National Insurance Calculator 2026/27
Your earnings
Your pay before deductions. National Insurance is charged on earnings, so pension contributions under salary sacrifice would reduce this figure.
The secondary contributions your employer pays on top of your pay.
Employee NI stops at State Pension age — the employer's does not.
National Insurance a year
£1,794
Employee Class 1 contributions on £35,000 a year, 2026/27.
- Primary Threshold
- £12,570
- Upper Earnings Limit
- £50,270
- Effective NI rate (of gross pay)
- 5.1%
- National Insurance for the year
- £1,794
Estimates only, based on the 2026/27 tax year. This is a guide, not financial advice — for your personal situation consult a qualified accountant or HMRC.
Your NI band by band
How each slice of your earnings is charged under the 2026/27 Class 1 rates.
| Band | Earnings | NI |
|---|---|---|
| Below the Primary Threshold£0 to £12,570 · 0% | £12,570 | £0 |
| Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit£12,570 to £50,270 · 8% | £22,430 | £1,794 |
| Above the Upper Earnings Limit£50,270 and above · 2% | £0 | £0 |
| Total | £35,000 | £1,794 |
Work out your employee National Insurance for the 2026/27 tax year — the charge in each earnings band, per year, per month and per week, with your employer's contributions shown on request. This is National Insurance on its own, separate from income tax.
Last updated 25 July 2026 · reviewed by the TaxBreakdown team
How to use this calculator
Enter your gross earnings and choose whether that figure is per year, per month or per week — the calculator annualises it and applies the Class 1 rates. The band table shows how much of your pay sits below the Primary Threshold, how much falls in the main band and how much is above the Upper Earnings Limit. Switch on employer's NI to see what your employer pays on top, and use the tax-year selector to check an earlier year, including the blended rates that applied in 2022/23.
The National Insurance thresholds for 2026/27
Employee Class 1 National Insurance has two thresholds and two rates. Earnings up to the Primary Threshold of £12,570 attract nothing at all. Earnings between there and the Upper Earnings Limit of £50,270 are charged at 8%. Everything above the Upper Earnings Limit is charged at just 2%.
| Band | Annual earnings | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Below the Primary Threshold | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit | £12,570 to £50,270 | 8% |
| Above the Upper Earnings Limit | £50,270 and above | 2% |
| Employer's secondary contributions | £5,000 and above | 15% |
Both thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2031, alongside the Income Tax ones. For a fuller walk-through of how the bands developed and what each contribution buys, read our National Insurance bands explained guide.
Why National Insurance behaves the opposite way to income tax
Income tax rates rise as you earn more. National Insurance rates fall. Once your earnings pass the Upper Earnings Limit the rate drops from 8% to 2%, so your effective NI rate — the share of your whole salary that goes in contributions — peaks at 6.0% on earnings of exactly £50,270 and then falls away with every pound above it.
The other big difference is timing. Income tax is cumulative across the year — your payroll works out the tax due on everything earned so far and corrects itself if you have overpaid. National Insurance is normally worked out fresh on each pay period against a slice of the annual thresholds, so a bonus paid in a single month is charged as though you earn at that level all year, and no refund follows. Company directors are the exception, using an annual earnings period instead.
National Insurance is also reserved, meaning it is set by the UK government and is identical in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Only income tax rates and bands are devolved to the Scottish Parliament — see the Scottish tax calculator for what that changes and what it does not.
National Insurance at different salaries, 2026/27
Every figure below is calculated live by the same engine that powers the calculator above. The employer's column is the secondary Class 1 charge your employer pays on top of your salary at 15% of earnings above £5,000 — it never comes out of your pay, but it is part of what you cost to employ.
| Salary | NI a year | NI a month | Effective rate | Employer's NI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £15,000 | £194 | £16 | 1.3% | £1,500 |
| £25,000 | £994 | £83 | 4.0% | £3,000 |
| £35,000 | £1,794 | £150 | 5.1% | £4,500 |
| £50,270 | £3,016 | £251 | 6.0% | £6,791 |
| £70,000 | £3,411 | £284 | 4.9% | £9,750 |
| £120,000 | £4,411 | £368 | 3.7% | £17,250 |
What your contributions actually buy
Unlike income tax, National Insurance builds an entitlement. Each year in which you pay enough contributions — or receive credits, for example while claiming certain benefits or caring for a child under 12 — counts as a qualifying year on your National Insurance record. You generally need at least 10 qualifying years to receive any new State Pension, and 35 for the full rate.
It is the years, not the pounds, that count: someone on a high salary earns exactly the same single qualifying year as someone just over the threshold. You can check your record and any gaps through your personal tax account on gov.uk, and in some cases pay voluntary contributions to fill them.
Frequently asked questions
Related calculators
- Salary calculatorThe full picture: income tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan, and the take-home pay left over.
- Income tax calculatorThe other half of your deductions — income tax band by band, with the Personal Allowance and its taper.
- Self-employed tax calculatorSole trader? Class 4 National Insurance works differently to the employee Class 1 shown here.
- Two jobs tax calculatorTwo employments each get their own NI thresholds — see what that means for your total contributions.
Sources & methodology
Every rate and threshold used here comes from official HMRC and gov.uk guidance for the 2026/27 tax year, and the worked figures on this page are generated by the calculator engine rather than typed in. For a full explanation of how each figure is derived, see our methodology page.
Last reviewed by the TaxBreakdown team on 25 July 2026. Estimates are based on the 2026/27 tax year and are a guide, not financial advice.