# National Insurance

url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/national-insurance/
updated: 29 September 2026
licence: Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Figures: each source's own licence, listed under Sources.
publisher: [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk)

# National Insurance



Last updated 29 September 2026.
Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/).





**A second tax on earnings, paid by employees, employers and the self-employed, which buys a record of contributions towards the state pension.** Employees earning above the primary threshold, their employers, and the self-employed on their profits. People over state pension age stop paying it on earnings; employers do not. It raised **£200.8bn** in 2025–26, which is 21.4% of everything HMRC collects and 6.54% of the economy. That is up £28.3bn (16.4%) on the year before.



Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source:
[HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk).





## Key figures



- £200.8bnRaised in 2025–26

▲
- 21.4%Of everything HMRC collects

▲
2025–26
- 6.54%Of the whole economy (GDP)

▲
2025–26
- -0.1%In real terms, against the 2022–23 peak

Adjusted for inflation with the GDP deflator
As of 6 April 2025
- 8%Employee main rate

Cut from 12% in 2024




Sources: [HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk), [HM Treasury](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp).





## What is the short version?



- **How big:** £200.8bn in 2025–26, 21.4% of everything HMRC collects; after inflation, 27% more than in 2015–16.
- **Someone earning £35,000:** The employee sees £1,786 on their payslip. The other £4,500 never appears on it, but it is money the employer is spending to employ them.
- **Latest change, 2025:** The employer rate rises from 13.8% to 15% and the threshold falls from £9,100 to £5,000, raising around £25bn.
- **Where it goes:** The National Insurance Fund, and the NHS.
- **The argument:** The contributory link, however weak, keeps the state pension politically distinct from welfare; against that, two taxes on the same income with different thresholds and bases is pure complexity.






## How much does it raise?




**National Insurance receipts, cash and real terms**










**The numbers behind this chart**





| Financial year | Cash | Real, 2025-26 prices |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2006–07Details | £87,274m | £142,858m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£142,858m | | |
| 2007–08Details | £100,410m | £161,207m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£161,207m | | |
| 2008–09Details | £96,882m | £149,954m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£149,954m | | |
| 2009–10Details | £95,517m | £145,953m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£145,953m | | |
| 2010–11Details | £96,548m | £145,060m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£145,060m | | |
| 2011–12Details | £101,617m | £149,485m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£149,485m | | |
| 2012–13Details | £102,037m | £147,545m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£147,545m | | |
| 2013–14Details | £107,690m | £152,546m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£152,546m | | |
| 2014–15Details | £110,406m | £154,213m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£154,213m | | |
| 2015–16Details | £113,701m | £157,721m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£157,721m | | |
| 2016–17Details | £124,469m | £169,264m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£169,264m | | |
| 2017–18Details | £130,931m | £175,825m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£175,825m | | |
| 2018–19Details | £136,850m | £179,678m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£179,678m | | |
| 2019–20Details | £142,871m | £182,761m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£182,761m | | |
| 2020–21Details | £143,460m | £174,401m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£174,401m | | |
| 2021–22Details | £158,043m | £191,671m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£191,671m | | |
| 2022–23Details | £177,445m | £201,068m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£201,068m | | |
| 2023–24Details | £179,190m | £192,896m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£192,896m | | |
| 2024–25Details | £172,518m | £178,462m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£178,462m | | |
| 2025–26Details | £200,829m | £200,829m |
| Real, 2025-26 prices£200,829m | | |






Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source:
[HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk), [HM Treasury](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp).






**National Insurance as a share of the economy, 1911–12 to 2022–23**










**The numbers behind this chart**



Search




| Financial year | % of GDP |
| --- | --- |
| 1911–12 | 0.112% |
| 1914–15 | 0.793% |
| 1917–18 | 0.502% |
| 1920–21 | 0.587% |
| 1923–24 | 1.492% |
| 1926–27 | 1.767% |
| 1929–30 | 1.788% |
| 1932–33 | 2.15% |
| 1935–36 | 2.124% |
| 1938–39 | 1.992% |
| 1941–42 | 1.493% |
| 1944–45 | 1.415% |
| 1947–48 | 2.379% |
| 1950–51 | 3.477% |
| 1953–54 | 3.159% |
| 1956–57 | 3.043% |
| 1959–60 | 3.643% |
| 1962–63 | 4.054% |
| 1965–66 | 4.684% |
| 1968–69 | 4.686% |
| 1971–72 | 4.621% |
| 1974–75 | 5.51% |
| 1977–78 | 5.87% |
| 1980–81 | 5.381% |
| 1983–84 | 5.958% |
| 1986–87 | 5.858% |
| 1989–90 | 5.318% |
| 1992–93 | 5.007% |
| 1995–96 | 5.196% |
| 1998–99 | 5.417% |
| 2001–02 | 5.478% |
| 2004–05 | 6.029% |
| 2007–08 | 6.09% |
| 2010–11 | 5.995% |
| 2013–14 | 5.941% |
| 2016–17 | 6.218% |
| 2019–20 | 6.387% |
| 2022–23 | 7.031% |











Figures for the 2022–23 financial year. Source:
[Office for Budget Responsibility](https://obr.uk/data/).





