Employees and self-employed people must also pay National Insurance (NI) as well to pay for benefits and pensions.
NI is separate from income tax. It pays specifically for unemployment benefits for yourself if you become unemployed. If you have not paid NI, your benefits could be lower if you ever need to claim them.
Most self-employed people need to pay Class 2 or Class 4 NI payments, either monthly by direct debit or quarterly if direct debit isn’t possible. These are not voluntary payments and it is illegal not to pay them.
If your earnings are very low, or very high, you may need to pay a different level of NI. Information about NI contributions is at the HMRC website.
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