PAYE & National Insurance Calculator (2026/27)
Calculate Class 1 employee and employer National Insurance for 2026/27, including the 15% employer rate and Employment Allowance.
Total social contributions
£11,461
Class 1 employee National Insurance£3,211
Class 1 employer National Insurance (employer)£8,250
Employee-side contributions£3,211
Employer-side contributions£8,250
Income tax (for reference)£11,432
Employee and employer National Insurance, explained with your numbers
National Insurance is charged separately on the employee and employer side, at different rates and different thresholds, and it's easy to see only the employee deduction on a payslip without realising how much the employer side actually costs to employ someone. For 2026/27, employee Class 1 NI is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that, while employer Class 1 NI is 15% on everything above a £5,000 secondary threshold — a much lower starting point than the employee side, which is why employer NI adds up quickly even for modest salaries.
What's included
- Employee Class 1 National Insurance: 0% up to £12,570, 8% up to £50,270, 2% above that
- Employer Class 1 National Insurance: 0% up to the £5,000 secondary threshold, 15% above it
- A combined view showing the total cost of employing someone at a given salary, not just what comes off their payslip
- Context for inside-IR35 and umbrella arrangements, where employer National Insurance is typically funded from the contract rate rather than paid separately by an employer
