National Insurance Calculator
Calculate employee and employer NI contributions — 2025/26 tax year
Common Questions
What is National Insurance used for?
National Insurance contributions fund several key state benefits: the State Pension, the NHS, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, and Maternity Allowance. Building up NI contributions (or credits) over your working life entitles you to the full new State Pension on retirement.
What changed for employers in April 2025?
From 6 April 2025, the employer NI rate rose from 13.8% to 15%, and the Secondary Threshold (the point at which employers start paying NI) fell from £9,100 to £5,000 per year. This significantly increases employment costs for many businesses. The Employment Allowance also increased to £10,500 to offset the impact on smaller employers.
Can I reduce my NI contributions?
Employees can reduce NI through salary sacrifice arrangements (e.g. pension contributions, cycle-to-work). Since salary sacrifice reduces your contractual gross pay, both employee and employer NI are lower. Note that reducing pay below the Lower Earnings Limit (£6,396/year) could affect your entitlement to the State Pension and other contributory benefits.
Are NI contributions the same across the UK?
Yes. National Insurance rates and thresholds are set by the UK Government and apply equally in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Income tax rates differ in Scotland (where Scottish rates apply from the Scottish Government), but NI does not.
Enter your earnings and click calculate to see your NI contributions.
2025/26 NI Thresholds
- Lower Earnings Limit: £6,396/yr
- Employee Primary Threshold: £12,570/yr
- Employee Upper Earnings Limit: £50,270/yr
- Employee rate (8%): £12,570–£50,270
- Employee rate (2%): above £50,270
- Employer Secondary Threshold: £5,000/yr
- Employer rate: 15%
Related Calculators
What's included in this calculator
Employee rates (8% and 2% for 2025/26).
Employer rates (15% with £5k threshold).
Supports annualised and alternative calculation methods.
Latest rates for sole traders and partners.
Handles NI exemptions for those over State Pension age.
Support for A, B, C, H, J, M, V, and Z categories.
Understanding National Insurance Contributions
National Insurance (NI) is a compulsory social insurance tax collected by HMRC. Unlike income tax, which funds general government spending, NI contributions are (at least notionally) linked to specific social benefits. Building up a sufficient NI record — at least 35 qualifying years — is necessary to receive the full new State Pension, which stands at £221.20 per week for 2024/25.
There are several classes of NI. Class 1 applies to employees and their employers. Employees pay primary Class 1 NI at 8% on earnings between the Primary Threshold (£12,570/year) and the Upper Earnings Limit (£50,270/year), and at 2% on earnings above the UEL. Employers pay secondary Class 1 NI at 15% on all employee earnings above the Secondary Threshold (£5,000/year from April 2025).
One important planning consideration: salary sacrifice arrangements (used for pension contributions, childcare, cycle-to-work etc.) reduce the employee's contractual salary and so reduce NI for both the employee and the employer. This makes salary sacrifice particularly efficient — every pound of pension saved via salary sacrifice also saves NI compared with a personal pension contribution made from net pay.