How much is Statutory Paternity Pay in 2026/27?

£194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. Anyone with average weekly earnings of £215.91 or more gets the weekly rate, so 2 weeks is £388.64. On £150 a week it is £135.00 a week.

How many weeks of paternity pay can I get?

Up to 2 weeks. They can be taken together or as separate weeks, and the amount is the same for twins or other multiple births. A week is the same number of days as a normal working week. The leave cannot start before the birth.

How much do I need to earn to get paternity pay?

An average of at least £129 a week before tax in 2026/27. The other conditions are a period of continuous work for the same employer up to the qualifying week, which falls before the baby is due, still being employed there at the birth, and giving the correct notice.

Is paternity pay taxed?

Yes. It is paid through the payroll like wages, and income tax and National Insurance are deducted from it. The figures here are before those deductions. An employer with its own paternity scheme can pay more than the statutory amount, never less.

What is Statutory Shared Parental Pay?

Pay for parents who share leave after a birth or adoption. In 2026/27 it is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, the same as paternity pay. Up to 37 weeks can be shared between the parents, less the weeks of maternity or adoption pay already taken. This tool works out paternity pay only.

Calculators

Statutory Paternity Pay calculator

Rates for tax year 2026/27, for employees in the UK. Shows Statutory Paternity Pay for a week and in total for up to 2 weeks, from average weekly earnings.

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Statutory Paternity Pay

£389for 2 weeks

A week: £194.32
Statutory weekly rate: £194.32
90% of your earnings: £450.00

£194.32 a week for 2 weeks. Up to 2 weeks can be taken, together or one at a time. Income tax and National Insurance are taken from it like pay.

Under 2027/28 this result cannot be shown yet: The 2027/28 weekly rate is published in the winter before the tax year.

The working

Statutory Paternity Pay on average earnings of £500.00 a week at the 2026/27 rates
Line	Amount	Source
	£500.00
Average pay before tax over the weeks an employer looks at before the qualifying week: £500.00 a week.
	£129.00	gov.uk
£500.00 a week is at least the £129.00 needed. Checked 9 November 2026, in force.
	£194.32	gov.uk
The lower of the £194.32 weekly rate and 90% of earnings (£450.00) is £194.32. Checked 9 November 2026, in force.
	£388.64
2 × £194.32 = £388.64, before income tax and National Insurance.

How this is calculated

Earnings test. Average weekly earnings before tax are compared with the £129 a week needed to qualify.
Weekly amount. The lower of £194.32 and 90% of average weekly earnings.
Total. The weekly amount times the weeks taken, up to 2, before income tax and National Insurance.

A weekly amount with a fraction of a penny is rounded up to the next penny, as the Statutory Paternity Pay regulations require. The other rounding conventions are in the methodology.

Rules used

Tax year: 2026/27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027)
Nation: England and Northern Ireland
Figures: Checked on 9 November 2026. Status: in force.
Next scheduled change: 6 April 2027
Every figure: Rates and allowances for 2026/27, each with its source and the date it was checked.
Sources used: Pay, checked 9 November 2026
Leave, checked 9 November 2026
Eligibility, checked 9 November 2026

What changes on 6 April 2027

None of the figures this result uses changes on that date, as far as 2027/28 has been announced.

Not yet set for 2027/28: Statutory paternity pay, weekly; Statutory paternity pay, average weekly earnings needed to qualify.

Switch the tax year in the form to see the result under 2027/28 as announced so far. The Budget 2026 page lists every measure, including those that do not touch this result.

What this does not do. It takes average weekly earnings as entered and does not model the qualifying week dates, the different rules in Northern Ireland, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, an employer's own scheme or the tax deducted. It never suggests when to take leave.

Questions people ask

How much is Statutory Paternity Pay in 2026/27?: £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. Anyone with average weekly earnings of £215.91 or more gets the weekly rate, so 2 weeks is £388.64. On £150 a week it is £135.00 a week.
How many weeks of paternity pay can I get?: Up to 2 weeks. They can be taken together or as separate weeks, and the amount is the same for twins or other multiple births. A week is the same number of days as a normal working week. The leave cannot start before the birth.
How much do I need to earn to get paternity pay?: An average of at least £129 a week before tax in 2026/27. The other conditions are a period of continuous work for the same employer up to the qualifying week, which falls before the baby is due, still being employed there at the birth, and giving the correct notice.
Is paternity pay taxed?: Yes. It is paid through the payroll like wages, and income tax and National Insurance are deducted from it. The figures here are before those deductions. An employer with its own paternity scheme can pay more than the statutory amount, never less.
What is Statutory Shared Parental Pay?: Pay for parents who share leave after a birth or adoption. In 2026/27 it is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, the same as paternity pay. Up to 37 weeks can be shared between the parents, less the weeks of maternity or adoption pay already taken. This tool works out paternity pay only.

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