**How "real terms" is worked out**



Real terms use HM Treasury's GDP deflator, rebased to 2025-26 prices. That is the
measure the Treasury and the OBR use for public finances; the consumer price index is the
right one for a shopping basket, not for the size of the state.






## How does it work?



National Insurance is charged on earnings, like income tax, but on a different base and at different thresholds, which is why the two never line up neatly. It is not charged on pensions, savings interest, dividends or rental income.

There are three payers. The employee pays a percentage of earnings between two thresholds and a much lower percentage above the upper limit. The employer pays a flat percentage on everything above a lower threshold, with no upper limit. The self-employed pay their own rate on profits.

Employer National Insurance is the part most people never see, and it is the largest of the three. Economists generally find that most of it is borne by workers in the long run through lower wages rather than by shareholders, because employers treat it as part of the cost of hiring. The OBR assumes most of it passes through to wages within a few years.

The rates for 2026-27:





| Who and on what | Earnings | Rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Employee (Class 1)Details | £242 to £967 a week | 8% |
| Rate8% | | |
| Employee (Class 1)Details | over £967 a week | 2% |
| Rate2% | | |
| Employer (Class 1)Details | over £96 a week | 15% |
| Rate15% | | |
| Self-employed (Class 4)Details | £12,570 to £50,270 a year | 6% |
| Rate6% | | |
| Self-employed (Class 4)Details | over £50,270 a year | 2% |
| Rate2% | | |





Rates: [GOV.UK, National Insurance rates and categories](https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-rates-letters).
Checked by hand 22 September 2026.

Unlike income tax, National Insurance buys something specific: qualifying years towards the state pension. Thirty-five qualifying years currently gets the full new state pension. That link is real but weak, since you can gain qualifying years through credits without paying anything.



### What does this mean for you?



Put in a yearly salary to see the employee National Insurance taken from it.


Your salary before tax
£



On £35,000 you would pay **£1,794 a year** in National Insurance, 5.1% of your salary. Your employer pays more on top, which you never see.



2026-27 Class 1 rates for an employee under State Pension age, worked on a yearly basis (8% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above). Pay that varies from week to week can give a slightly different total.






### Someone earning £35,000





| Step | Amount | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SalaryDetails | £35,000 | |
| | | |
| Employee National InsuranceDetails | £1,786 | 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £35,000 |
| Note8% on earnings between £12,570 and £35,000 | | |
| Employer National InsuranceDetails | £4,500 | 15% on earnings above £5,000, paid on top of the salary |
| Note15% on earnings above £5,000, paid on top of the salary | | |
| Total National Insurance on this jobDetails | £6,286 | |
| | | |





**The employee sees £1,786 on their payslip. The other £4,500 never appears on it, but it is money the employer is spending to employ them.**




[Work out your take-home pay after income tax and National Insurance](https://howlongisit.co.uk/uk-salary-calculator)





## How has it changed?





**National Insurance thresholds each tax year, £ a week**


- primary threshold (employees)





2010–11: £110 → 2026–27: **£242**

- upper earnings limit





2010–11: £844 → 2026–27: **£967**

- Employer National Insurance secondary threshold





2010–11: £110 → 2026–27: **£96**



Each panel starts at zero on its own scale. Cash values, not adjusted for inflation: a flat line is a freeze, and a freeze is a real-terms cut. Weekly thresholds.




