PSA3040 - National Insurance Contributions and PAYE Settlement Agreements

Items Liable for Class 1NICs

An employer’s liability to account for primary and secondary Class 1 NICs arises when payments are made that give rise to a Class 1 liability.

Items attracting Class 1 NICs include

• reimbursement of late night taxi fares outside section 248 Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003
• home to normal place of work expenses
• reimbursement of subscriptions to gyms, sports clubs etc
• expenses of a spouse occasionally accompanying an employee abroad
• personal incidental expenses in excess of the statutory daily limit
• non cash vouchers.

Class 1 NICs are payable as part of the normal monthly or quarterly payment of PAYE/NICs, for the period in which liability occurred.

Class 1B NICs replace any Class 1 or Class 1A NICs liability attached to the expenses and benefits included in a PSA for Tax Purposes.

However where payments attracting Class 1 NICs are made before a PSA is in place or before the particular items are included in the PSA, Class 1 B NICs cannot be substituted for any Class 1 NICs which have already become due for payment in respect of those payments.

For example

On 28 August 2003 a PSA is agreed for tax year 2003/04

The PSA includes an item which would normally give rise to a Class 1 NICs liability, i.e. home to normal place of work expenses

Class 1 NICs should have been paid on 19th of each month from 19 May 2003 on payments of home to normal place of work expenses paid before the PSA was agreed. Therefore, Class 1 NICs should have already been paid to 19 August 2003 when the PSA was agreed and would cease to be payable from 20 August 2003

Class 1B NICs will only be payable from 20 August 2003 – that is from the date from which Class 1 NICs have not yet become due for payment

Related Guidance

Further information about which class of NICs applies to an item to be included in a PSA can be found at Appendix 1 in the guide ‘Class 1A National Insurance contributions on benefits in kind’ - CWG5.

See PSA3010 for general information about Class 1B NICs and PSA3020 for details of the legislation.

More detailed information about Class 1B NICs can be found in the National Insurance Manual at NIM10888 onwards