SMP question

[nannynome]

I know SMP is 136.78 but am trying to figure out what take home will be monthly after tax. I did all the calculations on the HMRC website but am presuming the SMP calculations it gives me are gross and not net. If I am in a standard tax band does anyone know what £586 smp in a month would be in take home? Am very confused! the site has it fluctuating monthly between £605-566 depending on the month but need to figure out the percentage I am deducting to make sure my take home calculations are correct. Sorry to be confused!

Hi nannynome I get £136.78/week in Maternity Allowance (not sure if the rules are different from SMP) and I get the full amount - I pay no tax on it at all, hope this helps

I have no idea - bumping so hopefully someone will be along to explain it to both of us!

But I guess it will depend on your personal tax code, how much of the year you will be bringing in a regular (non-SMP) wage, plus whatever additional maternity pay you might get with your work i.e. 90% for first 6 weeks or whatever.

It's never straightforward with tax!

I asked my accountant at work, normal tax band but have a company car and she reckons I'll be lucky to take home 350 a month after tax :-( not happy so hoping she's wrong!! Not sure how I'm meant to get by on that!!! I'm so looking for enhanced packages with future jobs - sick pay, mat pay, pension etc!!!

I get SMA and I get the full £136 a week and they don't take any tax or anything off it.
Surely that amount doesn't add up to the minimum a year for tax purposes?? X

I thought the personal allowance was £9440? So if you're getting under £180 a week you won't be taxed on it.

It depends on what else you've earned that tax year, and how payrole deal with any tax overpayment.
I got a tax rebate some months (maybe after it dropped to 0 pay?)

It will also depend on any thing elae which comes off your pay - some pension arrangements (first time round it wasn't salary sacrifice), and any union subs or private health insurance.

Never paid tax on my SMP (getting it til November) in fact mr tax man has been giving me tax back each month (aside from the months when I've done kit days)

such a nightmare trying to figure it all out! thanks for the answers, if I find any more clarification I will let you know. HMRC website has an SMP calculator which gave me a print out of what I was going to be paid month by month but it was all before tax. Have realised my calculations for jan-jun are going to be completely wonky because I didn't calculate tax in :( I am totally with you Excited, def time to find somewhere with a better package for the next time around!! This job came after a redundancy so wasn't thinking about packages, more relieved to get a job at the time!

Cannotbelieveit - is that a general thing that tax isn't paid on it or is that specific to you do you know?

just found this on another forum, don't know how correct it is but is sounds reasonable, was from 2012.

"You are taxed on any income above £7545. If you won't earn over that in the tax year you won't pay any tax. If you earn that much or more before taking your SMP in to account then just take off 31% - 20%for tax and 11 % for NI. To work out what you would take home multiply by 0.69, so if you would get £128 a week then 128x0.69= £88 take home pay."

SMP depends on which point in the tax year you go off and the earnings to date in that year.

Normal allowance £9440 pa = £786.66 tax free
£136.78*52/12 = £592.71a month

As you are under the allowance you should receive this plus any child benefit if you & your DP aren't higher rate tax payers.

I was in month 3 of the tax year so received a slight rebate on each month of basic SMP.

This is based upon monthly earnings, not weekly.

Oh and ladies, SMP does feel crap when you compare to some of your friends but we do have some of the best rights in the world in the UK. US ladies get a maximum of 12 weeks unpaid leave if they're with certain companies for a period of time before the baby arrives so even having the right to a year off with 9 months of some pay isn't too shabby.

Just don't look at Canada, Germany and the Scandinavian countries as you might turn green.

Nanny it doesn't meet the threshold hence not paying any tax it's the same for everyone

money is confusing in general :) I am going off at the beginning of January if I can make it that far. SPD is just starting up, hopefully physio will help and work are going to be letting me work from home too so should be ok. Am probably going to start back at work in the July when baby is 6 months, 2 days nursery, one day with dad and two with me until september and then into full time nursery at 9months. That is if I find a nursery I am happy with having previously worked in childcare and so going to be horrendously picky!

Try putting it in here www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/prorata.php I used it to figure out my take home wage if I went part time. Obviously thats not what you want, but if you put the ammount in, and your tax code and any pension you pay then it should give you a take home ammount. If I do it it says that I would take home the whole ammount - I guess that's because you'd be earning under the tax threashold if you earnt £136 per week for a whole year. If you'd be on the SMP for less than a year then work out what your yearly salary would be including weeks on SMP and week on your wage and use this figure?