The collection of class 2 national insurance contributions (NIC) has been problematic since HMRC started to collect them through self assessment (SA). For example, there are regular reports of HMRC reversing the class 2 charge in SA calculations because, apparently, the relevant self-employment is not correctly registered on the NIC system (NPS).  

There is an additional problem for voluntary class 2 contributions on 2022/23 returns, where payment was made on or just before the due date of 31 January 2024.  

Class 2 NIC 2022/23 

HMRC payment files that should have been processed on 2 February 2024 were not processed until 5 February 2024. As a result, affected taxpayers (and their agents) have received a SA tax calculation (SA302) with a message saying that payment has been paid too late, and the voluntary class 2 NI charge has been reversed.  

The person will have either: 

• received a refund of class 2 NICs; or
• not received a refund of class 2 NICs but:
  • the payment is showing as a credit in SA; or
  • the payment has been allocated to a different SA liability.

Professional bodies have been pressing HMRC for a solution that would fix this without the need for an individual phone call in each case. HMRC has now advised that they are unable to do this.  

Taxpayers can check their online account or the HMRC App to see if their class 2 NIC for 2022/23 are on their NIC record. If the year is not showing as full or they are unable to access their online account, they will need to phone the national insurance helpline (0300 200 3500) for assistance. Agents will need to rely on the SA302 SA calculation to alert them to the problem. 

Caroline Miskin said: “It is very disappointing that HMRC is not able to fix this problem that is of its own making. This will generate additional demand on HMRC helplines that are already not able to cope. Perhaps an even greater concern is that taxpayers (especially those that are unrepresented) will not follow this through and will lose out. They may only discover the problem on retirement when they find that there is a shortfall in their state retirement pension. It highlights the importance of everyone checking that their national insurance record is correct.”