Employment Allowance Calculator
Work out how much of the £10,500 UK Employment Allowance your business can claim against your employer National Insurance bill for 2026/27, and what you’ll still owe after the claim.
Calculate Your Employment Allowance Claim
Enter your estimated annual employer Class 1 National Insurance liability and answer a couple of eligibility questions to see how much allowance you can claim and what you’ll owe after it’s applied.
Payroll & Eligibility Details
Enter your employer NIC estimate
Allowance Estimate
Estimated Employment Allowance claim for 2026/27
Current Employment Allowance & NIC Rates
Official HMRC rates and thresholds used to estimate employer National Insurance and the Employment Allowance for 2026/27.
| Rate or Threshold | Applies To | 2026/27 Value |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Allowance | Max claim per eligible employer | £10,500 |
| Employer Class 1 NIC Rate | Earnings above secondary threshold | 15% |
| Secondary Threshold | Per employee, per year | £5,000 |
| Employer NIC Cap for Eligibility | Previously excluded larger employers | Removed (from Apr 2025) |
| Single-Director Companies | Director as sole employee | Not eligible |
| Connected Companies | Group of connected businesses | One claim per group |
Employment Allowance FAQ
Everything you need to know about claiming the UK Employment Allowance and how it affects your employer National Insurance bill.
The Employment Allowance is £10,500 for the 2026/27 tax year, the same amount as 2025/26. It reduces an eligible employer’s annual employer Class 1 National Insurance bill by up to that amount.
Most UK employers with at least one employee, other than the director, can claim Employment Allowance. Single-director companies where the director is the only employee cannot claim. From April 2025, the previous £100,000 employer NIC cap was removed, so larger employers can now claim too.
Employment Allowance is claimed through payroll software by selecting “Yes” in the Employment Allowance indicator on your Employer Payment Summary (EPS). It is not applied automatically and must be claimed each tax year.
If your total employer Class 1 National Insurance liability for the year is less than £10,500, the Employment Allowance simply reduces your bill to zero. Any unused portion cannot be carried forward to the next tax year, but it may be possible to offset it against other liabilities such as VAT or Corporation Tax.
No. If two or more companies are connected, only one of them can claim the Employment Allowance for the group. The connected companies must decide between themselves which one will make the claim.