How much National Insurance will you pay? Enter your salary and see your Class 1 employee NI at the 8% and 2% rates, plus the employer NI your company pays on top — all on the current 2026/27 thresholds.
Class 1 · 2026/27 thresholds
National Insurance is a separate deduction from Income Tax. For employees, it is charged on your earnings under Class 1, and — like Income Tax — it works in bands rather than a single flat rate. You pay nothing on the first slice of pay, a main rate on the middle band, and a lower rate on the top.
| Earnings band (2026/27) | Employee NI rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £12,570 (Primary Threshold) | 0% |
| £12,570 – £50,270 (Upper Earnings Limit) | 8% |
| Above £50,270 | 2% |
Crucially, the rate drops as you earn more — the opposite of Income Tax. Above the £50,270 Upper Earnings Limit you pay only 2% NI, which is why the combined tax-and-NI marginal rate flattens out for higher earners.
That is an effective NI rate of about 5.1% on the whole salary — lower than 8% because the first £12,570 escapes NI entirely.
On top of what you pay, your employer pays Class 1 secondary NI at 15% on your earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold for 2026/27. On a £35,000 salary that is around £4,500 — a real cost of employing you that does not come out of your take-home pay, but which often shapes pay rises and the value of salary-sacrifice schemes.
About £1,794 a year — that is 8% of the £22,430 you earn between £12,570 and £50,270. Pay below £12,570 is free of National Insurance.
Employees pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above £50,270. Earnings under £12,570 are exempt.
No — paying NI builds your entitlement. You generally need 35 qualifying years for the full new State Pension and at least 10 to get any. Check your record on GOV.UK.
The self-employed pay Class 4 NI (and sometimes voluntary Class 2) instead of Class 1. Use the self-employed tax calculator for those rates.
