Primary Threshold (PT)

The Primary Threshold (PT) is the point at which an employee actually starts to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions. For 2026/27 it is £242 per week, £1,048 per month, or £12,570 per year — deliberately aligned with the income-tax personal allowance and frozen at the same cash level since April 2022.

Up to the PT, employees pay no NI but still build State Pension entitlement once they cross the LEL. From the PT up to the Upper Earnings Limit, employees pay the main rate of Class 1 NIC (the rate cut to 8% from 6 January 2024 and remains 8% in 2026/27). Above the UEL, the rate falls to 2% — the additional rate.

Worked example: Carlos earns £40,000 per year. His weekly pay of about £770 sits comfortably above the PT (£242) but below the UEL (£967 weekly). NI for the year is calculated as 8% of (£40,000 − £12,570) = 8% of £27,430 = £2,194. If he received a £20,000 bonus in March pushing some weeks above the UEL, only that excess would be charged at 2%. The PT is the threshold most employees see referenced on their payslip software when checking 'is my NI right?', because it determines when the 8% rate kicks in.