How much National Insurance do I pay on my salary?

As an employee in 2026/27 you pay nothing on the first £12,570 a year, 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on anything above that. On £35,000 that works out at £149.49 a month and £1,793.92 across a year of monthly payslips - the annual-basis figure is £1,794.40, and the gap is the difference between twelve monthly thresholds (12 x £1,048 = £12,576) and one annual one (£12,570), charged at 8%. Your employer separately pays 15% on everything you earn above £5,000, which never appears on your payslip but is part of what you cost.

Why does the calculator ask how often I am paid?

Because National Insurance is charged on each pay packet against that period's own thresholds, not on your total for the year. HMRC publishes those thresholds separately - £242 a week, £1,048 a month, £12,570 a year - and £242 x 52 is £12,584, not £12,570. The practical consequence is that the same annual pay produces a slightly different NI bill depending on how it arrives, and a single large month can push earnings past that month's Upper Earnings Limit into the 2% band while leaving thresholds unused in quieter months.

Do company directors pay National Insurance differently?

Yes. Under Regulation 8 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 a director has an annual earnings period however often they are paid, so the year's total is what matters and a bonus cannot be sheltered by landing in one month. HMRC's CA44 booklet allows payments on account through the year on the normal pay intervals, but the final payment of the tax year is reassessed on the annual basis and the difference settled then. Choose the annual earnings period here to model a director.

Do I still pay Class 2 National Insurance if I am self-employed?

Not as a charge. Since April 2024 a self-employed person with profits at or above the Small Profits Threshold - £7,105 in 2026/27 - is treated as having paid Class 2 without paying anything, so the contribution is credited rather than billed. Below that threshold Class 2 becomes voluntary at £3.65 a week, which is the cheapest way to protect a qualifying year towards the State Pension. Class 4 is the charge that remains: 6% of profits between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above.

What does it cost to fill a gap in my National Insurance record?

Class 3 voluntary contributions cost £18.40 a week in 2026/27, so £956.80 for a full year. Class 2, where you are eligible for it as a self-employed person with low profits, costs £3.65 a week or £189.80 a year for the same qualifying year - which is why eligibility for Class 2 matters far more than the difference looks. Check your record before buying anything: some gap years cannot be filled, and some are already covered by NI credits you did not know you had.

Do I stop paying National Insurance at State Pension age?

Employee Class 1 stops as soon as you reach State Pension age, even mid-year - so in the year you reach it you owe Class 1 on earnings up to that point and nothing after. Class 4 works differently: gov.uk says "you stop paying Class 4 National Insurance from 6 April (start of the tax year) after you reach State Pension age", so a self-employed person still owes Class 4 for the whole of the year in which they reach it. Your employer keeps paying employer NI on your wages either way - that liability does not stop. The calculator models a full year either side of the line rather than a part-year: tick the box and it treats you as over State Pension age for the whole year, which is right for every year after the one you reach it in.

Can I earn a qualifying year without paying any National Insurance?

Yes, and it is a deliberate feature rather than a loophole. Earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit - £6,708 a year, £129 a week in 2026/27 - credit a qualifying year towards the State Pension, but nothing is payable until the Primary Threshold at £12,570. Everything you earn in that band counts for your record and costs you nothing. It is the reason a modestly paid part-time job is still worth having on your NI record.

How much employer National Insurance will a hire cost?

15% of everything above the £5,000 Secondary Threshold in 2026/27. On a £35,000 salary that is £4,500 on top of the wage. Eligible employers can set the Employment Allowance - £10,500 - against that bill, but a company whose only employee is a single director cannot claim it. Employees under 21, apprentices under 25, veterans in their first civilian year and eligible Freeport or Investment Zone employees carry a category letter with 0% employer NI up to an Upper Secondary Threshold; pick the letter in the calculator and the employer figure follows it.

National Insurance on £70,000 in 2026/27

An employee earning £70,000 and paid monthly pays £3,410 of Class 1 National Insurance over the year, which is £284.17 off each payslip. Their employer separately owes £9,749, which never appears on the payslip at all. Figures use HMRC's published per-period thresholds for 2026/27.

You pay, per year

£3,410

£284.17 a month

Your employer pays

£9,749

Secondary Class 1, on top of your wage

Share of your gross pay

4.9%

National Insurance only, before Income Tax

The same £70,000, on each earnings period

Class 1 is charged on each pay packet against that period's own thresholds, and HMRC's weekly and monthly thresholds are not the annual figure divided down. On £70,000 the three bases differ by £0.60 across the year. Directors are assessed on the annual basis whatever their payslip frequency.

