Recovering Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Description

All employers can recover some, if not all, of the Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) that they pay to employees.

Cause
Resolution

If you’re classed as a small employer, you can recover 100% plus 3% in Small Employers’ Relief. Otherwise, you can recover 92%. Payroll calculates this for you.

The SMP reclaimed will reduce your liability for that pay period.

The amount reclaimed reduces your liability to HMRC for that period.

HMRC will only owe you money if the amount of SMP reclaimed is greater than your liabilities for PAYE and NIC.

SMP reclaimed records when you submit an Employer Payment Summary (EPS).

 TIP: If you reclaim SMP, you can see this amount in line 10 of your P32 Employer Payment Record.

Do you qualify for Small Employers Relief?

Your company qualifies for Small Employers’ Relief if:

  • Your NI contributions were £45,000 or less in the full tax year before the employee's qualifying week
If you’re unsure whether you qualify for small employers' relief, you should check this with HMRC. Find further information from the HMRC website. Recover Statutory Payments (opens in new tab).

What you need to do

  1. Make sure to record the Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) in the absence section of your pay run.
     TIP: Using the absence section ensures the payroll reclaims the SMP.  
  2. Submit your Employer Payment Summary (EPS) once the tax period is complete. This informs HMRC of the reclaimed amount. You can see this in line 10 of the P32 Employer Payment Record.

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