**Show as a table**





| Tax year | primary threshold (employees) | upper earnings limit | Employer National Insurance secondary threshold |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2010–11Details | £110 | £844 | £110 |
| upper earnings limit£844Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£110 | | | |
| 2011–12Details | £139 | £817 | £136 |
| upper earnings limit£817Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£136 | | | |
| 2012–13Details | £146 | £817 | £144 |
| upper earnings limit£817Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£144 | | | |
| 2013–14Details | £149 | £797 | £148 |
| upper earnings limit£797Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£148 | | | |
| 2014–15Details | £153 | £805 | £153 |
| upper earnings limit£805Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£153 | | | |
| 2015–16Details | £155 | £815 | £156 |
| upper earnings limit£815Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£156 | | | |
| 2016–17Details | £155 | £827 | £156 |
| upper earnings limit£827Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£156 | | | |
| 2017–18Details | £157 | £866 | £157 |
| upper earnings limit£866Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£157 | | | |
| 2018–19Details | £162 | £892 | £162 |
| upper earnings limit£892Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£162 | | | |
| 2019–20Details | £166 | £962 | £166 |
| upper earnings limit£962Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£166 | | | |
| 2020–21Details | £183 | £962 | £169 |
| upper earnings limit£962Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£169 | | | |
| 2021–22Details | £184 | £967 | £170 |
| upper earnings limit£967Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£170 | | | |
| 2022–23Details | £242 | £967 | £175 |
| upper earnings limit£967Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£175 | | | |
| 2023–24Details | £242 | £967 | £175 |
| upper earnings limit£967Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£175 | | | |
| 2024–25Details | £242 | £967 | £175 |
| upper earnings limit£967Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£175 | | | |
| 2025–26Details | £242 | £967 | £96 |
| upper earnings limit£967Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£96 | | | |
| 2026–27Details | £242 | £967 | £96 |
| upper earnings limit£967Employer National Insurance secondary threshold£96 | | | |






Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source:
[Office for Budget Responsibility](https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_November_2025.pdf).




How it got here, and why each change was made:



- **1911**Lloyd George introduces National Insurance as genuine contributory insurance: workers, employers and the state each pay into funds for sickness and unemployment.
- **1948**The Beveridge system makes it universal and ties it to the new state pension and the NHS.
- **1975**Flat-rate stamps are replaced by earnings-related contributions, which makes it function much more like an income tax.
- **2003**A 1% rise across all rates is introduced explicitly to fund the NHS, the first time the link is made openly.
- **2022**A 1.25 percentage point Health and Social Care Levy is added, then reversed within months.
- **2024**The employee main rate is cut from 12% to 10% and then to 8%, the largest cuts in its history.
- **2025**The employer rate rises from 13.8% to 15% and the threshold falls from £9,100 to £5,000, raising around £25bn. The OBR expects most of it to reach workers as lower pay rises.






## Where does the money go?



**The National Insurance Fund, and the NHS.** This one is genuinely earmarked, though less tightly than the name suggests. Most contributions go into the National Insurance Fund, which pays the state pension and contributory benefits and is legally separate from general taxation. A defined slice is allocated to the NHS instead. But the Fund is not invested: today’s contributions pay today’s pensions, and if it ran short the Treasury would top it up from general taxation. It is a ring-fence, not a pot of savings.



Because it is not earmarked, the only honest way to show what it pays for is by proportion. If
national insurance receipts of £200.8bn were spent in the same proportions as all
public spending in 2025-26, they would break down like this. It is an illustration of scale,
not a statement about where those particular pounds went.




**If £200.8bn of national insurance were spent like all public money in 2025-26**



- 1. Social protection, including the state pension

£66.7bn 33.2% of spending
- 2. Health

£42.2bn 21% of spending
- 3. Debt interest

£21.3bn 10.6% of spending
- 4. Education

£20.5bn 10.2% of spending
- 5. Economic affairs, including transport

£15.5bn 7.7% of spending
- 6. Defence

£10.6bn 5.3% of spending
- 7. Public order and safety

£9.0bn 4.5% of spending
- 8. General public services

£5.8bn 2.9% of spending
- 9. Housing and community

£3.6bn 1.8% of spending
- 10. Environment

£3.2bn 1.6% of spending
- 11. Culture, media and sport

£2.4bn 1.2% of spending





Spending shares from HM Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses. An illustration of scale, not where these particular pounds went.




**Show as a table**





| Name | Equivalent share of national insurance |
| --- | --- |
| 1. Social protection, including the state pension | £66.7bn |
| 2. Health | £42.2bn |
| 3. Debt interest | £21.3bn |
| 4. Education | £20.5bn |
| 5. Economic affairs, including transport | £15.5bn |
| 6. Defence | £10.6bn |
| 7. Public order and safety | £9.0bn |
| 8. General public services | £5.8bn |
| 9. Housing and community | £3.6bn |
| 10. Environment | £3.2bn |
| 11. Culture, media and sport | £2.4bn |








See [for every £100 of tax](/for-every-100-pounds-of-tax/) for the full picture.





## Does it change what people do?



The self-employed pay a lower rate than employees, and the gap has been a long-running argument: it encourages people to be classified as self-employed for tax reasons rather than because of how they actually work. An attempt to narrow it in 2017 was abandoned within a week after objections that it broke a manifesto commitment.



[When a tax rise stops raising money](/when-tax-rises-lose-revenue/) looks at the
cases where the effect has been large enough to move the revenue.





