The government’s announcement on 12 June confirms that this extension will also apply to NIC for all years that reach their six-year payment deadline before 5 April 2025 (ie, including tax years 2016/17 and 2017/18).  

All relevant voluntary NIC payments will be due at the rates applicable in 2022/23. 

The deadline currently is 31 July 2023.  It was previously set at 5 April 2023.  

Extending the voluntary NIC deadline until 2025 will help to ensure that men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953 do not miss the chance to boost their state pension entitlement.

ICAEW’s Tax Faculty welcomes these further extensions, which respond positively to representations made by the faculty and others.

The faculty also welcomes that the government, in the same announcement, confirmed that HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions propose to make improvements to the digital service. The ultimate intention is that most contributors should be able to undertake the complete process online. Further announcements will follow in due course.

Presently, taxpayers who can engage digitally can view their NIC history in their personal tax account and work out that they want to pay and how much. However, they then need to phone HMRC to get a payment reference. Without this reference, there is a very slim chance of the payment getting matched to their NIC record. The government proposes a system that allows taxpayers to make payments online that automatically match to their NIC record. 

Official guidance:

• Check your national insurance record through your Personal Tax Account
• Obtain a state pension forecast
• Is making a voluntary national insurance contribution worthwhile?
• How to make an NIC payment