Pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you do not pay through Self Assessment

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If you work or live abroad

You may be able to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you’re living abroad and are either:

  • self-employed in the UK
  • self-employed abroad

If you’ve worked abroad in the past, you can check if you can pay voluntary Class 2 contributions to fill any gaps.

How to make voluntary Class 2 contributions

There’s a different way to pay depending on whether you have a certificate of coverage or not. 

You do not need to pay social security contributions in the country you’re working in if you have a certificate of coverage. 

Check if you can apply for a certificate of coverage.

If you have a certificate of coverage

You can pay voluntary Class 2 contributions if your profits from self-employment are below £6,725. This will protect your entitlement to certain benefits and the State Pension. 

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will automatically send you a payment request between September and the end of October.

Call the self-employed helpline if HMRC does not contact you by the end of November.

You need to pay by either:

If you do not have a certificate of coverage

You can apply to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions to protect your entitlement to certain benefits and the State Pension.

You may need to pay social security contributions in the country you are in.

When you might not need to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions

You do not usually need to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions if both of the following apply: 

  • you have a certificate of coverage

  • your profits are £6,725 or more 

This is because your contributions will be treated as having been paid, which means your National Insurance record is automatically protected.

For your contributions to be treated as having been paid, you’ll need to send HMRC your accounts. 

Sending your accounts

You’ll need to provide either:

  • formal profit and loss accounts 

  • 3-line accounts showing gross business takings or earnings (including any commission or tips), total expenses and net profit or loss figures

Send your accounts together with your full name, address and National Insurance number to:

Self-Employment Services 
North East England
HMRC 
BX9 1AN

The deadline for sending your accounts is 31 January following the end of the tax year that the Class 2 National Insurance contributions are being treated as paid. For example, you’ll need to send HMRC your accounts by 31 January 2025 for the tax year ending on 5 April 2024. 

If you do not send your accounts by the deadline you could be either:

  • charged a higher rate of National Insurance for that tax year

  • not be able to have your contributions treated as having been paid for that tax year

What happens next

HMRC will contact you to confirm if your contributions have been treated as having been paid.

Call the self-employed helpline if HMRC does not contact you by the end of November.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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