National Insurance Contributions for Apprentices under 25

From 6 April 2016, if you employ an apprentice you may not need to pay employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) on their earnings below £827 a week (£43,000 a year).

They must be under 25 years old and following an approved UK government statutory apprenticeship framework (frameworks can differ depending on the UK country).

You can check that your apprentice is in a statutory apprenticeship using the following links:

England – Frameworks
England – Frameworks Online
England – Standards
Wales – Frameworks
Scotland – Frameworks
Northern Ireland – Frameworks

Evidence needed

If your apprentice meets the conditions above, you’ll need to have evidence to be able to apply the relief. This can be either:
– written agreement between you, the apprentice and a training provider
– in England and Wales, evidence that the apprenticeship receives government funding

Written agreement must show:
– the government apprentice framework or standard
– a start and (expected) end date for their apprenticeship scheme

If the training provider hasn’t signed the written agreement, they’ll need to give you a document that shows:
– they’re an approved (recognised) training provider
– the training your apprentice is undertaking, and any training already done

Alternatively, in England and Wales, you can provide evidence of government funding of the apprenticeship. This could be the declaration to receive apprenticeship incentive payments, or the employer payment schedule to the provider.

For more details, please visit the government's guidance page on paying National Insurance Contributions for apprentices under 25.

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