Enter a due date. We date every step from that day — what to claim, what to buy second-hand, and which “must-have” lists quietly empty a current account. Figures are taken from the 2026-27 rates file (2026-04-06 to 2027-04-05). This is information and guidance, not a promise you will be paid.
The 30-hour working-parent offer in our 2026-27 rates file is an England figure, from 9 months to age 4. It starts in a school term, not on the birthday.
Relative to the due date
Child Benefit, eldest
£27.05 a week · about £1,407 a year
Child Benefit, other child
£17.90 a week · about £931 a year
Healthy Start
pregnancy £4.65 · under 1 £9.30 · age 1–4 £4.65
Sure Start Maternity Grant
£500
Tax-Free Childcare
20% top-up, £500 a quarter, income cap £100,000
England working-parent hours
30 hours, 38 weeks a year, 9 months to age 4, floor £10,574.72, cap £100,000
Statutory Maternity Pay
6 weeks at 90%, then 33 weeks at £194.32
36 weeks before the due dateLater
About 36 weeks before the due date
The test is positive
Nothing to claim today. The useful move is to stop spending as if the nursery must exist by Friday, and to put the Healthy Start date in the diary.
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Diary the Healthy Start window
From around 10 weeks pregnant, Healthy Start may pay £4.65 a week if you get a qualifying benefit. That figure is from tax year 2026-27. We do not hold a separate income test in the rates file, so do not invent one — read the official page.
Child Benefit is claimed after the birth. The weekly rates we hold are £27.05 for the eldest or only child and £17.90 for each other child. Write them down; you will need them in birth week.
Wait until after the dating scan before you spend on furniture. Join one NCT nearly-new sale list and one street Buy Nothing group this week. Screenshot this timeline so you are not shopping from memory at 11pm.
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Congratulations bundles and gender-reveal spend
Retailer “starter kits” are a second-hand shop in a gift box, at first-hand prices. Private early scans and reveal parties are optional. They are not antenatal care.
Pregnancy subscription boxes
Monthly snack-and-lotion clubs cost more than the Healthy Start pregnancy rate of £4.65 a week, and they do not replace it.
30 weeks before the due dateLater
About 10 weeks pregnant
Book the midwife, open Healthy Start
The booking appointment is the first official door. If you get a qualifying benefit, Healthy Start is the first cash-like help that can start while you are still pregnant.
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Apply for Healthy Start if you qualify
The pregnancy rate in our 2026-27 file is £4.65 a week. It is for milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and infant formula, not for a shopping spree. If you do not get a qualifying benefit, do not assume a secret income threshold — it is not in our rates file.
You need MATB1 later for Statutory Maternity Pay and the maternity exemption certificate. There is no amount to claim today. Put a reminder at 20 weeks.
Register with an NHS dentist if you do not have one
The exemption certificate comes with MATB1, not today. Getting on a list now is cheaper than a panic private check-up in the third trimester.
Tell the midwife you will use second-hand kit
Ask which items they actually want you to have for the home visit. The list is shorter than Instagram’s.
Skip (traps)
Boutique blood panels and fortnightly ‘reassurance’ scans
NHS screening is the medical path. Extra private tests are a product. They are not a benefit, and they do not raise Healthy Start.
20 weeks before the due dateLater
Halfway, and the paperwork starts
20-week scan and MATB1
MATB1 unlocks pay and the maternity exemption. Start the evidence for the Sure Start Maternity Grant so you are not hunting letters at 11 weeks to go.
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Get MATB1 into your hands
Give a copy to your employer when you notify them. Keep one. It also supports the maternity exemption certificate for NHS prescriptions and dental care. No pound figure belongs on this card.
The grant in our rates file is £500. You can usually claim from 11 weeks before the birth if you get a qualifying benefit. It is often a first-child payment — read the GOV.UK page rather than assuming a second baby is covered.
A Moses basket is optional. A firm, flat sleep surface that still meets the current standard is not. Check cots and mattresses on the safety pages before you pay a stranger.
Car seat: buy the standard, not the fabric
Infant carriers are a poor second-hand bet if you cannot see the crash history. Budget for a seat you can trust; save on the changing bag that will live under the pram.
