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CLASS 1, EMPLOYEE
Employee National Insurance for 2026/27.
The rate between the primary threshold and the upper earnings limit stays at 8%. Above that it is 2%. Neither threshold moved for this tax year.
| 2026/27 | |
|---|---|
| Primary threshold | £242 a week, £1,048 a month, £12,570 a year |
| Upper earnings limit | £967 a week, £4,189 a month, £50,270 a year |
| Rate between them | 8% |
| Rate above the upper limit | 2% |
HMRC’s employer rates page for 2026 to 2027 is the source. On a £40,000 salary the employee NI is 8% of £40,000 minus £12,570, which is £2,194. There is no 2% slice because the salary has not passed £50,270. Income tax on that same salary, with a full personal allowance, is a separate £5,486. Take-home before a student loan is £32,320.
Salary sacrifice reduces the pay NI is charged on. Relief-at-source pension contributions do not. The calculator’s pension box is sacrifice, and the sacrifice page shows the NI saving on its own.
Employer NI is 15% above a secondary threshold of £5,000. It is not deducted from the employee. This site does not estimate the employer’s bill.
Questions
Is National Insurance charged on a bonus?
Yes, if the bonus is earnings for Class 1. It can push you through the upper earnings limit for that pay period’s ordinary calculation. Our annual tool looks at the year as a whole.
Does Scotland change National Insurance?
No. Scottish income tax is different. Employee NI thresholds are UK-wide.
Where the 2% slice starts
Employee National Insurance is 8% only between £12,570 and £50,270. On a £60,000 salary the 8% slice is 8% of £37,700, which is £3,016, and the 2% slice is 2% of £9,730, which is about £195. Together that is about £3,211. Income tax on the same salary is larger, and it is not National Insurance. Directors and the self-employed are not this table. Employer National Insurance, 15% above a £5,000 secondary threshold, is not deducted from the employee and is not in the take-home figure.
A salary-sacrifice pension lowers the pay these thresholds see. A pension paid after tax does not. The calculator treats its pension box as sacrifice.
£40,000, the figure people quote wrong
Employee National Insurance on £40,000 is 8% of £27,430, which is £2,194. It is not 8% of £40,000. The primary threshold of £12,570 is untouched by the 8% rate. There is no 2% slice because £40,000 is below £50,270. Income tax on that salary, with a full allowance, is a separate £5,486. Together they are £7,680, and take-home before a student loan is £32,320. A student loan is not National Insurance and is not in that £7,680.
Weekly payroll uses HMRC’s rounded thresholds, £242 a week and £967 a week, rather than the annual numbers divided by 52. A single week can differ by pennies from this annual view. The year is what the calculator shows.