What National Insurance do I pay if I’m self-employed?

From your question, you are considering working self employed on a part time basis in addition to working full time and you have a query about your National Insurance (NI) Contributions and the effect of any change to the payment of these to your entitlement to benefits.

You say you currently pay a Class 1 contribution from your wages working full time. To work self employed you would need to register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). According to HMRC ‘If you’re self-employed you normally have to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions. If your annual profits are over a certain amount you also pay Class 4 contributions. In certain circumstances you may be exempt from paying.’ Whether or not you would be exempt from paying Class 2 contributions would be dependent on the amount you earned being self employed. For details of whether you would be exempt please refer to this article on the HMRC website.

For further information on NI Contributions, you could contact HMRC.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) has trained advisors who can give you information on your eligibility for benefits and can take into account your individual circumstances. They should also be able to advise you on whether your NI Contributions could affect any entitlements you may have to benefits.

Hopefully you will find this information helpful but please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries.