Having a Baby in the UK 2026: The Money Guide

A new baby changes your finances as much as your life. The UK has a set of payments and help designed for exactly this moment - but you have to claim most of them, and the timing matters. This guide walks through the money side, step by step, and links to the detail and calculators.

Before the birth: check your pay

Tell your employer you are pregnant at least 15 weeks before the due date, with your MATB1 certificate, and check what maternity or paternity pay you will get.

• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is 90% of your average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then the lower of £194.32 or 90% for 33 weeks (39 weeks total). See the Statutory Maternity Pay guide and estimate yours with the maternity pay calculator.
• If you are self-employed or do not qualify for SMP, you may get Maternity Allowance at the same £194.32 weekly rate (covered in the SMP guide).
• Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 a week for one or two weeks - see the paternity pay calculator. Parents can also split leave through Shared Parental Leave.
• Adopting? See the adoption pay calculator.

Model your take-home before you go on leave

Going down to statutory pay is a big drop. Work out the numbers in advance so you can plan and save:

• run your reduced pay through the take-home pay calculator to see the after-tax figure;
• check the statutory pay rates for all the weekly amounts.

When the baby arrives: claim Child Benefit

Claim Child Benefit as soon as you have registered the birth:

• £27.05 a week for your first child and £17.90 for each other child in 2026/27;
• claiming also gives you National Insurance credits that protect your State Pension;
• if you or your partner earns over the threshold, the High Income Child Benefit Charge claws some back - but you can still claim for the NI credits. See the Child Benefit claim guide and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

Cutting the childcare bill

Childcare is often the biggest new cost. Two schemes help most:

• Tax-Free Childcare tops up what you pay by 20% - the government adds £2 for every £8, up to £2,000 a year per child (£4,000 for a disabled child). Estimate it with the Tax-Free Childcare calculator.
• Free childcare hours cover part of the bill for eligible families - see Tax-Free Childcare vs free hours to work out which is better for you (you can often use both).

If money is tight

On a low income, Universal Credit can include help with childcare costs and a child element. Check what you can claim with our benefits guide.

The bottom line

Have a baby-money checklist: sort your maternity or paternity pay early, model your reduced take-home, claim Child Benefit as soon as the baby is here, and set up childcare help before you need it.