National Insurance Calculator

National Insurance (NI) is a tax on earnings that funds the UK state pension, benefits system, and the National Health Service. If you are employed, your employer deducts employee NI contributions from your pay through PAYE alongside income tax. The amount you pay depends on your earnings and your NI category letter, which is determined by your age, employment status, and circumstances. For the 2026-27 tax year, the key thresholds for employee NI are: the primary threshold at GBP 12,570 per year, below which you pay nothing; the upper earnings limit at GBP 50,270, between which you pay 8%; and above the upper earnings limit, where the rate drops to 2%. These rates apply to category A, the most common category for standard employees. Some employees fall into different categories. Category B applies to married women who elected for a reduced rate before 1977. Category C covers employees over state pension age, who are exempt from employee NI entirely. Category H is for apprentices under 25, who benefit from a 0% rate up to the upper earnings limit. Understanding your NI contributions matters because they directly affect your entitlement to the state pension and certain benefits. You typically need 35 qualifying years of NI contributions to receive the full new state pension. Your NI record also affects eligibility for maternity allowance, contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance, and Employment and Support Allowance. Employer NI contributions are separate from employee NI and are paid in addition to your salary. As an employee, you only need to worry about the employee side. However, self-employed individuals pay Class 2 and Class 4 NI instead, which have different rates and thresholds.

How to Use This Calculator

To calculate your National Insurance contributions: 1. Enter your annual salary before tax (gross salary). This is the figure on your employment contract or payslip. If you are paid monthly, multiply your gross monthly pay by 12. 2. Select your NI category. Most employees are category A. If you are over state pension age, select C. If you are an apprentice under 25, select H. Category B applies only to certain married women with a historical election. 3. Review the results. The calculator shows your annual, monthly, and weekly NI contributions, along with the effective NI rate as a percentage of your salary. The breakdown table shows how much of your earnings falls in each band and the tax charged per band. 4. Use the chart to visualise which NI bands contribute the most to your total. This helps you understand the marginal cost of pay rises and overtime.

How It Works

Employee National Insurance for 2026-27 is calculated using a banded (progressive) system, similar to income tax. Each band has its own percentage rate, and you only pay that rate on earnings within that band. For category A, the bands are: - GBP 0 to GBP 12,570 (primary threshold): 0% NI - GBP 12,571 to GBP 50,270 (upper earnings limit): 8% NI - Above GBP 50,270: 2% NI The formula works by taking your total annual earnings and applying each rate only to the portion of income that falls within each band. Earnings below the primary threshold are not subject to NI. The 8% rate applies only to the slice between GBP 12,570 and GBP 50,270. Any earnings above GBP 50,270 are charged at just 2%. For example, with an annual salary of GBP 60,000: - First GBP 12,570: GBP 0 NI - GBP 12,571 to GBP 50,270 (GBP 37,700): GBP 37,700 x 8% = GBP 3,016 - GBP 50,271 to GBP 60,000 (GBP 9,730): GBP 9,730 x 2% = GBP 194.60 - Total: GBP 3,210.60 per year

Worked Examples

National Insurance contributions are collected by HMRC and recorded against your National Insurance number. You can check your NI record at any time using the HMRC online service at gov.uk. If you have gaps in your record, you may be able to make voluntary Class 3 contributions to fill them and protect your state pension entitlement. If you have multiple jobs, NI is calculated separately for each employment. However, if your combined earnings exceed the upper earnings limit, you may be able to defer NI on one job to avoid overpayment. Contact HMRC to arrange deferment. From April 2025, the employee NI rate was reduced from 10% to 8% as part of the government's NICs reduction programme. The 2% rate above the upper earnings limit has remained unchanged. These rates remain in effect for 2026-27. Note that NI thresholds are aligned with the income tax personal allowance at GBP 12,570, which is frozen until at least 2028. This means that as wages grow with inflation, more of your earnings fall into the 8% band each year -- a process known as fiscal drag.