The Chancellor has announced cuts to national insurance contributions for self-employed taxpayers and employees.

HMRC has given taxpayers an extra two years to plug any gaps in their NIC record from April 2006.

You can check the NIC record over your entire working life on your online personal tax account (www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account). This will also provide an estimate of the state retirement pension you should expect to receive when you retire.

The rates for national insurance contributions (NIC) increased by 1.25 percentage points for everyone on 6 April 2022. From 6 July the NIC starting threshold will rise to £12,570 per year (£1,048 per month) for employees.

Two areas in the public sector that desperately need funding are the NHS and social care. To pay for these services the Government is raising a new tax: the health and social care (HSC) levy. This will be charged at 1.25% of income or profits for the employed and self-employed respectively from 6.4.23 as it takes time to adjust computer systems to collect a new tax.

As the owner and director of your own company you decide how much salary to take each year. Paying yourself a small salary can be a good way to maintain your national insurance record to build up state benefit entitlements.

Income tax and national insurance contribution rates have been frozen for 2021-22 and are likely to remain frozen until the end of this Parliament in 2024.