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Matching nursery sets and changing tables
Drawers you already own plus a changing mat on the floor do the same job. Wipe warmers and dedicated nappy bins are landfill with a brand name.
The 40-line hospital bag list
Notes, snacks, a phone charger, clothes for you, a nappy or two for them. The hospital shop will sell you the rest at a mark-up if you truly need it.
15 weeks before the due dateLater
15 weeks before the week the baby is due
Tell your employer (qualifying week)
This is the Statutory Maternity Pay qualifying week. Late notice can cost you the higher-rate band. After the 6-week higher-rate stretch, the file lists £194.32 a week.
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Notify leave and hand over MATB1
SMP in our 2026-27 file is 6 weeks at 90% of average earnings, then 33 weeks at £194.32 (or 90% of average earnings if that is lower). Total paid weeks in the file: 39.
Paternity pay and shared parental pay in the 2026-27 file are £194.32 and £194.32 a week. Your employer’s policy may be more generous. Read GOV.UK for the weeks you can take — this card will not invent a week-count that the rates file does not list.
The 6-week 90% band is short. If household income will fall hard, read about Universal Credit as information only. We do not estimate your UC award on this page.
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A full-price maternity wardrobe
You need clothes that fit. You do not need a new personality in linen. Charity shops in the third trimester are full of unworn ‘occasion’ dresses.
11 weeks before the due dateLater
11 weeks before the due date
Leave can start — claim the maternity grant
Earliest usual start for maternity leave. If you qualify, send the Sure Start Maternity Grant now rather than after the birth fog.
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Claim the Sure Start Maternity Grant
Amount in the rates file: £500. You normally need a qualifying benefit. GOV.UK sets the claim window; do not wait until the baby is six months old if you can send it now. The rates notes say Scotland cannot claim this grant — look at the Scottish Pregnancy and Baby Payment instead, and do not reuse the £500 figure there.
The higher-rate band is 6 weeks at 90% of average earnings from when leave starts, not automatically from the due date. After that, the file lists £194.32 a week (or 90% of average earnings if lower) for 33 weeks.
Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare are mutually exclusive in the rates file. A deposit paid on the wrong plan is hard to unwind.
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Last-minute “the nursery must be finished” orders
Babies sleep in cardboard boxes in hospital photographs. They do not need a styled shelf. Hospital-shop nappies and cotton wool are a known mark-up — pack your own.
Due date / birth weekLater
Claim Child Benefit while the kettle is on
Birth week
The claim that funds the next four years is Child Benefit. Do it in the same week you register the birth. High earners should still claim.
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Claim Child Benefit
Eldest or only child: £27.05 a week. Each other child: £17.90 a week (tax year 2026-27). Claim promptly — GOV.UK limits how far it will backdate.
Read the High Income Child Benefit Charge before you opt out
If anyone in the household has income above £60,000, a tax charge may apply. The file tapers it by 1% for every £200 over that line, and treats the charge as complete at £80,000. Still claim: the claimant can get National Insurance credits. Opting out of payment is not the same as never claiming.
If you already get Healthy Start, the under-1 rate in our file is £9.30 a week. Tell them the baby has arrived so you do not stay on the pregnancy rate of £4.65.
You need the birth details for Child Benefit and, later, for Tax-Free Childcare. Open a Tax-Free Childcare account only if you will use paid childcare and you are not claiming Universal Credit childcare.
Skip (traps)
Newborn photoshoots and the going-home outfit
The baby will be in a vest. The hospital florist and the branded “coming home” rompers are priced for tired people. Take the free NHS photos if they are offered; skip the package.
14 days after birthLater
Paperwork before gadgets
The first fortnight
If Child Benefit is not submitted, do that before you buy another muslin. First sizes are outgrown before the refund window closes.
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Finish the Child Benefit form
Weekly rates remain £27.05 / £17.90. If a form is stuck, call the number on GOV.UK rather than re-buying kit you expected the grant to cover.
Take extra tiny vests; do not buy a second wardrobe
Newborn and early first-size bags are the most oversupplied clothes in British hallways. Ask in the street chat before you open a marketplace tab.