## How does that compare with other countries?



**In 2024 the UK raised 6.1% of GDP this way: seventh of the 11 countries compared here.**




**Revenue from this heading as a share of GDP, 2024**



- 1. Germany

14.9%
- 2. France

14.7%
- 3. Spain

12.7%
- 4. Italy

12.5%
- 5. Netherlands

12.0%
- 6. Sweden

9.0%
- ◆7. United Kingdom

6.1%
- 8. United States

6.0%
- 9. Canada

5.3%
- 10. Ireland

3.4%
- 11. Denmark

0.1%




◆ UK





**Show as a table**





| Name | Share of GDP |
| --- | --- |
| 1. Germany | 14.9% |
| 2. France | 14.7% |
| 3. Spain | 12.7% |
| 4. Italy | 12.5% |
| 5. Netherlands | 12.0% |
| 6. Sweden | 9.0% |
| 7. United Kingdom (UK) | 6.1% |
| 8. United States | 6.0% |
| 9. Canada | 5.3% |
| 10. Ireland | 3.4% |
| 11. Denmark | 0.1% |






Figure as of 1 January 2024. Source:
[OECD](https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_REV_COMP_OECD%40DF_RSOECD).




Most European countries raise far more through social security contributions than the UK does, and correspondingly less through income tax. Comparing income tax rates alone across countries is therefore misleading; the two have to be added together.




**What is being compared**



The OECD counts National Insurance as a social security contribution, alongside the contributory systems other countries run.



Countries are those this site compares throughout, not the whole OECD, and a country appears only
where it reports this heading for 2024.






## What are the arguments?





### The case for keeping it separate from income tax



- The contributory link, however weak, keeps the state pension politically distinct from welfare.
- It is not charged on pension income, which protects pensioners.
- Employer contributions spread the cost of employment beyond the employee.
- The National Insurance Fund gives the state pension a visible, auditable source.





### The case for merging it with income tax



- Two taxes on the same income with different thresholds and bases is pure complexity.
- It is a tax on work only, so wealth and rental income escape it entirely.
- The insurance framing is largely fiction: it is pay-as-you-go, not a fund.
- Employer National Insurance is a tax on wages that does not appear on any payslip.






Both columns are set out as their strongest case, not as a preferred answer and a strawman. See
[how this site handles contested questions](/neutrality/).





## Common questions


What is National Insurance and where does it go?
A second tax on earnings, paid by employees, employers and the self-employed, which buys a record of contributions towards the state pension. Employees earning above the primary threshold, their employers, and the self-employed on their profits. People over state pension age stop paying it on earnings; employers do not.How much does national insurance raise?
£200.8bn in 2025–26, which is 21.4% of everything HMRC collects.Where does national insurance go?
The National Insurance Fund, and the NHS. This one is genuinely earmarked, though less tightly than the name suggests. Most contributions go into the National Insurance Fund, which pays the state pension and contributory benefits and is legally separate from general taxation. A defined slice is allocated to the NHS instead. But the Fund is not invested: today’s contributions pay today’s pensions, and if it ran short the Treasury would top it up from general taxation. It is a ring-fence, not a pot of savings.





## Use this data



The figures belong to the bodies that published them and are used under their terms, listed in
[Sources for this page](#sources); most are Crown copyright under the Open Government Licence.
Only our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, published under
[CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse them, including
commercially, if you credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) and link back to this page.



### Download



- [National Insurance receipts by financial year (CSV)](/data/receipts-national-insurance.csv)
[JSON](/data/receipts-national-insurance.json) HM Revenue and Customs: [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/)
- [Public sector receipts as a share of GDP since 1900 (CSV)](/data/obr-total-receipts-share-gdp.csv)
[JSON](/data/obr-total-receipts-share-gdp.json) Office for Budget Responsibility: [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/)
- [Total HMRC receipts by financial year (CSV)](/data/receipts-total.csv)
[JSON](/data/receipts-total.json) HM Revenue and Customs: [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/)

- [All data, field definitions and licences](/data/)




### Embed the live figure



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## Sources for this page





| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk) | HM Revenue and Customs | the 2025–26 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) |
| [Historical public finances database](https://obr.uk/data/) | Office for Budget Responsibility | the 2022–23 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) |
| [GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp) | HM Treasury | the 2025–26 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) |
| [Office for Budget Responsibility, Economic and fiscal outlook, November 2025, Box 3.3](https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_November_2025.pdf) | Office for Budget Responsibility | 22 September 2026 | semiannual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) |
| [Revenue Statistics: comparative tables](https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_REV_COMP_OECD%40DF_RSOECD) | OECD | 1 January 2024 | annual | [CC BY 4.0 (OECD)](https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html) |





Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations
are ours, under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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- [How is each figure on this site worked out?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/methodology/)

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Published by [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). The figures belong to the publishers listed under Sources and are used under their licences. Figures last updated 29 September 2026.