31 Oct 2024Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her Autumn Budget to increase the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. The change means an estimated 865,000 employers won't pay any National Insurance next year, and over one million will pay the same or less than they did previously. The Chancellor stated that the change will permit a small business to employ the equivalent of four full-time workers on the National Living Wage (NLW) without paying any National Insurance on their wages. The Budget also revealed plans to remove the restriction that currently applies to the Allowance where only employers who have incurred a secondary Class 1 National Insurance contribution (NIC) liability of less than £100,000 in the tax year prior are able to claim. This change will take effect from April 2025 and means that eligible employers will be able to reduce their NIC liabilities.