The National Insurance Contributions Bill was published on 18 July 2014. It will introduce legislation (which was consulted on last year) to reform the collection of Class 2 NICs by enabling the self-employed to pay their Class 2 contributions through self-assessment alongside their income tax and Class 4 NICs.
Liability for Class 2 NICs will arise at the end of each tax year and will be collected through self-assessment from April 2016 for the 2015/16 tax year onwards. This will replace the current method of collection of Class 2 NICs via direct debits or quarterly demands.
Taxpayers will also be able to make voluntary payments of Class 2 if their profits are below a certain threshold to retain their entitlement to certain state benefits.