If you have more than one job and one of them pays at or above the upper earnings limit all year, you can ask HMRC to let your other employers deduct Class 1 National Insurance at 2% instead of 8%. You apply on form CA72A, for 2026 to 2027 by 14 February 2027, and after the tax year ends HMRC checks whether enough was paid and bills you for any shortfall.

What is deferment and why does it exist?

Class 1 contributions are charged separately on each employment, so a person with two jobs can pay more than someone earning the same amount from one. The law limits this with an individual annual maximum in regulation 21 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001, and anything above it can be refunded. HMRC’s Debt Management and Banking Manual at DMBM527320 explains that deferment exists to stop people paying above the maximum in the first place, so refunds do not have to be made afterwards. The overall rules for several jobs, including when earnings must be added together, are in our guide to National Insurance with more than one job.

There is no automatic right to defer. You must apply, confirm your total earnings and be accepted by HMRC.

Who can apply for 2026 to 2027?

GOV.UK says you must pay Class 1 National Insurance with more than one employer and earn over set amounts across the tax year:

Number of jobs Earnings needed over the tax year
Two £967 or more a week from one job, and £242 or more a week in the second
More than two £1,209 or more a week from two of the jobs, and £242 or more a week in the others

£967 is the weekly upper earnings limit (£4,189 monthly) and £242 the weekly primary threshold. The CA72A notes stress that you must expect to earn at least the upper earnings limit throughout the whole tax year in the main job. Deferment is agreed on that basis, so it suits people with a stable, well paid main job, not those whose main pay fluctuates.

The State Pension age year

The CA72A notes say HMRC does not usually allow deferment for the tax year in which you reach State Pension age, though it can consider it if you can show you will pay the maximum Class 1 in your main jobs before that date, for example as a director with an annual earnings period. The notes also point out that State Pension age is rising to 67 between May 2026 and February 2028 for people born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961, so check your own date.

How do you apply?

  1. Read the CA72A guidance notes for the tax year concerned and apply, either online (you need to sign in) or by printing the postal form, filling it in by hand and posting it.
  2. Send it as early as possible. For 2026 to 2027 the notes ask for it before 6 April 2026 if possible, and HMRC must receive it by 14 February 2027.
  3. If an accountant or adviser is to deal with it, send form 64-8 marked for the attention of Deferment Services, as the notes require signed written consent for a third party.
  4. Answer any request for payslips, which HMRC may ask for when considering the application.

If HMRC refuses, it writes to explain why. If accepted, deferment lasts for one tax year only. DMBM527320 says HMRC automatically invites renewal in later years where the criteria are met, but will not consider a further application while an earlier deferment debt is unpaid.

What changes in your payroll?

HMRC tells you which employer is your main employer, where you keep paying the normal rate, and which employers can deduct at the reduced rate. It sends each deferring employer a certificate of deferment asking it to deduct at the additional rate of 2% on all earnings above the primary threshold, to adjust its records and to refund any over deduction. HMRC does not give employers information about your other jobs.

The deferring employer then uses category letter J (or Z for an employee under 21, with L and D used in Freeport and Investment Zone special tax sites). GOV.UK’s 2026 to 2027 table shows category J at 0% up to the primary threshold, then 2% on everything above it. The employer’s own contributions are unaffected: category J still carries the full 15% employer rate above the secondary threshold.

You must tell HMRC straight away if any job ends or starts, or you move home, so the right rate is used on each job.

How does the year end check work?

After the tax year, HMRC looks at your National Insurance account to check whether you paid enough Class 1 in your main employments. DMBM527320 explains that debts arise when the main job pays less than estimated, so the maximum is not reached there and contributions become due on part or all of the deferred earnings. HMRC writes to you with the amount. GOV.UK says to pay by sending the payment slip and a cheque to National Insurance Contributions and Employer Office, HM Revenue and Customs, BX5 5BD, or with a covering letter giving your name, address, phone number, National Insurance number and the amount if you have no slip.

The check is against the regulation 21 maximum, which HMRC’s National Insurance Manual sets out at NIM01251. For 2024 to 2025 onwards it charges 8% on 53 weeks’ worth of the band between the primary threshold and the upper earnings limit, and 2% on everything else. Because the main rate applies to 53 weeks of the band while most main jobs pay over 52 weeks, a small balance can be due even when everything went to plan.

Illustration: deferment and the balancing bill

Illustration only, using 2026 to 2027 thresholds. Priya earns £1,100 a week in her main job and £500 a week in a second job, both for 52 weeks, and her deferment is accepted.

Step Working Amount
Main job, band earnings at 8% (£967 less £242) x 52 = £37,700 £3,016.00
Main job, above upper limit at 2% (£1,100 less £967) x 52 = £6,916 £138.32
Second job, deferred at 2% (£500 less £242) x 52 = £13,416 £268.32
Total paid in year £3,422.64
Annual maximum £38,425 at 8%, plus £12,691 and £6,916 at 2% £3,466.14
Balance HMRC asks for £43.50

Without deferment, the second job would have deducted 8% on £13,416, which is £1,073.28, and Priya would have paid £4,227.60 in the year and had to reclaim the excess. If her main pay had dropped below £967 a week for part of the year, the balancing bill would be larger.

Can the self employed defer?

No. GOV.UK says you cannot defer Class 4 contributions, and the CA72B form once used for Class 2 and Class 4 deferment has been withdrawn. The CA72A notes say that if you expect to pay Class 1 as an employee and Class 4 on self employed profits you do not need to complete a form: HMRC uses your Self Assessment return to work out any Class 4 due. See our guide to self employed National Insurance.

What if you missed the deadline?

If you had two or more jobs in an earlier tax year, did not defer and think you overpaid, the CA72A notes say you may be able to get a refund of Class 1 and should write to Personal Tax Operations, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AN, explaining why. NIM37003 says there is no time limit for refunds of contributions paid above the annual maximum. See our guide to National Insurance refunds.

Common mistakes

  • Applying when the main job will not reach the upper earnings limit all year. The result is a year end bill rather than a saving.
  • Not reporting a job change. If the main job ends, the deferred job keeps deducting 2% and the shortfall builds up.
  • Leaving a deferment debt unpaid. HMRC will not consider a further application until it is cleared.
  • Expecting the employer saving to follow. Deferment reduces only the employee’s contributions.

Current thresholds are listed on our 2026 to 2027 rates and thresholds page.

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Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.