Maternity pay tax

[YourBrickSnail]

I am trying to find out if I am going to be taxed whilst on maternity leave.
my maternity leave starts on the 20th May 2024.
therefore the amount of maternity pay (smp) received across the year will be under my tax threshold.
I received this months pay slip where I was on annual leave from 4th April (up till my maternity leave)
but I have been taxed.
can anyone advise how this works?

Your personal allowance is split equally over the year and each month assessed.

If you have the standard personal allowance of £12570 you must have earned more than £1047.50 (12570/12) this month as anything over this is taxed.

Next month they will look at your YTD pay compared to the YTD personal allowance (1047.50x2 = 2095)

I'd assume you will be taxed for a couple of months as SMP is higher for the first 6 weeks then you will start getting a refund back when you're earning less.

By the end of the tax year you will have paid the correct amount.

You can reclaim any overpaid tax at the end of the tax year.