What is Class 2 National Insurance for the self-employed?
Class 2 National Insurance is £3.50 a week for 2025/26 and £3.65 a week for 2026/27. If your profits are at or above the small profits threshold, £6,845 in 2025/26 and £7,105 in 2026/27, you do not have to pay it. Below the threshold you can pay voluntarily.
Figures checked against gov.uk on . General information, not tax advice.
At a glance
- Small profits threshold 2025/26
- £6,845 a year
- Small profits threshold 2026/27
- £7,105 a year
- Weekly rate 2025/26
- £3.50
- Weekly rate 2026/27
- £3.65
How the threshold works
gov.uk says that at or above the small profits threshold you do not have to pay Class 2 because it is treated as paid, which protects your National Insurance record. Under the threshold you do not have to pay, but you can choose to make voluntary Class 2 payments to keep your record up to date.
How it is collected
gov.uk says most people pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance through Self Assessment, so the amounts appear on your tax calculation rather than being billed separately. A self-employed person cannot pay Class 2 through their tax code unless it has been due since before 6 April 2015.
Class 2 is separate from Class 4, which is a percentage of profits above £12,570 and is covered in its own entry.