Tax calculator

Director Salary and National Insurance Checker

Check full-year category A employee and employer National Insurance on a director salary chosen for 2026/27.

  • Tax year shown with the calculator
  • Assumptions explained
  • Source-linked methodology

Tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027

Check a director’s full-year National Insurance

Estimate final category A employee and employer National Insurance on a salary you choose. This checker does not recommend an “optimal” salary or calculate dividends, Corporation Tax or PAYE.

Enter all earnings subject to Class 1 National Insurance from this directorship for the full tax year. Do not include dividends.

Was the person a director for the whole tax year?

A director appointed during the year can have pro-rata annual thresholds and needs a separate calculation.

Did National Insurance category A apply for the whole year?

Category A generally applies from age 21 to State Pension age where no reduced or deferred rate or special employer category applies.

Is this the final complete earnings figure for the year?

This checker estimates the final cumulative annual liability, not the deduction from one payslip.

Does any non-standard director or payroll circumstance apply?

Choose yes for a category change, multiple jobs or directorships, aggregation, overseas rules, benefits, expenses, off-payroll working, Freeport or Investment Zone relief, a veteran, apprentice, director under 21, State Pension age, a correction or uncertain Employment Allowance eligibility.

Your salary figure and answers are used only for this server-rendered check. They are not added to a lead record.

Scope and important exclusions

Directors normally have an annual earnings period. This checker uses HMRC’s exact-percentage method for a full-year category A director and rounds each contribution band separately as CA44 instructs.

Employer National Insurance is shown before Employment Allowance. Eligibility depends on company and payroll facts: a limited company cannot claim where one director is its only employee liable for secondary Class 1 contributions.

The result excludes PAYE Income Tax, dividends, Corporation Tax, benefits, expenses, pensions, student loans, statutory payments and remuneration planning.

How to understand your result

The calculator content must explain the result breakdown, applicable period, rounding, assumptions, exclusions and the primary sources used by its versioned tax table.