If you’re self-employed or in a partnership, class 2 National Insurance protects your entitlement to state pension and other benefits.
Most people pay this in their self-assessment payment by the 31st of January following the end of the tax year.
You don’t have to pay if your profits are under the small profits threshold, but this can affect your state pension and other benefits so you may decide to pay voluntary contributions.
You can find more about these on gov.UK
If your profits are between the small profits threshold, up to the lower profits threshold – your class 2 National Insurance is treated as having been paid.
If your profits are over the lower profits threshold you must pay Class 2 National Insurance.
You can find the current rates on gov.UK
When you’re self-employed, to pay Class 2 National Insurance you need to register for self-assessment. You also need to do this when your annual turnover is below £1,000 but you want to pay voluntary contributions.
On your tax return select self-employed or in a partnership – this is the section where your class 2 contributions are included.
Your return shows the amount due based on the number of weeks in the tax year you were self-employed.
On your National Insurance records, if the amount shows ‘not available’, you may not be registered correctly for self-employment so you’ll need to register online using form CWF1 or the service may be unavailable. When it’s available, select the recalculate button to show the amount due.
If you’re unsure about Class 2 NI, contact the National Insurance helpline.
You can also tell HMRC if you started or stopped self-employment during the year and think the amount on the tax return is incorrect: select the update your self-employment details link to update your record then select recalculate.
To make voluntary Class 2 payments select ‘yes’, otherwise select no.
Your full calculation on your tax return submission shows how much Class 2 national insurance is due to be paid
You can find more information about self-assessment on gov.UK
