Voluntary National Insurance....Class 2 or 3?

balletdancer

Thank you to everyone that's replied to my query. 

What I'm taking from the information is that I had to be entitled to pay Class 2 for the relevant period(s) and unfortunately I wasn't, as I became self employed in 2016.

donglefan

molerat, thank you for this information.
unfortunately i made the payment today to HMRC at the higher rate for 7 years, as per the advice i received from HMRC this week.
Is it possible for me to appeal on the basis you state, and ask for a refund?   It would probably depend on HMRC being able to review the phone conversation in which i was given the wrong advice.   The advisor was abrupt with me when i said i wanted to pay class 2 for the years pre-2010 when i was self-employed.  She said i couldn't backdate class 2 for more than 6 years, and when i said 'Since you say i cannot backdate class 2's' she came back: "It's not what i say, that is how it is".  No one listening to that conversation could doubt she gave me wrong advice.

If i can appeal, how can i do so?

donglefan

i'd also like to ask -
years 2006-2009 i was registered self-employed, but i notified no longer self-employed on 31st Dec 2009.  will i be able to pay class 2 for (some of) that tax year?
how do i find out the class 2 amounts payable for these years, as they do not show on my NIC record, and the legislation states:

5) Notwithstanding section 12(3) of the Act, the amount of a Class 2 contribution payable under this regulation shall be—

(a)in respect of contribution years 2006-07 to 2010-11, the amount payable in relation to tax year 2012-13;

but then:

6) Paragraph (5) does not apply to a Class 2 contribution paid on or after 6th April 2019.

so how much is the cost for these years if paid after 6 april 2019?

Voluntary Class 2 NICs paid between 6 April 2019 and 5 April 2023 are payable at a higher rate - see NIM72150.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/national-insurance-manual/nim72150

does not say how much this rate is.

molerat

Up to April 2019 it was in effect the 2 year rule as it was for class 3.  After 2019 the price became the current year price.

As for the misinformation

https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-hmrc

donglefan

molerat, i spent a long time on the phone to the revenue this morning.  At first i was told categorically that the previous advice had been correct, so I quoted the sections from the HMRC guidelines plus the legislation that you kindly posted.  I had to harp on about it, and after a bit the advisor said he would look into it for me and he put me on hold.  After that he came back saying I was (you were!) correct and apologised for having made an error.  He had to override the system to facilitate my being able to pay class 2 NIC for years when i was registered for self-employment, going back to 2006.   So the computer systems seem to be set up to reject these requests and must be manually overriden to comply with the legal right to be able to pay class 2 back to 2006 for those registered as self-employed.   I was lucky because the adviser I got was helpful after that and went out of his way to answer all my worries about the situation and how i would get a refund either through my bank or via the revenue albeit after some time. 
I am very grateful to you.  Like many people, I've not been able to afford heating this winter, so when I thought I had over-paid thousands of pounds, it led to a sleepless night.  Thank you for your kindness in providing the exact information I needed.

molerat

Good outcome.  I wonder how many others have paid class 3 when they did not need to.

donglefan

If anyone comes up against a similar situation, be prepared to be told you don't qualify for various reasons e.g. it's only people who lived abroad who qualify, you would have ticked the box on your tax return not to pay NIC c2 which closed down your right to pay it retrospectively, you would have been sent letters inviting you to pay which you didn't do at the time so you can't now.  There is also the blanket statement, "I can see from your record that you don't qualify to backdate C2s"
none of these are relevant, as you have a legal right to be able to pay c2 back to 2006 if you were registered as self-employed.  you need to have the links provided by molerat open and ready to quote on the phone.  believe in yourself and your rights - the law and the hmrc rule book are on your side.