Class 1 secondary (employer’s) national insurance contributions relief has been available for businesses hiring veterans since 6 April 2021 and applies up to the veteran’s upper secondary threshold of £50,270 per year.

Claims can now be made to recover the secondary NIC paid for qualifying veterans in the 2021/22 tax year. This can be done through payroll reporting, if the employee previously had national insurance category A applied. An employer needs to submit a revised final payment submission (FPS) after 6 April 2022, using national insurance category letter V (if the payroll software allows). Otherwise, claims must be submitted by employers to HMRC in writing.

For 2022/23 onwards, the relief can be applied in real time by using national Insurance category letter V for qualifying veteran employees.

A qualifying veteran must have either:

• served at least one day in the regular armed forces; or
• completed at least one day of basic training.

The relief is available for a year from the date a veteran starts their first civilian job, regardless of when they left the regular armed forces.

More than one employer can claim relief for the same employee where the employee has more than one job. If the employee leaves a job and starts another within the first year, the subsequent employer can also claim for the remainder of the employee’s first year of civilian employment.

Find out more:

• Government urges businesses to take advantage of National Insurance relief when hiring veterans
• National Insurance contributions relief for employers who hire veterans
• Claim National Insurance contributions relief for veterans as an employer