen date. A good first step is to check what you might qualify for with the new parent benefits checker.

Can I claim Maternity Allowance if I'm self-employed?

Yes, if you meet the conditions. Maternity Allowance is the main payment for self-employed mums, because there's no employer to pay Statutory Maternity Pay.

To qualify, you need to have been registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due, or employed for that long.

How much you get depends on your Class 2 National Insurance (NI) record. Self-employed mums can get between £27 and £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks in 2026/27. For the top amount, you need:

• to have been registered with HMRC for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due date

• Class 2 contributions paid for at least 13 of those 66 weeks

If your profits are £7,105 or more a year, Class 2 is treated as paid, so your record is protected. Below that, you don't have to pay, but you can choose to pay voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week.

Don't assume there's nothing to check. After you apply, HMRC will contact you if you've paid fewer than 13 weeks. They'll tell you how many extra contributions would get you the most you're entitled to. You may get £27 a week at first, then a backdated top-up once the contributions are linked. That can take several weeks, so build it into your plan.

If you also have a job, check whether you get Statutory Maternity Pay through it. If you qualify for SMP from your employer, you can't get Maternity Allowance as well.

You can apply once you've been pregnant for 26 weeks. Claim within 3 months of your start date to get the full amount.

Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.

What support is there for self-employed fathers and partners?

Right now, not much from your own business. Paternity Leave is only for employees, and Statutory Paternity Pay needs at least 26 weeks with an employer and average earnings of £129 a week. Being self-employed doesn't, on its own, give you either. A separate job may, if you meet its conditions. Our guide to paternity leave and pay covers the employee side.

That changes in April 2029. At the Autumn Budget, the government said that eligible self-employed fathers, partners and adopters in Great Britain will be able to get parental pay from April 2029. It's called a Parental Allowance. The Treasury says it gives two weeks of support currently worth up to £194 a week, and it should reach over 150,000 parents a year.

It will also cover people who miss out on paternity or adoption pay because they're recently employed, unemployed or have a broken work pattern, as long as they have "sufficient work and earnings history". The exact test hasn't been published yet.

So what can a self-employed partner do before then?

1. Check if you have a job alongside the business that gives you paternity rights.

2. Know where Shared Parental Pay fits. The partner who takes it has to be employed, with 26 weeks at the same employer, so it won't help if your only work is your own business. It works the other way round, though. If you're the employed partner of a self-employed mum, she can give up some of her Maternity Allowance weeks so you can take Shared Parental Pay, if you each meet the tests.

3. Plan your own unpaid time off as a cost, the same way you'd plan a holiday.

What changes in April 2027 and April 2029?

April 2027 brings small rises in rates, and April 2029 brings the new allowance for partners.

The table uses the government's announcements from 26 to 28 October 2026. Rates for 2027/28 aren't final until DWP publishes its list.

For your plan:

• If your baby is due before April 2029, the new Parental Allowance won't help. The Budget gives April 2029 as the start date.

• If your Maternity Allowance runs past April 2027, check the new rate once DWP publishes it. The DWP statement says the full list will follow "in due course".

• The details may still shift. The government's Parental Leave and Pay Review is due to finish in early 2027.

Can I work while claiming Maternity Allowance?

A little. You can do up to 10 keeping in touch days without losing any Maternity Allowance. You need to report each one.

The DWP guidance confirms this covers self-employed work. Any work on a day, even half an hour answering client emails, counts as a whole day. So it's worth keeping a simple diary of the days you work.

How do I budget for what arrives, and when?

When money arrives matters as much as how much. Maternity Allowance is paid every 2 or 4 weeks, and the first payments may be lower while contributions are checked.

Make a table, month by month, showing:

• confirmed support, and when it lands

• other household income

• the business income you expect to receive (invoices often arrive after the work)

• essential spending

• business overheads (your regular running costs)

• tax payments

Include a version where your return to work is slower. You may need to rebuild bookings before invoices are paid. And childcare or recovery may change the hours you can work.

Don't just add together every benefit you might get. If you get Universal Credit, it's reduced by the same amount as your Maternity Allowance. Our guide to what support you can get when you're self-employed covers the wider picture.

Example: a self-employed couple plan for a baby in 2027

Here's a made-up example to show how the numbers work. Your figures will be different.

Priya is a freelance designer. Her partner Tom is a self-employed electrician. Their baby is due in spring 2027.

• Priya's profits dipped last year, so she hasn't paid Class 2 for every week. If HMRC tells her she needs 13 weeks of voluntary Class 2, that costs 13 × £3.65 = £47.45 at 2026/27 rates.

• That could take her Maternity Allowance from £27 a week up to £194.32 a week. Over 39 weeks, £194.32 a week comes to £7,578.48.

• Tom gets no paternity pay. The new allowance starts in April 2029, too late for this baby. So they budget for 2 weeks with no income from Tom's business.

• Some of Priya's Maternity Allowance weeks fall after April 2027, so they note the rate may rise and check DWP's list when it's out.

They plan around the lower £27 a week for the first few weeks, in case the top-up takes a while. Anything extra goes into their buffer.

How can childcare support and Child Benefit help?

Tax-Free Childcare can help once you're back at work. For every £8 you pay in, the government adds £2, up to £500 every 3 months per child (£2,000 a year), or £1,000 (£4,000 a year) for a disabled child.

The conditions include your child's age, a minimum income, and an adjusted net income limit of £100,000 for each parent. If your business started less than 12 months ago, the minimum income test doesn't apply. You can't get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as Universal Credit.

Claiming Child Benefit matters too, even if you don't want the money. You get NI credits if you claim and your child is under 12, and those credits count towards your State Pension. That still works if you opt out of payments because of the High Income Child Benefit Charge. The charge starts above £60,000 adjusted net income and takes back the full amount at £80,000. Check whose record needs the credits most.

What about my pension while I'm off?

You can review paying into your pension as part of your leave plan. That might mean a pause, a smaller amount, or a date in the diary to look at it again. There's no need to force the pattern you had before the baby into a time when your household money has changed.

Capital at risk. The value of your pension can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay in.

Still got questions?

Will the new Parental Allowance help if our baby is due before April 2029? No. The government has said it starts in April 2029, and it hasn't said it will cover babies born before then.

What if I do unpaid work for my partner's self-employed business? You might get £27 a week for up to 14 weeks, if your partner is registered as self-employed and pays Class 2.

How long does a Maternity Allowance decision take? You should hear within 20 working days of sending your claim.

Do I need to pay Class 2 if my profits are over £7,105? No. At that level Class 2 is treated as paid, so your record is protected.

How much is Statutory Paternity Pay for employed partners? £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that's lower, in 2026/27.