Maternity pay - question

Xion

Hello All,

Are you taxed on Maternity pay????

Meadows

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/taxable-income.htm

jillie1974

if you work- yes

chrisbur

Xion wrote: »

Hello All,

Are you taxed on Maternity pay????

This depends on what you mean by taxed and maternity pay.

If you are refering to statutory maternity pay ie paid through your employer, then it is counted as taxable income but what tax you pay will depend on your tax code and what you are paid. If your SMP is more than your tax allowance as it might well be for the first 6 weeks then tax would be paid but if your SMP is lower than your tax allowance, probable after first six weeks, then a tax rebate would be due, assuming tax had been paid in the tax year. If no tax had been paid then your SMP would be paid with no tax deducted or rebated.

If you did not qualify for SMP and get Maternity Allowance then this is not taxable income I believe.

quinechinoise

Not sure about SMP but I had MA and I seem to recollect it was paid direct and untaxed. Think it's a bit like Child Benefit... I don't think I had to enter it on my tax return. It doesn't count as "income" as such.