Employer NI Calculator (UK, 2026/27)

How employer National Insurance is calculated

Employer NI = 15% × (salary − £5,000)Category A, 2026/27, no upper limit

Employers pay Class 1 secondary National Insurance at 15% on earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year, with no upper limit (HMRC rates and thresholds 2026 to 2027). Payroll works it out per pay period (about £417 a month), which gives the same annual figure for an even monthly salary. The employee's own 8% and 2% NI come out of their pay and are not part of your cost.

On top of NI, auto-enrolment requires an employer pension contribution of at least 3% of qualifying earnings, the slice of pay between £6,240 and £50,270, for workers aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 (DWP review for 2026/27).

Worked example

Employment Allowance lets eligible employers take up to £10,500 a year off their total employer NI bill. It is per employer, not per employee, and a company whose only employee is a director cannot claim it, so the calculator does not deduct it. If you qualify, your first £10,500 of employer NI across the whole payroll is covered.

2027/28: the £5,000 threshold is already fixed until 5 April 2028 (HM Treasury policy paper). The Budget on 28 October 2026 could still change the rate; we will update this page after it.

See all 12 countries side by side in the employer cost by country calculator. In Adlega, salaries and employer costs feed a 36-month SaaS model with burn and runway, and the AI CFO explains each number.