Deferring National Insurance payments

Employees with more than one job may be able to defer or delay paying Class 1 National Insurance in certain circumstances.

This deferment can be considered when any of the following apply:

• You pay Class 1 National Insurance with more than one employer.
• You earn £967 or more per week from one job over the tax year.
• You earn £1,209 or more per week from 2 jobs over the tax year.

This deferral could result in NIC deductions at a reduced rate of 2% on your weekly earnings between £242 and £967 in one of your jobs, instead of the standard rate of 8%.

HMRC will check if you have paid enough National Insurance at the end of the tax year and will write to you if you have underpaid contributions.

Most self-employed people are also required to pay Class 4 NICs. It used to be possible to defer these contributions, but that is no longer the case. You may be able to claim a refund for previous tax years.