National Insurance contributions decide if you qualify for certain benefits, like the State Pension and Maternity Allowance. Here’s how much you’ll pay.
What is National Insurance (NI)?
National Insurance is a tax on earnings and self-employed profits. You normally start paying when you turn 16 and earn over a certain amount.
Your National Insurance contributions (NICs) decide:
- if you qualify for certain benefits, like:
- State Pension
- Maternity Allowance, and
- Jobseeker’s Allowance.
- how much State Pension you’ll get when you retire:
- you need at least ten qualifying years of contributions to get any amount, and
- at least 35 years to receive the full amount.
If you don’t work, you might be able to get National Insurance credits instead For example, if you’re a carer or claim benefits due to ill health or unemployment.
You can also make voluntary contributions to plug gaps in your record.
National Insurance rates if you’re employed
If you have an employer, you’ll pay Class 1 National Insurance. The amount you’ll pay depends on how much you earn:
|
Your weekly earnings |
NI rate for 2026/27 |
|
£0 to £242 |
0% |
|
£242.01 to £967 |
8% |
|
Over £967 |
2% |
For example, if you earn £1,000 a week, you pay:
nothing on the first £242
8% (£58) on the next £725
2% (66p) on the next £33.
This is calculated each time you get paid, so you could pay different amounts if your pay changes each time. Your National Insurance contributions will stop completely when you reach State Pension age.
Find out more about your National Insurance contributions at GOV.UKOpens in a new window
Your National Insurance contributions are usually taken automatically
As an employee, you’re normally paid through a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. This means your National Insurance contributions are automatically paid from your salary, so you won’t need to do anything.
National Insurance rates if you’re self-employed
If you’re self-employed, you’ll pay Class 2 and/or Class 4 National Insurance. This depends on your trading profits. You don't have to pay Class 2 contributions if you have profits above £12,570.
|
Your annual trading profits |
Type of National Insurance you’ll pay |
Contribution rates (2026/27 tax year) |
|
£0 to £6,844 |
Class 2 |
£3.50 per week, but this is voluntary |
|
£6,845 to £12,569 |
Class 2 |
£0 per week - you don’t have to pay as Class 2 contributions are treated as having been paid to protect your National Insurance record |
|
£12,570 to £50,270 |
Class 4 |
6% of profits between £12,570-£50,270 |
|
Over £50,270 |
Class 4 |
6% of profits between £12,570-£50,270 and 2% of profits above this |
So, for profits of £55,000, you would pay:
nothing for the first £12,569
6% on the next £37,700
2% on the final £4,730.
Find out more in our guide Income Tax and National Insurance when you’re self-employed.
You’ll pay National Insurance as part of your Self Assessment
Your National Insurance contributions will be calculated based on your Self Assessment tax return. They’ll be paid at the same time as Income Tax.
See How to fill in a Self Assessment tax return for more information.
National Insurance credits if you don’t pay contributions
If you don’t pay National Insurance contributions, you might get credits instead. This might be the case if you’re:
looking for work
unable to work due to an illness or disability
a carer, or
on maternity, paternity or adoption pay.
But there are other reasons you might qualify. See National Insurance credits on GOV.UKOpens in a new window for more information.
Voluntary contributions to get a higher State Pension
To receive the full new State Pension, you’ll need to have at least 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits. You’ll get a reduced amount with fewer years, or nothing if you have less than ten qualifying years.
If you don’t have enough qualifying years, you might want to pay Class 3 voluntary contributions to boost your pension entitlement. You can buy back any missing years from the past six years.
See our guide Increase your State Pension with voluntary National Insurance contributions for more information.