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Steriliser machines and app-connected bottles
If you are using formula, you need a way to make feeds safely — a lidded pan and the NHS guidance, not a Wi-Fi dock. Brand-switching because an advert said “hungry baby” is how tins pile up unopened.
6 weeks after birthLater
Budget for the lower maternity-pay band
Six weeks: the SMP step-down
If leave started at birth, the higher SMP band ends around now. If you started leave earlier, this date moves with you — use your leave-start week, not only the due date.
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Expect the higher-rate SMP band to end
Our file lists 6 weeks at 90% of average earnings, then 33 weeks at £194.32 (or 90% of average earnings if that is lower). Check your payslip against GOV.UK.
Yours and the baby’s. Private extras are optional and not a benefit. If money is tight after the pay drop, this is a bad week to start a paid sleep programme.
Skip (traps)
3am sleep gadgets
Swaying docks, smart swaddles and app monitors are sold to people who have not slept. They are not a substitute for a safe sleep space, and they are a poor second-hand buy if the firmware is dead.
3 months after birthLater
Confirm the money is actually arriving
Three months
A claim you submitted in birth week should be in payment. This is the week to notice a missing Child Benefit, not the week to book a term of baby sensory.
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Check Child Benefit is on the account
Still £27.05 / £17.90 a week. If a partner’s income is near £60,000, read the charge page before you change who claims.
Ask locally before you pay high-street full price. Bags of 3–6 month clothes are cheaper than a single branded sleepsuit.
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Baby sensory as essential brain science
Library rhyme time and a park do the developmental job that a £class is selling. One free hour a week is not a failure of parenting.
The term before funded hours startLaterEngland working-parent hours. Other nations: do not use these hour counts.
The term before funded hours start
Apply for the free-hours code
England working-parent hours are 30 hours, from 9 months old. They start on a term date, not on the day your child turns that age. Aim to apply in the term before the term we calculate once you enter a date.
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Get the code before you sign
Apply on GOV.UK for the working-parent offer. The income floor in our rates file is £10,574.72 a year; the cap is £100,000. The file lists 38 funded weeks a year, not a 52-week place. Both parents (or the single parent) usually need to meet the work rules — read the page, do not treat this card as a decision.
Decide Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit childcare
They are mutually exclusive in the rates file. Tax-Free Childcare adds 20%, capped at £500 a quarter (£1,000 if the child is disabled; annual caps £2,000 / £4,000). Universal Credit can reimburse 85% of eligible childcare costs, with monthly caps of £1,071.09 for one child and £1,836.16 for two or more.
Get the hourly rate, the deposit, and every named extra in writing. Funded hours are not always a full-time place.
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A contract that starts before the code exists
If the code is late, you can be billed the private rate for weeks you thought were funded. Do not pay a non-refundable deposit until you know which offer you will use.
The term after they turn 9 months (England)LaterEngland working-parent hours. Other nations: do not use these hour counts.
Age is not the start date
Nine months: the free-hours clock
England working-parent hours start the term after they reach the age in the rates file, not on the day they turn that age. The dated card below is the term start we calculate from your due date or date of birth.
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England working-parent hours
30 hours, from 9 months to age 4, for 38 weeks a year. Income floor £10,574.72 a year; cap £100,000. Both figures are from the 2026-27 rates file. You need a code; the nursery cannot invent one.
Tax-Free Childcare — or Universal Credit childcare, not both
Tax-Free Childcare top-up 20%, quarterly cap £500 (£1,000 if the child is disabled), annual caps £2,000 / £4,000, income cap £100,000. Universal Credit childcare reimburses 85% of eligible costs, monthly caps £1,071.09 (one child) and £1,836.16 (two or more). The rates file marks these two as mutually exclusive.
Ask what they charge for food, nappies, “consumables”, late fees and stretched hours. Funded hours are a government offer, not a promise of a cheap full-time place.
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Paying the private rate for weeks that should be funded
If the code is late, you can be billed as if the offer did not exist. Do not sign a 12-month private contract the week before the term in the hope it will “just work”.
Fees that quietly restore the old price
“Sustainability”, “enhanced ratio” and “consumables” charges can put the invoice back where it was. That is not a new government threshold — it is a price list. Compare settings.
