A plain-language guide to understanding and calculating National Insurance (NIS) contributions in 2026.
NIS stands for . It is a social security programme run by the government. Think of it as a shared savings pot that workers and employers pay into every pay period. In return, workers and their families can access benefits like pensions, sickness cover, and maternity support.
Both you (the employee) and your employer make contributions based on your pay.
There are two contribution rates -- one for you, and one for your employer.
When employee is under 60
When employee is 60 or older
- -- no NIS contributions at all.
- -- no contributions from you or your employer.
- -- you stop paying your share. Your employer still pays, but at the lower 1.5% rate.
There is a limit on how much of your pay is subject to NIS. That limit is .
If you earn more than $280,000 in a month, NIS is only calculated on the first $280,000. The rest is ignored for NIS purposes.
The portion of your pay that NIS applies to is called your . It can never be more than $280,000 in any given month.
The steps depend on how often you are paid.
This is the simplest case. You have one pay period per month.
Compare your gross pay to the $280,000 cap. Your insurable income is whichever is smaller.
Insurable income = the smaller of (your gross pay) or ($280,000)
Your NIS = insurable income x 5.6%
Employer NIS = insurable income x 8.4%
(If you are 60 or older, the employer rate is 1.5% instead.)
That's it for monthly employees.
When you are paid fortnightly (every two weeks), bimonthly (twice a month), or weekly, the $280,000 monthly cap is across all your pay periods in the same month.
You have a monthly budget of $280,000 for NIS. Each pay period in the month gets an equal share of whatever is left.
Here is how to work it out:
Per-period cap = $280,000 divided by (number of periods in the month)
For example:
- Fortnightly (2 periods): $280,000 / 2 = per period
- Weekly (4 periods): $280,000 / 4 = per period
- Weekly (5 periods): $280,000 / 5 = per period
Compare your gross pay for the period to the per-period cap. Your insurable income is whichever is smaller.
Insurable income = the smaller of (your gross pay) or (per-period cap)
Your NIS = insurable income x 5.6%
Employer NIS = insurable income x 8.4%
The cap adjusts. The amount already used by earlier periods is subtracted from the $280,000 monthly cap, and the remainder is shared among the periods still to come.
Remaining cap = $280,000 minus (insurable income already used this month)
Per-period cap = remaining cap divided by (periods left in the month)
This ensures the total insurable income for the whole month never exceeds $280,000.
- Gross pay: $300,000
- Monthly cap: $280,000
- Insurable income = the smaller of $300,000 or $280,000 =
- Your NIS = $280,000 x 5.6% =
- Employer NIS = $280,000 x 8.4% =
Your gross pay is above the cap, so NIS is only calculated on $280,000.
This month has 2 fortnights. This is the first one.
- Gross pay: $146,031
- Monthly cap remaining: $280,000 (nothing used yet)
- Periods remaining: 2
- Per-period cap = $280,000 / 2 =
- Insurable income = the smaller of $146,031 or $140,000 =
- Your NIS = $140,000 x 5.6% =
- Employer NIS = $140,000 x 8.4% =
Your pay is above the per-period cap, so insurable income is capped at $140,000.
Now it is the second fortnight of the same month. In the first fortnight, the employee earned $150,000, and the insurable income was capped at $140,000.
- Gross pay this fortnight: $146,031
- Insurable income already used this month: $140,000
- Monthly cap remaining = $280,000 - $140,000 =
- Periods remaining: 1
- Per-period cap = $140,000 / 1 =
- Insurable income = the smaller of $146,031 or $140,000 =
- Your NIS = $140,000 x 5.6% =
- Employer NIS = $140,000 x 8.4% =
Total insurable income for the month = $140,000 + $140,000 = $280,000. The monthly cap is met exactly.
This month has 4 weekly pay periods. This is the first one.
- Gross pay: $70,000
- Monthly cap remaining: $280,000
- Periods remaining: 4
- Per-period cap = $280,000 / 4 =
- Insurable income = the smaller of $70,000 or $70,000 =
- Your NIS = $70,000 x 5.6% =
- Employer NIS = $70,000 x 8.4% =
Continuing from a 4-week month. In the first two weeks, $130,000 of insurable income was used.
- Gross pay this week: $80,000
- Insurable income already used: $130,000
- Monthly cap remaining = $280,000 - $130,000 =
- Periods remaining: 2
- Per-period cap = $150,000 / 2 =
- Insurable income = the smaller of $80,000 or $75,000 =
- Your NIS = $75,000 x 5.6% =
- Employer NIS = $75,000 x 8.4% =
- Gross monthly pay: $200,000
- Insurable income = the smaller of $200,000 or $280,000 =
- Your NIS = (no employee contribution once you reach 60)
- Employer NIS = $200,000 x 1.5% = (the lower pensioner rate)
Employer rate (60 and older)
Under 16, or on maternity leave
These are the caps when calculating the period of the month. Later periods adjust based on what has already been used.
NIS is a social security contribution. Both you and your employer pay a percentage of your insurable income -- 5.6% from you, 8.4% from your employer (1.5% if you are 60 or older). The maximum insurable income is $280,000 per month. If you are paid more than once a month, that $280,000 cap is shared across all your pay periods in the month, so the total for the month never exceeds $280,000.
To calculate your NIS for any pay period:
Find your per-period cap (monthly cap divided by number of periods, adjusted for what has already been used).
Your insurable income is the smaller of your gross pay or the per-period cap.
Multiply your insurable income by 5.6% to get your contribution.
Multiply your insurable income by 8.4% to get your employer's contribution.