In his Autumn statement delivered on 25 November 2015, Chancellor George Osborne announced the national insurance thresholds and rates for 2016/17 (see below).
Contribution thresholds | Current - 6 April 2015 | 2016/17 |
Weekly lower earnings limit (LEL) | £112 | £112 |
Weekly primary thresholds (PT) | £155 | £155 |
Weekly secondary threshold (ST) | £156 | £156 |
Upper earnings (UEL) | £815 | £827 |
Upper profits limit (UPL) | £42,385 per year | £43,000 per year |
Upper secondary threshold for under 21's* | £815 | £827 |
Small profits threshold (SPT) (Small earnings exception) | £5,965 | £5,965 |
Lower profits limit (LPL) | £8,060 (per year) | £8,060 (per year) |
Employment allowance | £2,000 (per year, per employee) | £3,000 (per year, per employee) |
Apprentice upper secondary threshold (AUST) for under 25s | £827 |
* From 6 April 2015, employer's national insurance are not due in relation to employees under 21. The exemption applies to earnings up to the secondary threshold.
Table 1: Class 1 contribution rates
Employee (primary) | ||
Earnings (a week) | Current - 6 April 2015 | 2016/17 |
Between PT and UEL | 12% | 12% |
Above UEL | 2% | 2% |
Employers (secondary) | ||
Earnings (a week) | Current - 6 April 2015 | 2016/17 |
Above ST | 13.8% | 13.8% |
Table 2: Other rates
Current - 6 April 2015 | 2016/17 | |
Self-employed Class 2 rate above SPT | £2.80 a week | £2.80 a week |
Class 4 rate between LPL and UPL | 9% | 9% |
Class 4 rate above UPL | 2% | 2% |
Married women's reduced rate between PT and UEL | 5.85% | 5.85% |
Special Class 2 rate for share fishermen | £3.45 per week | £3.45 per week |
Special Class 2 rate for volunteer development workers | £5.60 per week | £5.60 per week |
Class 3* rate | £14.10 per week | £14.10 per week |
In addition to the above the chancellor also announced that the current Statutory rates for sick pay and maternity pay to remain the same in 2016