National Insurance Rates 2026/27: How Much You Pay and Why

National Insurance (NI) is the contribution that builds your entitlement to the State Pension and some benefits, and the national insurance rates 2026/27 decide how much comes out of your pay or profits. This guide explains the rates and thresholds for employees, the self-employed and employers, with a worked example so you can check the maths. If you want to see your own figures instantly, try our National Insurance calculator.

What is National Insurance and why you pay it

National Insurance is a contribution most working people make once their earnings or profits pass a set threshold. Unlike Income Tax, which is mainly about funding public services, your NI record directly affects what you are entitled to claim back later. In short, paying NI is how you qualify for benefits you may rely on in future.

• It builds your entitlement to the State Pension.
• It contributes towards some other benefits.
• Which class of NI you pay depends on whether you are employed, self-employed or an employer.

National Insurance rates 2026/27 at a glance

The table below shows the main 2026/27 thresholds and rates, as set out in National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK). Employees pay Class 1, the self-employed pay Class 4, and employers pay a separate employer (secondary) contribution.

How employee National Insurance works (Class 1)

If you are employed, you pay Class 1 NI through your payslip. There is a Primary Threshold of £12,570 a year (£1,048 a month, or £242 a week), and an Upper Earnings Limit of £50,270 a year (£4,189 a month, or £967 a week). You pay 8% on the earnings that fall between those two figures, and 2% on anything above the Upper Earnings Limit. These figures sit alongside the £12,570 personal allowance and the UK income tax rates and bands that decide your wider deductions.

An important point that often surprises people: employee NI is worked out per pay period - each week or month is treated separately. This is different from Income Tax, which is normally calculated cumulatively across the whole year. So if your pay varies, your NI can vary too, even if your annual total stays the same. To see Income Tax and NI side by side for a given salary, our income tax calculator breaks both down for you.

Tip: Because employee NI is calculated each pay period, a one-off bonus or an unusually high month can push more of that period's pay above the Upper Earnings Limit, where the rate drops to 2%. The annual averaging you see with Income Tax does not apply here.

There is also good news as you get older: you stop paying employee NI once you reach State Pension age, even if you carry on working. Your employer may still need to update your record, but the contributions stop coming out of your wages.

Worked example: a £30,000 salary

Suppose you earn £30,000 a year. You pay 8% on the slice of earnings between the Primary Threshold and your salary:

1. Take your salary and subtract the Primary Threshold: £30,000 − £12,570 = £17,430.
2. Apply the 8% rate: 8% × £17,430 = £1,394.40.

So your employee National Insurance for the year would be £1,394.40. None of your pay reaches the Upper Earnings Limit, so the 2% band does not apply in this case. You can check your own number, including how it splits across the year, with our take-home pay calculator. If you would rather start from your gross salary, the salary calculator works out tax, NI and net pay together, and our guide on how to calculate your take-home pay walks through every step.

National Insurance for the self-employed (Class 4 and Class 2)

If you work for yourself, your main contribution is Class 4 NI, charged on your profits. The thresholds mirror the employee bands, but the rates are slightly different. You pay 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on profits above £50,270. You can estimate this in seconds with our self-employed tax calculator.

• Class 4: 6% on profits from £12,570 to £50,270; 2% above £50,270.
• Class 2: generally £0 to pay now. If your profits are above the Small Profits Threshold, you receive the NI credit automatically, so your record is protected without a separate payment.
• Voluntary Class 2: if you want to protect your State Pension entitlement and you are not getting the credit automatically, you can pay Class 2 voluntarily at £3.65 a week.

This means most self-employed people only need to think about Class 4 on their Self Assessment, while Class 2 quietly keeps their State Pension record in good order. For the bigger picture, see our beginner's guide to self-employed tax.

Employer National Insurance - paid by your employer, not you

Employers pay their own National Insurance contribution on top of wages. For 2026/27 this is 15% on earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold. The key thing to understand is that this is paid by the employer and is not deducted from your wages. It is a cost to the business of employing you, rather than something that reduces your take-home pay. The full set of employer categories is listed in the official NI rates and categories (GOV.UK) guidance.

So when you look at your payslip, the NI line you see is your own Class 1 contribution. The employer's 15% does not appear as a deduction from what you receive. If you run a company, our guide on salary vs dividends for directors shows how this feeds into the way you pay yourself.

How National Insurance interacts with Income Tax and other deductions

National Insurance does not sit on your payslip in isolation. It is calculated alongside Income Tax, your pension contributions and any student loan repayment, and the order in which these are worked out can affect the final figure you take home. Because employee NI is based on your gross earnings in each pay period, anything that changes your gross pay - overtime, a bonus or a sacrifice arrangement - feeds straight into the NI calculation for that period.

One area worth understanding is the relationship between NI and pension contributions. If you pay into a pension through salary sacrifice, your gross pay falls before NI is worked out, so you pay less NI as well as less Income Tax. By contrast, if you pay into a pension from your net wages, the NI has already been charged on the full amount. This is one reason salary sacrifice is often more efficient, as our guide to salary sacrifice explains. Student loan repayments, on the other hand, are calculated on your earnings and run separately from NI, so they do not change your NI figure. To see how all of these deductions stack up together for a given salary, the take-home pay calculator shows them side by side.

