We are used the SSP daily rates increasing from the first day of the tax year and child-related payments from the first Sunday in April. That was not the case in April 2025 and is not the case in April 2026.
HMRC have advised software developers that:
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) increases on the first day of the tax year, i.e. Monday 06 April 2026. This is paid at a daily rate but based on the weekly rate in legislation: and
- The weekly rates for child-related payments (SMP, SPP etc) increase on the first Sunday in April, i.e. for the week commencing 05 April 2026
This is not what the legislation says (The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 and The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2026). HMRC have now admitted they had advised developers in error and ICB points out the correct effective dates:
- The SSP rate increases 06 April 2026;
- The SMP rate increases from 05 April 2026; but
- Other child-related payments increase from 06 April 2026
This also happened in April 2025, though the first day of the tax year and the first Sunday in April both happened to be 06 April.
For Bookkeepers
HMRC advised software developers on Wednesday 08 April 2026:
‘HMRC and the Department for Business & Trade (DBT) recognise that this error has been identified close to the new tax year and that payroll products for tax year 2026-27 have already been released. As the issue impacts only a small number of customers and does not result in any detriment to the customer, HMRC will take a pragmatic approach and will not pursue any unintentional errors where the alternative date has been applied in the 2026-27 tax year.’
We advise members to check with their software developers what their product will do.
