NI rate changes — April 2026 in plain English

Before / after NI calculator

Before / after — what actually changed

The 2026 Autumn Statement made the biggest NI moves on the employer side. The employee-side headline rate held at 8% (Estimate — verify with HMRC) and the primary threshold remained frozen at £12,570. Frozen thresholds matter: as wages rise, more earnings cross into NI even with no rate change.

For an employee, the consequential lines are the top four. For an employer, the bottom two lines are the story: the Secondary Threshold fell sharply (from £9,100 to £5,000) and the headline employer rate moved from 13.8% to 15%. PayslipIQ has a separate page for that, see the employer NI calculator.

Worked examples at £20k, £35k and £60k

All three are category A, no salary sacrifice. The 2026/27 figures assume the employee-side rates and thresholds are unchanged (Estimate — verify with HMRC).

If HMRC publishes a change before 6 April 2026 that this page does not yet reflect, the figures above need re-running and the page should be re-reviewed. See the “Last reviewed” block below for the current verification date.

Why “NI rise calculator” is a tricky search

People search for “NI rise calculator” whenever National Insurance is in the news. Sometimes there is a real rate rise (as in the short-lived 1.25 percentage-point Health and Social Care Levy that came and went in 2022–23). Sometimes the change is to thresholds, not rates. Sometimes the change is on the employer side and the news cycle blurs the two.

For April 2026, the honest summary is:

• Employee NI: headline rates appear unchanged (Estimate — verify with HMRC).
• Frozen thresholds: the primary threshold and UEL stayed at £12,570 and £50,270, a real-terms drag as wages grow.
• Employer NI: Secondary Threshold cut to £5,000 and main rate up to 15%. This is a meaningful cost rise for businesses, and may show up indirectly in pay deals, hiring decisions and pricing.
• Employment Allowance: raised to £10,500, partial offset for eligible small employers.

Frequently asked questions

Has National Insurance gone up or down in April 2026?

The employee NI main rate held at 8% for category A in 2026/27, the same as 2025/26 (Estimate — verify against HMRC's 2026/27 rates and thresholds for employers before acting). The main change announced from April 2026 was on the employer side: the Secondary Threshold dropped to £5,000 and the main employer rate rose to 15%. For most employees, take-home pay is largely unchanged from a pure-NI perspective; the impact is felt by employers as a higher payroll cost.

What is the employee NI main rate for 2026/27?

8% on earnings between the primary threshold (£12,570 a year) and the Upper Earnings Limit (£50,270 a year), and 2% above the UEL, for category A employees. Other category letters apply different rates. NI is calculated period-by-period for non-directors.

How much extra NI will I pay on a £35,000 salary in 2026/27?

On £35,000 a year, category A, no salary sacrifice: NI is (£35,000 − £12,570) × 8% = £1,794.40 a year, the same as 2025/26 if the main rate and thresholds are unchanged (Estimate — verify with HMRC). Monthly NI is roughly £149.53. Any difference between 2025/26 and 2026/27 at this salary is small and driven by threshold uprating, not a rate cut or rise.

Did the primary threshold (£12,570) change in April 2026?

The primary threshold remained frozen at £12,570 a year for 2026/27 (Estimate — confirm against HMRC's published rates and thresholds for employers, 2026 to 2027). The primary threshold is the point above which employee NI starts. A frozen threshold means small pay rises pull more earnings into NI, a real-terms increase even when the headline rate is unchanged.

Is this NI rise calculator the same as my payslip?

No. This is an annualised, plain-English estimate built from public rates. Real payslips use period-by-period figures with rounding, your specific NI category letter, and any salary sacrifice, statutory pay or director's NI rules. Always reconcile against your actual payslip or HMRC personal tax account before acting.

Related reading

• National Insurance on your payslip (2026/27)

  The full employee-NI explainer, thresholds, category letters, why your NI line moves month to month.

• Employer NI calculator (2026/27)

  The other side of the 2026/27 changes, what employers now pay, and how the £10,500 Employment Allowance offsets it.

• UK payroll & payslip hub

  All PayslipIQ UK guides plus the free payslip check.

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