National Insurance rates 2026/27
Employees pay Class 1 National Insurance on their earnings, and their employer pays a separate amount on top. The tables show the thresholds and rates for most employees, who are in category A. The rates are the same in every part of the UK.
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Below £12,570 a year | 0% |
| £12,570 to £50,270 a year | 8% |
| Over £50,270 a year | 2% |
Source: www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027, checked 22 September 2026
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| Secondary threshold | £5,000 a year |
| Employer rate | 15% |
Source: www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027, checked 22 September 2026
What an employee pays
Nothing is due on earnings up to the primary threshold of £12,570 a year. Pay between that threshold and the upper earnings limit of £50,270 is charged at the main rate of 8%. Pay above the upper limit is charged at 2%. The main rate stops at the salary where the higher rate of income tax begins outside Scotland, so the two changes arrive together on a payslip.
The lower earnings limit of £6,708 sits below the primary threshold. Someone paid between the two pays no National Insurance, and those earnings still count towards a qualifying year for the State Pension.
What an employer pays
Employers pay 15% on each employee's earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000. There is no upper limit for the employer. It does not appear as a deduction on the employee's payslip. The take-home pay calculator shows it as a separate line under the result.
Pay periods and yearly figures
Payroll works out National Insurance for each pay period on its own, using a weekly or monthly share of each threshold. A month with a bonus can therefore cost more than the yearly table suggests, because the earnings above the threshold in that month are not balanced against other months. The salary after tax pages use yearly figures for a steady salary, and the methodology page explains the difference.
Pension contributions paid through salary sacrifice reduce the pay that National Insurance is charged on. Contributions taken from pay after National Insurance do not. The income tax rates page covers the other main deduction.
Questions
Do people over State Pension age pay National Insurance?
An employee who has reached State Pension age stops paying employee National Insurance on their wages. The employer still pays its share on earnings above the secondary threshold.
Is National Insurance different in Scotland?
No. Scotland sets its own income tax bands, but National Insurance thresholds and rates are set for the whole of the UK and apply in the same way everywhere.
What is category A?
Category A is the standard letter for most employees. Other letters cover employees over State Pension age, who pay no employee National Insurance, and some younger employees and apprentices, whose employer pays less up to a limit.
Why does the employer threshold differ from the employee one?
The two are set separately, and the employer threshold is the lower one. On a salary between the two thresholds, the employer pays National Insurance and the employee pays none.
This is information, not financial advice.