Class 2 Voluntary NI Contributions & Self Assessment

thriftylynny

Can anyone help please as i am getting nowhere with HMRC in spite of having spoken to several of their advisers each telling me different things & getting nowhere with them ! I am wanting to pay vol class 2 NI contributions as i have a small monthly paid job which pays less than 1k a year , i have therefore registered as self employed with HMRC. I am in receipt of 2 occupational pensions total of 6k a year & because of this they have told me i have to file a self assessment tax return for 2019/20 which i have completed on line . On reading the checklist at end of return it says i am NOT self employed , surely that's incorrect as i've registered for self employment ? There were no questions re self employment on the form bar one asking if my income was less than 1k a yr to which i answered yes .HMRC don't why it's saying i'm not self employed & that's all the help i can get out of them after 5 phone calls, nothing they can do apparently!! Is it possibly because i have to register to make class 2 contributions before completing return (which i have now) or that self employed income is less than needs to be declared or am i missing something here ??

Dazed_and_C0nfused

I am wanting to pay vol class 2 NI contributions as i have a small monthly paid job 

Having a job does not entitle you to pay Class 2 NIC.

Do you mean you have a low turnover business?

If so and you have registered correctly with HMRC then you should be eligible to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance.

But you need to complete the return correctly.

If you look at the paper return on gov.uk you should see it is quite straightforward to declare you were running a business , have turnover less than £1,000 and wish to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance.

DaveMcG

Oddly I had a very similar problem. I have two pensions and they had recorded one of these as an employer in the "what we know" section.  I asked them to change this and they said they had done so, but the records were the same on the self assessment form when I went back to it. I am registered as self employed and couldn't find any way to get to under £1000 S/E section. A friend said it should be straightforward to declare less than £1000 and then ask to pay Class 2 but I didn't seem to get that option.

I wrote to the Self Assessment Complaints team (see below), restating the problem and saying that the info was still incorrect, but I had completed the form with an added note, as it didn't change the tax position.  I also said I wasn't given the option to pay Class 2s.  They then send me a payment slip and assured me that the records would be correct for next year.

So if you are genuinely self employed and registered with HMRC, they will hopefully do the same.

PAYE and Self Assessment Complaints

HM Revenue and Customs

BX9 1AB

United Kingdom

thriftylynny

I have 43 years of full contributions as i was in paid employment , sorry i may be wrong but don't you have to be registered as self employed in order to pay class 2 otherwise any voluntary contributions are calculated as class 3 .as that's what my pension forecast says ? I have registered as self employed , answered on return turnover less than 1k , doesn't ask if i wish to pay class 2 at all on the form anywhere & i've triple checked ?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

The notes for the paper self employment page explain what is required.  Bottom of first column on first page refers.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/928642/SA103S-Notes-2020-.pdf

I doubt that the online version doesn't offer the same option.

DaveMcG

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I doubt that the online version doesn't offer the same option.

It def doesn't, the online form is tailored to the individual.

DaveMcG

I really wouldn't be surprised if the form only allows two sources of income and having two pensions is the problem.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

That really has nothing to do with it.

All that that means is HMRC haven't distinguished correctly between different types of PAYE income (pensions and employments).

It is irrelevant as far as running your own business and paying voluntary Class 2 National Insurance is concerned.

DaveMcG

It might well be irrelevant to you, but you have never completed the online form.  I have and experienced virtually the same problem as the poster that was only resolved by making a complaint that resulted in the problem being solved.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

You would have saved yourself a lot of hassle by simply deleting the employment pages and entering the pension income in the pension income and tax deducted boxes.

DaveMcG

You aren't allowed to do that - don't you think that I would have immediately tried to correct the wrong info?

As I said, you haven't completed the form, so prob best to stop making comments about it.