17/09/2025
Class 2 NICs – have you been overcharged?
From 2024/25, self-employed individuals with profits above £6,725 receive a credit for Class 2 NICs; they are not required to pay contributions.
Those with profits below the threshold can still opt to pay Class 2 voluntarily, thus maintaining their NICs contribution record.
Opting to pay Class 2 will be much cheaper than paying Class 3 voluntary contributions.
There have been reports of Class 2 NICs being incorrectly included in the SA302 (self-assessment tax calculation) for 2024/25.
Having submitted their tax returns, some individuals who did not need to pay Class 2 NICs have received an SA302 that included a liability for Class 2.
Three types of letters have been sent by HMRC, in each case indicating that Class 2 NICs have been amended ‘in accordance with the information we hold’.
1. The Class 2 NICs amount is amended to zero, which aligns with the tax return (in which situation the letter is not in fact needed!).
2. A Class 2 charge of £179.40 has been wrongly added to the computation and needs to be removed.
3. The incorrect charge of £179.40 has been added, and the overall tax liability has been incorrectly increased by double that amount!
HMRC has said that it is investigating the matter urgently
