Quick answer
Calculate Statutory Neonatal Care Pay for 2026/27, paid at the standard flat statutory rate for up to 12 weeks alongside neonatal care leave. It uses the rates and thresholds HMRC has published for 2026/27 (Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is paid at the flat statutory family pay rate of £194.32 a week for 2026/27, or average weekly earnings if lower, for up to 12 weeks). Worked example: with average weekly earnings £500, weeks of neonatal care pay needed (max 12) 4, employer type Standard employer (92% recovery), the result is total statutory neonatal care pay £777 and weekly rate applied £194.32. Free to use, no sign-up, from LimitedCompany.Accountants (ICAEW-regulated ACCOTAX).
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is one of the newer statutory payments and easy for a small payroll to miss. Enter average weekly earnings and the number of weeks needed and this calculator shows the pay due and the employer's likely NIC recovery.
The neonatal care pay calculator runs on the rates and thresholds HMRC has published for the 2026/27 tax year, so the figures you see reflect the position your company is actually filing on rather than a historic set of bands. Change any input and the result recalculates immediately, with no sign-up and nothing sent anywhere.
If you are a director of a UK limited company, use it as a first look before a decision rather than as the decision itself. Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is paid at the flat statutory family pay rate of £194.32 a week for 2026/27, or average weekly earnings if lower, for up to 12 weeks. Real company positions bring in other income, reliefs, group structures and prior year adjustments that a single page of inputs cannot see, which is why the workings are written out below under payroll, paye & employment. Read those, then check the numbers against your own accounts, and speak to us if anything looks materially different from what you expected.
Last checked against HMRC rates: 12 September 2026 (2026/27 tax year). Reviewed by Waqas Sagar, Member of ICAEW, Fellow of ACCA, Fellow of AAT.
Result, 2026/27
Total statutory neonatal care pay
Weekly rate applied
Employer NIC/PAYE recovery
92.0% of payWeeks used of maximum entitlement
Illustration only, figures are based on the rates you have selected and the information entered. Please check your own position with us before acting.
Estimates for the 2026/27 tax year using published GOV.UK rates. Switch between 2026/27 and 2025/26 above.
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Book a free general call WhatsApp usBook technical advice (paid)Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is paid at a flat weekly rate, the same £194.32 statutory family pay rate used for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay for 2026/27, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that figure is lower. Unlike Statutory Maternity Pay, there is no higher 90%-of-earnings period; the flat rate (or lower earnings-based figure) applies from week one.
The maximum entitlement is 12 weeks, corresponding to a full week of leave for each complete week the baby spends in neonatal care after the first 7 days, up to that cap. This calculator lets you model any number of weeks up to the maximum to fit the actual period of neonatal care.
Employer recovery of neonatal care pay works the same way as other statutory family payments: most employers recover 92% through PAYE, while small employers, those with total Class 1 NIC of £45,000 or less in the qualifying tax year, recover 103%.
Neonatal care leave and pay apply where a baby is admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and stays for 7 or more continuous days. It is a day-one employment right for leave, though the pay element requires the same continuous service and earnings tests as other statutory family payments.
The leave can usually be taken alongside, or shortly after, other family leave such as maternity or paternity leave, and does not have to be taken in one continuous block, giving parents flexibility to be with their baby during an extended hospital stay.
Because this is a relatively new statutory payment, not all payroll software automates it in the same way as maternity or paternity pay, so it is worth checking your system correctly recognises neonatal care pay as a distinct payment type for recovery purposes.
Keep evidence of the neonatal care admission dates, as HMRC and the employee may need this to confirm the qualifying period if a compliance query arises.
Treat the result as a planning figure for the 2026/27 tax year. If it changes what you were about to do, take a director's salary, a dividend, a large asset purchase or a filing decision, check it against your own accounts first. We can review the position with you and confirm the tax treatment before you commit.
Up to 12 weeks, based on one week's pay for each complete week the baby has spent in neonatal care beyond the first 7 days, up to that overall cap.
The flat statutory family pay rate for 2026/27, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that figure is lower, from the first week, with no separate higher-rate period.
Yes, it is designed to work alongside other family leave entitlements, and can often be taken after other statutory leave ends, to reflect an extended hospital stay for the baby.
In the same way as other statutory family payments, generally 92% through PAYE, or 103% for small employers with total Class 1 NIC of £45,000 or less in the relevant tax year.
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