How do I work out what my SMP will be after tax and other deductions?

[OrangeMochaFrappucino]

I am trying to work out a detailed budget for my maternity leave in order to plan how long I will be able to take. I know that SMP is £136 a week, however, I can't find a way of working out how much that will be net after tax, NI and pension contributions. This is my second pregnancy but I can't remember what it worked out as last time! The baby is due at the end of April so my maternity leave will start at the start of the new tax year, if that makes any difference!

In fact, I have just been back through my bank statements from my previous maternity leave and it looks like no deductions were actually made as I was receiving £564 per month. Need to trawl through my payslips to see! Does anyone have any idea about this?

ill be in the same boat as you! my baby is due end of April so I'd like to know too.
x

Pension contributions shouldn't come off SMP.

The amount of tax payable will depend on your tax code. I would give HMRC a ring and see what they can do.

Deductions spend on your overall taxable income in the tax year. Since you are due at the beginning of the tax year I would put in a phone call to HRMC once you go onto SMP so that they don't automatically carry non your old tax code.

They don't tax your SMP and don't take pension from it (you can opt to pay it back later where I work). I actually averaged around 600-700 PCM due to tax rebates being added.

You don't get tax/NI taken off SMP. I always get the full amount (and tax back) I started mat leave march 1st x

Thanks - I didn't think it would be taxed but read on here that it was, also the gov.uk website says it does. But it's under the threshold so I couldn't work out how. Anyway, I definitely didn't pay tax last time and was a higher earner pre-maternity leave then. I'm trying to budget as carefully as possible but it seems so complicated to work anything out! I need to know if I will get any tax credits when I return to work and am paying two lots of childcare but it is very difficult to establish from the website. I like to plan ahead so wish they would make the information easier to come by!

I believe that you are taxed on the first 6 weeks at 90% pay if you meet the threshold but not the standard £136.

Great thread - can any helpful peoplr riddle me this please?

I was told my pension deductions would continue but if I chose to stop them and catch up I would loose my employers matching contribution. This was from the chap who deals with the pensions at head office... And he also said they'd continue at my usual rate (despite being a percentage contribution?) which I thought was odd.

Is this a load of rubbish or is it dependent on the company? Confused!!

I will need to contact my pension company too as I was under the impression that they continued to take a % contribution but I have been told conflicting advice that you either stop paying and catch up when you return or you pay the full amount during your leave.

Your employer cannot make deductions that take your gross SMP below the statutory amount.

So if you have a matching scheme, you might need to make your own contributions to get the match, I'm not sure about that.

SMP is taxable. Strangely if you don't qualify for SMP but get MA instead (at the same rate) it's not taxable.

On a PAYE basis, it's below the tax threshold so there wouldn't be any deducted if it's at the beginning if the tax year, towards the end you've prob overpaid tax earlier on so will be due a refund. If you fill out tax returns it should be included as taxable income.