Domesday Live

National Insurance: how the rate has changed

Earnings and savings. National Insurance is paid on earnings by employees, employers and the self-employed. It is counted as a contribution towards the State Pension and some benefits, but in practice it works like a tax on jobs. The rates shown are the main rate for each group.

Worth knowing

• Before 1999 employers paid different rates on different slices of pay, and from 1985 to 1989 employees did too. We show the rate on the highest slice for employers and the rate most employees paid.
• An extra National Insurance surcharge on employers ran from 1977 to 1984 and is not shown.
• In April 2022 both rates went up by 1.25 points to fund the Health and Social Care Levy. The increase was reversed in November 2022.
• The employee rate was cut from 12% to 10% in January 2024 and to 8% in April 2024. Class 4 for the self-employed fell to 6% in April 2024.
• In April 2025 the employer rate rose to 15% and the pay level at which employers start paying fell from £9,100 to £5,000 a year.