12 months after birthLater
Healthy Start steps down; the party need not step up
First birthday
The under-1 Healthy Start rate ends. Child Benefit does not. A first birthday is a date, not a venue hire.
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Healthy Start moves to the 1-to-4 rate
Age 1 to 4 in our file: £4.65 a week, down from £9.30. If the prepaid card still shows the higher rate after the birthday, chase it — do not assume it is a raise.
Reconfirm Tax-Free Childcare and free-hours codes when HMRC writes to you. Missing a reconfirm pauses the 20% top-up. The quarterly cap stays £500 unless the child is disabled, when the file lists £1,000.
A cot that still meets the standard is usually cheaper, and often the safer sleep space, at 12 months. Check the cot guide before you buy a “big bed” bundle.
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Venue + entertainer + matching paper goods
Cake at home, a library book, one set of grandparents. Character wooden kitchens bought for the photos are the most resold toy of the following January.
18 months after birthLater
Reconfirm, and watch the income cap
18 months
Codes lapse when nobody clicks the email. A pay rise or bonus can also stop the hours — the cap is in the rates file, not in nursery folklore.
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Reconfirm before a bonus lands
England working-parent hours and Tax-Free Childcare both use an income cap of £100,000 / £100,000 in our file. If a parent may cross it, read GOV.UK before the payment is made. We will not invent a taper that the file does not list.
Second-hand first shoes are rational: feet change faster than soles wear out. Soft-soled indoor shoes are a retail category, not a legal requirement for a toddler at home.
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Monthly activity subscriptions
A stacked calendar of paid classes is how 18 months becomes more expensive than a nursery deposit. One regular free session beats three unused memberships.
24 months after birthLater
Still inside the working-parent hours window
Second birthday
The England offer we hold runs to age 4, not to age 2. Recheck the stacking choice; do not pay for both plans.
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Hours continue if you still qualify
30 hours for 38 weeks a year, to age 4, with the same floor £10,574.72 and cap £100,000.
Recheck Tax-Free Childcare versus Universal Credit childcare
85% of eligible childcare on Universal Credit (monthly caps £1,071.09 / £1,836.16), versus a 20% Tax-Free Childcare top-up capped at £500 a quarter. Mutually exclusive. Run the calculator if your hours or pay have changed; this card will not pick a winner.
A working harness and two safe wheels beat a new “travel system”. Second babies do not require a second pram if the first still meets the standard.
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“Starting preschool” bundles a year early
Named water bottles and character lunch boxes are not a uniform. Buy them when a setting actually asks, and buy plain.
36 months after birthLater
Funded hours versus the extras invoice
Third birthday
This is when settings sell add-ons as if they were the government offer. Ask which line on the invoice is funded.
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Working-parent hours still run to age 4
The rates file ends the England working-parent offer at age 4, at 30 hours, with cap £100,000. Other free-hours offers exist; if they are not in the rates file we will not print their hour counts.
Holiday clubs and stretched days are often a different product from term-time funded hours. Pay for the days you will use.
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Optional extras sold as the funded hours
Photo days, book clubs and forest-school supplements can double an invoice that you thought was “the 30 hours”. If it is not on GOV.UK, it is a shop.
48 months after birthLater
Hours stop; Child Benefit does not
Fourth birthday
Reception is the cheap childcare. Do not spend the saving on a branded readiness pack the school did not ask for.
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England working-parent hours end at age 4
Our file sets 4 as the end age for the 30-hour working-parent offer. They usually stop when the child starts reception. Confirm the last funded week with the setting; do not assume a holiday club is the same offer.
Child Benefit continues; Healthy Start at 1-to-4 ends
Child Benefit stays at £27.05 / £17.90 a week (and the charge still uses £60,000 / £80,000). Healthy Start’s 1-to-4 rate of £4.65 a week ends when they turn 4, if you were getting it.
Uniform: supermarket first, character rucksack never
Ask the school for the real list. Apply for any local uniform grant your council still runs — we do not hold those amounts, so we will not print a figure. Name tapes are cheaper than replacing a coat.
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Reception “readiness” packs and private phonics apps
The school will teach reading. Branded shoes the policy did not ask for, and apps sold as the difference between passing and failing, are a last retail grab before the dinners become the new bill.