Common National Insurance mistakes to avoid

National Insurance is easy to misread, partly because it behaves differently from Income Tax. A few misunderstandings come up again and again, and each can lead to an unwelcome surprise on your payslip or your Self Assessment.

• Assuming NI averages out over the year. Because employee Class 1 NI is worked out per pay period, a high-earning month is treated on its own. People sometimes expect a refund at year end if their pay was uneven, but NI does not reconcile across the year the way Income Tax does.
• Forgetting NI still applies below the personal allowance gap. The NI Primary Threshold and the Income Tax Personal Allowance both sit at £12,570 for 2026/27, but they are separate systems. Earning just above that figure means you start paying NI even on income that might feel modest.
• Confusing employer NI with your own. The employer's 15% contribution above the £5,000 secondary threshold is a cost to the business, not a deduction from your wages. Only your own Class 1 contribution reduces your take-home pay.
• Self-employed people overlooking Class 2. While Class 2 is generally £0 to pay now when profits are above the Small Profits Threshold, those with low profits may need to consider paying voluntarily to protect their State Pension record.
• Not checking your NI record near State Pension age. Gaps in your record can reduce your State Pension. It is worth reviewing your contribution history rather than assuming it is complete.

Checking and protecting your National Insurance record

Your State Pension depends on how many qualifying years of National Insurance you build up over your working life, so it pays to keep an eye on your record rather than waiting until retirement is in sight. You can review your contribution history and any gaps through your personal tax account on GOV.UK's check your National Insurance record service. This is especially useful if you have had periods of low pay, time abroad, or stretches of self-employment where you were not paying contributions automatically.

If you find gaps, you may be able to fill them with voluntary contributions, though whether this is worthwhile depends on your circumstances and how close you are to the qualifying years you need. The self-employed should pay particular attention here, since their Class 2 position determines whether each year counts. To get a clear picture of your current contributions before deciding, run your figures through the National Insurance calculator and compare them with your gross pay using the salary calculator. A few minutes spent checking now can be worth far more in State Pension later.

Why NI is calculated differently from income tax

One feature of National Insurance surprises almost everyone the first time they notice it: for employees it is worked out separately for each pay period, not cumulatively across the year like income tax. That means a month with a big bonus can attract a lot of NI, even if your annual earnings are modest, because that single month's pay sits high above the monthly threshold. Income tax, by contrast, smooths out over the year through your tax code. This is why an annual-salary calculator can only approximate NI - it applies the yearly thresholds, whereas your actual deductions follow the monthly or weekly figures.

The practical takeaway is to be aware that irregular pay - bonuses, commission, overtime concentrated in one month - can carry more NI than the same amount spread evenly. Where you have any influence over timing, smoother pay is slightly more NI-efficient, though for most employees this is a minor effect.

A worked example: employee versus sole trader

Compare two people each with £45,000 a year. The employee pays Class 1 NI at 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £45,000 - about £2,594 for the year - on top of income tax. The sole trader with £45,000 of profit pays Class 4 NI at 6% on the same band, about £1,946, and generally no Class 2. So the self-employed person pays roughly £648 less in NI on the same income. However, the employee receives entitlements the sole trader does not, such as statutory sick pay, holiday pay, redundancy rights and employer pension contributions. The lower NI is not a free lunch - it reflects fewer protections. Weigh the whole picture with the PAYE vs self-employed calculator rather than NI alone.

Frequently asked questions

What is the employee National Insurance rate for 2026/27?

Employees pay 8% on earnings between the Primary Threshold of £12,570 and the Upper Earnings Limit of £50,270, and 2% on earnings above £50,270. It is paid through Class 1 contributions on your payslip.

Is National Insurance worked out the same way as Income Tax?

No. Employee NI is calculated per pay period - each week or month separately - whereas Income Tax is normally worked out cumulatively across the whole year. That is why uneven pay can change your NI even when your annual total is the same.

Do I stop paying National Insurance at any point?

Yes. You stop paying employee National Insurance once you reach State Pension age, even if you keep working. Your employer may still update your record, but the contributions no longer come out of your wages.

How much National Insurance do the self-employed pay?

Self-employed people pay Class 4 NI: 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on profits above £50,270. Class 2 is generally £0 to pay now, as the credit is given automatically above the Small Profits Threshold.

What is Class 2 voluntary National Insurance for?

You can pay Class 2 voluntarily at £3.65 a week to protect your State Pension entitlement. This is useful if you are not automatically receiving the NI credit and want to keep your contribution record complete.

Does employer National Insurance reduce my take-home pay?

No. Employer NI of 15% on earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold is paid by the employer and is not deducted from your wages. The only NI deducted from your pay is your own Class 1 contribution.

Related calculators: National Insurance calculator, salary calculator, take-home pay calculator, income tax calculator and self-employed tax calculator.

This guide is general information for the 2026/27 tax year, not personal tax advice. Check your own circumstances at gov.uk.

For employers: the Employment Allowance takes up to £10,500 off the employer NI in these tables.