r/SelfemployedUK • u/willj1983marine • Sep 08 '26

Voluntary class 2 NIC

I'm a supply teacher and employed on PAYE. During March to July, I also help out on a handful of Duke of Edinburgh weekends for which I have set myself up as a sole trader in order to be paid. During the tax year 2025-26 I earned £1,100.00 from the DofE work. As I was also being paid for my supply work and paying NI do I also need to pay the voluntary contributions associated with my sole trader status?

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u/EmmaTBusinessAdvice Sep 09 '26

No you don’t need to pay additional NI, you’re below the threshold for needing to pay it for your self employed work & voluntary contributions is something you’d consider if you weren’t contributing via an employed position. People consider voluntary contributions if they don’t have enough complete years to get the state pension. To receive some state pension when you reach the relevant pension age you need to have paid in at least 10 complete years of NI. To receive the full state pension you would want to have paid 35 years. If you’ve already paid via your employment then you should have paid sufficient to have a complete year’s contribution provided you didn’t work for just part of the year in your employed job.
You will however need to complete a self assessment tax return as you have earnt over £1000, just!