National Insurance contributions

Employees pay Class 1 NICs at 8% on earnings between the primary threshold and the upper earnings limit, then at a lower 2% on everything above the upper earnings limit — there's no cap, it just drops to a lower rate rather than stopping. Employers pay their own, separate Class 1 contribution at 15% on earnings above the (lower) secondary threshold, with no upper limit and no rate change at all — a flat rate all the way up. It's easy to conflate the two: different thresholds, different rate structures, paid by different people. Self-employed clients pay Class 4 NICs on profits between the lower and upper profits limits at 6%, then 2% above that — the same two-tier shape as employee Class 1, just on profits instead of earnings. Class 2 sits alongside Class 4: below the small profits threshold it can be paid voluntarily to protect state pension entitlement; above it, no Class 2 is due at all.