Basis	Per period	Employee, per year	Employer, per year
Paid monthly	£284.17 a month	£3,410	£9,749
Paid weekly	£65.58 a week	£3,410	£9,751
Annual earnings period (company director)	£3,410.60 a year	£3,411	£9,750

Your salary in context

ONS · HMRC · CPI

What comes off your pay

On £70,000 you pay £3,410 of employee Class 1 National Insurance a year - £284.17 each month.
Share of your earnings

That is 4.9% of your gross pay, before any Income Tax. National Insurance has no personal allowance of its own - the £1,048 threshold is a separate figure that happens to match the Personal Allowance this year.
What your employer pays

Your employer separately owes £9,749 of secondary Class 1 on this salary. It never shows on your payslip, but it is part of what you cost to employ - worth knowing in a pay negotiation.
State Pension qualifying year

Earnings at this level are above the Lower Earnings Limit of £559 a month, so this year counts towards your State Pension record.
Where the rate changes

Nothing is due below £1,048 a month; between there and £4,189 a month the rate is 8%; above it, 2%. Earnings past the Upper Earnings Limit are the cheapest pay you will receive, in National Insurance terms.

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Related calculators

National Insurance calculator - change the salary, add self-employed profits, model a director.
Salary calculator at £70,000 - full take-home with Income Tax, pension and student loan.
Employer cost calculator - the total cost of employing someone on £70,000.
Self-employed calculator - Class 4 and Income Tax on profits rather than wages.
State Pension calculator - what the qualifying years on your record are worth.

Frequently asked questions

How much National Insurance do I pay on my salary?: As an employee in 2026/27 you pay nothing on the first £12,570 a year, 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on anything above that. On £35,000 that works out at £149.49 a month and £1,793.92 across a year of monthly payslips - the annual-basis figure is £1,794.40, and the gap is the difference between twelve monthly thresholds (12 x £1,048 = £12,576) and one annual one (£12,570), charged at 8%. Your employer separately pays 15% on everything you earn above £5,000, which never appears on your payslip but is part of what you cost.
Why does the calculator ask how often I am paid?: Because National Insurance is charged on each pay packet against that period's own thresholds, not on your total for the year. HMRC publishes those thresholds separately - £242 a week, £1,048 a month, £12,570 a year - and £242 x 52 is £12,584, not £12,570. The practical consequence is that the same annual pay produces a slightly different NI bill depending on how it arrives, and a single large month can push earnings past that month's Upper Earnings Limit into the 2% band while leaving thresholds unused in quieter months.
Do company directors pay National Insurance differently?: Yes. Under Regulation 8 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 a director has an annual earnings period however often they are paid, so the year's total is what matters and a bonus cannot be sheltered by landing in one month. HMRC's CA44 booklet allows payments on account through the year on the normal pay intervals, but the final payment of the tax year is reassessed on the annual basis and the difference settled then. Choose the annual earnings period here to model a director.
Do I still pay Class 2 National Insurance if I am self-employed?: Not as a charge. Since April 2024 a self-employed person with profits at or above the Small Profits Threshold - £7,105 in 2026/27 - is treated as having paid Class 2 without paying anything, so the contribution is credited rather than billed. Below that threshold Class 2 becomes voluntary at £3.65 a week, which is the cheapest way to protect a qualifying year towards the State Pension. Class 4 is the charge that remains: 6% of profits between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above.
What does it cost to fill a gap in my National Insurance record?: Class 3 voluntary contributions cost £18.40 a week in 2026/27, so £956.80 for a full year. Class 2, where you are eligible for it as a self-employed person with low profits, costs £3.65 a week or £189.80 a year for the same qualifying year - which is why eligibility for Class 2 matters far more than the difference looks. Check your record before buying anything: some gap years cannot be filled, and some are already covered by NI credits you did not know you had.
Do I stop paying National Insurance at State Pension age?: Employee Class 1 stops as soon as you reach State Pension age, even mid-year - so in the year you reach it you owe Class 1 on earnings up to that point and nothing after. Class 4 works differently: gov.uk says "you stop paying Class 4 National Insurance from 6 April (start of the tax year) after you reach State Pension age", so a self-employed person still owes Class 4 for the whole of the year in which they reach it. Your employer keeps paying employer NI on your wages either way - that liability does not stop. The calculator models a full year either side of the line rather than a part-year: tick the box and it treats you as over State Pension age for the whole year, which is right for every year after the one you reach it in.
Can I earn a qualifying year without paying any National Insurance?: Yes, and it is a deliberate feature rather than a loophole. Earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit - £6,708 a year, £129 a week in 2026/27 - credit a qualifying year towards the State Pension, but nothing is payable until the Primary Threshold at £12,570. Everything you earn in that band counts for your record and costs you nothing. It is the reason a modestly paid part-time job is still worth having on your NI record.
How much employer National Insurance will a hire cost?: 15% of everything above the £5,000 Secondary Threshold in 2026/27. On a £35,000 salary that is £4,500 on top of the wage. Eligible employers can set the Employment Allowance - £10,500 - against that bill, but a company whose only employee is a single director cannot claim it. Employees under 21, apprentices under 25, veterans in their first civilian year and eligible Freeport or Investment Zone employees carry a category letter with 0% employer NI up to an Upper Secondary Threshold; pick the letter in the calculator and the employer figure follows it.