Employer NI calculator
See what employer National Insurance adds to a salary in 2026/27, and how much the £10,500 Employment Allowance takes off.
Your result appears here as you type.
An estimate from the figures you entered. It is not financial advice.
How employer NI is worked out
For each employee you pay 15% on what they earn above £5,000 a year. Payroll does this each pay period, using £417 a month or £96 a week. Employees under 21 and apprentices under 25 have a higher threshold of £50,270. Once you've added up the bill across your staff, the Employment Allowance takes up to £10,500 off it.
How this is calculated
The calculator uses the annual figures, which match what payroll charges over a full year for someone on steady pay. It multiplies the NI per employee by the number of staff, then takes off the Employment Allowance if you've said you can claim it. It doesn't include employer pension contributions.
Worked example: three staff on £28,000
- NI per employee: (£28,000 − £5,000) at 15% = £3,450
- For three: £10,350
- Employment Allowance: £10,500, which covers it all
This employer pays no employer NI in 2026/27. A fourth person on the same pay would add £3,450, and £3,300 of that would be payable after the allowance runs out.
Questions people ask
What is the employer NI rate for 2026/27?
15% on each employee’s earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year (£417 a month). The rate and threshold have been frozen until April 2031.
How much is the Employment Allowance?
£10,500 a year for 2026/27. It reduces your employer Class 1 NI bill until it’s used up. You claim it through your payroll software.
Who can’t claim the Employment Allowance?
Companies where a director is the only employee paid above the secondary threshold, and employers doing more than half their work in the public sector (unless they are a charity). Connected companies share one allowance between them.
Is there employer NI on under-21s and apprentices?
Employers pay 0% on earnings up to £50,270 a year for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25, and 15% above that. The same relief applies to qualifying veterans in their first year of civilian work.
What does an employee really cost?
Salary plus employer NI plus employer pension contributions (at least 3% of qualifying earnings under auto-enrolment). Holiday cover, equipment and the apprenticeship levy, for employers with a pay bill over £3 million, come on top.
Sources
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance rates and categories (GOV.UK)
- Employment Allowance (GOV.UK)
Rates and review
Uses rates for the 2026/27 tax year. Figures last checked against the sources on 25 October 2026.
Written by author to be named. Reviewed by qualified reviewer to be named.
See how we calculate and the disclaimer. Spotted a wrong figure? Report a problem.