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You no longer need to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions. In 2024, it was abolished by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Conservative government. In the below table are the current National Insurance rates and who is responsible for paying them.
National Insurance rates in the 2025/26 tax year 👇
| NI class | Who pays? | How much? |
| Class 1 | Employees earning over £12,570 | 8% on earnings between £242 and £967 per week
2% if you earn £967+ per week |
| Class 1A/1B | Employers | 15% |
| Class 3 | Voluntary contributions | £17.75 per week |
| Class 4 | Self-employed earning over £12,570 | 6% on profits between £12,570-£50,270
2% on profits over £50,270 |
Class 2 National Insurance was a type of National Insurance paid by the self-employed. Here are two reasons you’d be liable to pay it:
It was paid via a Self Assessment tax return bill.
Before Class 2 National Insurance was abolished, the contributions were set at £3.45 per week.
That worked out as £179.40 per tax year.
As with all self assessments, there were a selection of payment methods available:
Manage your self-employed finances in one place with 10/10 bookkeeping tools. And all for free – forever and always.
Or see our Guides, Calculators or Taxopedia
