In this section:
- Female employees entitled to reduced rate NICs
Female employees entitled to reduced rate NICs
Up until 11 May 1977 some married women or widows could opt to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) at a reduced rate and not to pay Class 2 NICs if self-employed.
Eligible women who applied at the time may still be able to pay Class 1 NICs at this reduced rate.
Certificates confirming eligibility for reduced rate NICs
In order to be able to pay reduced rate NICs, a female employee must give you a certificate of election issued by our National Insurance Contributions Office (NICO).
There are three acceptable versions of the certificate of election:
- CA4139
- CF383
- CF380A
However these are subject to the rules set out below.
Form CA4139 or form CF383
You cannot accept either of these forms if one of the following applies:
- box A or box B shows a date that has passed
- in any two consecutive years since 6 April 1978, the woman has not earned enough to pay, or be treated as having paid, Class 1 NICs and has not been self-employed
Form CF380A
You can accept form CF380A provided your employee has worked continuously for you since 5 April 1980 and they have paid, or are treated as having paid, reduced rate Class 1 NICs throughout that time.
Choosing the right reduced rate NICs category letter
If a woman is entitled to pay reduced rate NICs you need to start deducting NICs from her pay using the appropriate National Insurance category letter as described below:
- use category B unless the employee is a member of a contracted-out pension scheme you operate
- use category E if she is a member of a contracted-out salary-related (COSR) pension scheme you operate
- use category G if she is a member of a contracted-out money purchase (COMP) pension scheme you operate
If you update a paper form P11 using our NICs calculator, you should select category letter B, E or G each time you need to work out reduced rate NIC deductions.
If you work out deductions manually using our NICs tables, you should use table B, E or G for any employee entitled to pay reduced rate NICs.
Download National Insurance contributions Table B (PDF 222K)
Giving up the right to pay reduced rate NICs
If an employee tells you that she now wishes to pay NICs at the full rate you should:
- return the certificate of election to her after completing part 2
- calculate full-rate NICs on your subsequent payments to her
The employee must return the certificate to NICO after completing part 1. If appropriate, she must also send a completed form CF9 (for married women) or CF9A (for widows).
Losing the right to pay reduced rate NICs
A woman loses the right to pay reduced rate NICs if she:
- gets divorced
- has her marriage annulled
- becomes a widow but is not entitled to certain bereavement benefits after an initial period
- has not in any two consecutive years since 6 April 1978 had any earnings on which Class 1 NICs were payable or treated as paid and has not been self-employed
Changing the category letter when reduced rate ends
Changing an employee's category letter is easy to do with the P11 Calculator on the Employer CD-Rom - you simply amend the employee's NI category letter on her Employee Database record. Most third-party payroll software will allow you to change an employee's profile in a similar way. If using paper methods, select the appropriate category in the usual way.
Download a flowchart to help you work out which category letter to use (PDF 42K)
How to use the CD-Rom integrated P11 calculator to complete form P11
More about calculating NICs deductions if using paper methods
