UK Shared Parental Pay Calculator 2026/27

Worked scenarios (2026/27)

• Low AWE (90% rule), 20 weeks
  £3,240
  Weekly £162 - net £3,240
• Mid AWE (£500/wk), 20 weeks
  £3,886
  Weekly £194 - net £2,798
• High AWE (£1000/wk), 37 weeks max
  £7,190
  Weekly £194 - net £5,177
• High AWE, 10-week split block
  £1,943
  Weekly £194 - net £1,399
• Below LEL (£100/wk), 20 weeks
  £0
  Weekly £0 - net £0
• Top earner, 37 weeks
  £7,190
  Weekly £194 - net £5,177

How Shared Parental Leave (SPL) works

Shared Parental Leave applies to babies due, or children placed for adoption, on or after 5 April 2015. It lets working parents share time off in the year after a child is born or placed: eligible parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave between them, with up to 37 of those weeks paid as statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) (gov.uk).

The basic mechanics:

1. The mother (or primary adopter) starts maternity or adoption leave as usual. The 2 weeks after the birth are compulsory maternity leave (4 weeks for factory workers) and cannot be shared; an adopter must take at least 2 weeks of adoption leave.
2. The mother gives her employer binding notice of the date her maternity leave and pay will end. The remaining weeks become available as SPL and ShPP.
3. Each parent gives their employer at least 8 weeks’ written notice of the leave dates they want. Leave can be taken in one go or in blocks separated by work, and both parents can be off at the same time.

How much ShPP do you get in 2026/27?

ShPP for 2026/27 is £194.32 a week or 90% of the claimant’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower (gov.uk). The same £194.32 figure applies to:

• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) from week 7 onwards.
• Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP).

ShPP has no uncapped weeks. gov.uk puts it this way: ShPP is the same as SMP “except that during the first 6 weeks SMP is paid at 90% of whatever you earn (with no maximum)”. For a high earner, any of weeks 3-6 that the mother converts from SMP to ShPP is paid at the capped rate instead of 90% of her pay - worth modelling before giving binding notice.

Statutory weekly rates for recent years (the rate shared by SMP after week 6, SAP, SPP and ShPP):

• 2023/24: £172.48
• 2024/25: £184.03
• 2025/26: £187.18
• 2026/27: £194.32

How many weeks of ShPP are available?

• Up to 50 weeks of SPL across both parents.
• Up to 37 weeks of ShPP across both parents.
• Both pools shrink by the maternity or adoption leave and pay already used. gov.uk’s example: a mother who has taken 22 weeks of maternity leave and SMP can share 30 weeks of SPL and 17 weeks of ShPP.

So a mother who takes all 39 weeks of SMP and then ends her maternity leave with 13 weeks left leaves 13 weeks of SPL and no ShPP to share. To leave paid weeks for the partner, she needs to end maternity pay before all 39 weeks are used.

Eligibility for SPL and ShPP

Per gov.uk, the parent who wants to take the leave and pay must:

• have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date (or by the end of the week of matching, for adoption)
• stay with that employer until the week before their SPL starts
• for ShPP, earn on average at least £129 a week in 2026/27
• for SPL itself, be an employee rather than a worker (a worker may be able to get ShPP but not SPL)

The other parent must:

• have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the week the baby is due (the weeks need not be consecutive)
• have earned at least £390 in total in any 13 of those 66 weeks

The mother or adopter must also be entitled to maternity or adoption leave, or to SMP, SAP or Maternity Allowance, and must end it early. If she gets Maternity Allowance, she gives the binding notice to Jobcentre Plus instead of an employer.

Notice requirements and block planning

For each parent (gov.uk):

1. Notice of leave and pay: at least 8 weeks’ written notice, with your planned leave dates. Acas publishes template forms.
2. Binding notice from the mother or adopter of when her leave and pay will end. It cannot normally be changed, but it can be withdrawn if, during the 8-week notice period, it turns out neither parent is eligible, or if she tells her employer less than 6 weeks after the birth and gave the notice before the birth.
3. Changes: you can change your plans later, but each change needs at least 8 weeks’ notice before the leave starts.

Your employer can ask, within 14 days of your application, for a copy of the birth certificate and the name and address of your partner’s employer, and you must reply within 14 days.

Booking blocks:

• Each eligible parent can book up to 3 separate blocks of SPL, and more if the employer agrees.
• Splitting a block into shorter periods with work in between needs the employer’s agreement.
• Each parent can also work up to 20 “SPLIT” days during SPL, if both sides agree.

Tax and National Insurance on ShPP

ShPP is paid through payroll like salary. The employer:

• Deducts Income Tax under the employee’s tax code.
• Deducts employee Class 1 National Insurance at the normal rates (8% main rate, 2% above the Upper Earnings Limit in 2026/27).
• Pays employer Class 1 National Insurance on top.

The employer can usually reclaim 92% of the ShPP it pays, or 109% if it qualifies for Small Employers’ Relief (Class 1 NI of £45,000 or less in the last complete tax year before the qualifying period), per gov.uk: recover statutory payments. For the employee, the deductions work the same way as on salary.

Our calculator estimates the tax and NI on ShPP by comparing two runs of the salary engine: the parent’s working-weeks pay alone, and the same pay plus the ShPP. The difference is the tax and NI attributable to ShPP.

How to claim ShPP from your employer

1. Check eligibility - 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the end of the 15th week before the due date, and average weekly earnings of at least £129.
2. The mother gives binding notice to end her maternity leave and pay.
3. Each parent gives their employer notice of their entitlement and planned leave, at least 8 weeks before the first block.
4. Receive ShPP through payroll - the lower of £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings for each week of ShPP, until the shared 37-week pool is used up.

What this calculator does

Enter the parent’s average weekly earnings, how many ShPP weeks they plan to claim, and (optionally) their annual salary used to estimate PAYE deductions. The calculator shows:

• The ShPP weekly rate (the lower of £194.32 or 90% of AWE).
• Total gross ShPP across the claimed weeks.
• Estimated Income Tax and Class 1 NI on the ShPP.
• Net ShPP after tax and NI.
• The SPL weeks left in the 50-week pool after this claim.

The calculator does not model the partner’s separate ShPP claim, the mother’s overlapping SMP weeks, or enhanced employer schemes. For two parents, run it once for each and add the results.

What we don’t cover

• Maternity Allowance, for mothers who do not qualify for SMP, including the self-employed (up to 39 weeks).
• Enhanced employer schemes that top ShPP up.
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, a separate statutory payment for bereaved parents.
• Neonatal Care Leave and Pay, a separate entitlement from 6 April 2025 for parents of babies in neonatal care.

Related guides

• Maternity Pay Calculator - 39 weeks of SMP (6 weeks at 90% AWE + 33 weeks at the statutory rate).
• Statutory Paternity Pay Calculator
  • SPP at the same £194.32 / 90% AWE rate.
• Statutory Adoption Pay Calculator
  • 39 weeks for the primary adopter, same mechanics as SMP.
• PAYE Explained - how statutory pay flows through payroll alongside Income Tax and Class 1 NI.
• Statutory Pay Rates 2026/27
  • the full table of uprated statutory weekly rates.

Related calculators

Other UK tax calculators that pair with the ShPP.

• SPP
• Adoption Pay
• SSP
• Tax Codes
• VAT
• CIS