I have emailed maternity action this list of questions but there's a two week wait for an answer and this is niggling at me. If anyone fancies answering any of this for me I'll be very grateful.
I have just resigned from the job that paid me SMP with my first child. I also have a mortgage on a property that I rent out. I also have other self employed work which I am hoping to start up again soon. I want to know if I will qualify for MA if I become pregnant again, or whether I need to wait until I have more self employed work to try to conceive.
Within the test period, do the following count as earnings for MA eligibility?
1 - Statutory maternity pay
2 - Annual leave that I accrued while pregnant and that was paid to me at the end of my employment
My rental profit after costs is £300 a month, which is under the threshold for paying class 2 NI. But I've been in receipt of SMP during this year I have paid class 1 NI via my employer (I've paid £506 and my employer has paid £605). Does the class 1 NI I paid through the job I've resigned from count towards the calculation when they are looking at my self employed class 2 NI contributions?
Does my rental income count as earnings for MA eligibility?
Does my rental income count as work that would invalidate my eligibility for MA if I received the rental income while in receipt of MA?
If my self employed work is the work taken into account to qualify me for maternity allowance, I believe that rather than looking at income they will calculate my eligibility by looking at my class 2 national insurance contributions. If so, if this work is in next year's tax return, how do I work out how much NI I would pay, and how much MA I could receive?