National Insurance Calculator

If you are employed and earn £30,000, you pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above that. On a £30,000 salary this works out to £1,394.40 a year (£116.20/month). The primary threshold and upper earnings limit are both frozen for 2026/27 at the same levels as 2025/26.

Employee Class 1 NI: 0% on earnings up to £12,570, 8% on earnings from £12,570 to £50,270, and 2% on earnings above £50,270. Employer Class 1 Secondary NI: 15% on employee earnings above £5,000 (secondary threshold). Self-employed Class 4 NI: 0% below £12,570, 6% from £12,570 to £50,270, and 2% above £50,270. Class 2 NI was abolished from April 2024.

The primary threshold — below which you pay no employee NI — is £12,570 a year (£1,047.50/month, £242/week). This is frozen at the same level as 2025/26 and 2024/25. For employers, the secondary threshold (below which no employer NI is due) is £5,000 a year, reduced from £9,100 as part of the Autumn Budget 2024 changes that took effect April 2025.

Your employer pays Class 1 Secondary NI at 15% on your salary above the secondary threshold of £5,000. On a £30,000 salary, that is 15% × (£30,000 − £5,000) = £3,750 a year. This is in addition to your own NI and is a cost the employer bears — it does not come out of your take-home pay directly, but it affects the total cost of employing you.

No — Class 2 NI was abolished from April 2024. Self-employed people no longer pay the weekly flat-rate Class 2 charge. State pension entitlement is now automatically protected through the Self Assessment return if your profits are above the Small Profits Threshold (£6,725 in 2026/27). If your profits are below £6,725, you can pay voluntary Class 3 NI (£17.45/week) to protect your state pension record.

Class 4 NI is the main NI charge for self-employed people. For 2026/27 the rates are: 0% on profits up to £12,570, 6% on profits from £12,570 to £50,270, and 2% on profits above £50,270. It is calculated annually through Self Assessment and paid alongside your income tax bill on 31 January and 31 July. Class 4 does not count directly towards state pension entitlement — that comes from Class 2 credits now automatically included via Self Assessment.

Yes — from April 2025 (Autumn Budget 2024) the employer NI rate rose from 13.8% to 15%, and the secondary threshold (the point above which employer NI is charged) fell from £9,100 to £5,000. This significantly increased the employer NI cost for most employees. On a £30,000 salary, employer NI rose from approximately £2,882 (13.8% × £20,870) to £3,750 (15% × £25,000) — an increase of £868/year per employee.

Yes. Salary sacrifice pension contributions reduce your gross salary for NI purposes, cutting both your employee NI and your employer's NI. For example, a £5,000 salary sacrifice pension at a £50,000 salary saves approximately £400 in employee NI (8% × £5,000) and £750 in employer NI (15% × £5,000). Employers sometimes share their NI saving by topping up your pension contribution. See our Salary Sacrifice Calculator for a full breakdown.