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The short answer
A self-employed freelancer can get Maternity Allowance if she has been registered with HMRC as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before her due week. For 2026/27 it pays £194.32 a week for 39 weeks if she has paid, or is treated as having paid, Class 2 National Insurance, and £27 a week if not.
Self-employed women cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay from a client, so Maternity Allowance (MA) is the main maternity income for freelancers. The rules turn on National Insurance records rather than how much you earned, which surprises many people, and they matter particularly for Nigerian freelancers in the UK whose profits may be small in the first years or come mainly from Nigerian clients. This guide uses Working Families' 2026/27 guidance and GOV.UK.
Who qualifies
Eligibility is tested over a 66-week period ending the week before the week your baby is due. For self-employment you must have been registered with HMRC as self-employed for at least 26 of those weeks. They do not need to be in a row.
There is good news for many visa holders. GOV.UK's list of public funds does not include contributory benefits, and it names Maternity Allowance among the benefits that are not public funds. A no recourse to public funds condition on your visa does not, by itself, stop you claiming it.
Why Class 2 decides the rate
| Your Class 2 position | Maternity Allowance 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Paid, or treated as paid | £194.32 a week for 39 weeks |
| Not paid | £27 a week for 39 weeks (unless you qualify through employed work) |
Since 6 April 2024, self-employed people with profits at or above the Small Profits Threshold, £7,105 for 2026/27, are treated as having paid Class 2 National Insurance without actually paying it. If your profits are below that threshold, you can pay Class 2 voluntarily, which GOV.UK lists at £3.65 a week, to get the higher MA rate. Working Families says you can pay when you claim, and HMRC may contact you with an offer to pay if the DWP finds your contributions short.
Where Nigerian income comes in
GOV.UK says UK residents normally pay UK tax on foreign income. Fees from Nigerian clients are part of your self-employment profits on your UK return, so they count towards reaching the Small Profits Threshold just as UK fees do. A freelancer who leaves Nigerian work off her return may look, on paper, as if her profits are below the threshold and lose the treated-as-paid credit, as well as having a tax problem.
A worked example
Example only. A freelance illustrator's profit is £5,000 for the year, below £7,105. At £194.32 a week for 39 weeks, MA would be £7,578.48; at £27 a week it would be £1,053, a difference of £6,525.48. Paying a full year of voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week would cost £189.80 (52 × £3.65). How many weeks the DWP needs for her claim is something to confirm when claiming; the point is that the voluntary cost is small against the difference.
How and when to claim
- Get form MAT B1 from your midwife or GP; it confirms your expected week of childbirth.
- Claim using the Maternity Allowance claim form from GOV.UK. Claims are accepted from the 15th week before your due week, around week 26 of pregnancy.
- Payments can start up to 11 weeks before the due week. A late claim may lose money; backdating of up to three months may be possible.
- Keep evidence of your self-employment registration and recent profits ready.
- If the DWP finds your Class 2 short, respond to any HMRC offer to pay quickly.
What to check first
- Your registration date with HMRC. Count back 66 weeks from the week before your due week and check at least 26 of them fall after you registered as self-employed.
- Your last filed profit. If it was below £7,105, or you have not filed yet, find out whether you are treated as having paid Class 2 for the relevant years.
- Whether all your income is on your return, including fees paid into a Nigerian account. Missing income understates your profit.
- Any employed work in the test period. Working Families notes that people below the Class 2 position may still qualify for the higher rate through employed work, so mention it on the claim.
- Your visa conditions, which you can view on your eVisa; MA is not on the public funds list, but other benefits you may want later are.
Two mistakes cost freelancers most. The first is claiming late: the earliest claim is the 15th week before the due week, and waiting until after the birth risks losing weeks of payment beyond the three-month backdating window. The second is assuming a low-profit year means the low rate is unavoidable, when a small voluntary Class 2 payment may change the outcome.
Other benefits
Working Families notes that MA can affect other benefits such as Universal Credit, and that some people can claim Universal Credit to top up income during the maternity period, subject to the usual eligibility and public funds rules. For employees, see our guide to Statutory Maternity Pay on a work visa; for the next step after the birth, Child Benefit on a UK visa. If you have not yet registered, see registering as a sole trader and how Nigerian client income is taxed for UK sole traders.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Business Account keeps a clean record of naira and pound income from your freelance work, which makes your profit figures easy to support when claiming. Outside Nigeria, Pryme's services are provided through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
Can I get Maternity Allowance if I am self-employed?
Yes, if you were registered as self-employed with HMRC for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your due week.
How much is Maternity Allowance for self-employed in 2026/27?
£194.32 a week for 39 weeks if you paid or are treated as having paid Class 2 NI; £27 a week if not.
Can I claim Maternity Allowance on a visa with no recourse to public funds?
GOV.UK lists Maternity Allowance among benefits that are not public funds, so the condition does not by itself stop a claim.
Do my Nigerian client earnings count for Maternity Allowance?
They count towards your UK self-employment profit, which decides whether you reach the £7,105 Small Profits Threshold and are treated as having paid Class 2.
Sources
- Working Families: Maternity Allowance (5 Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and categories · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Public funds (Home Office guidance) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Tax on foreign income (updated 1 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.