NIM20650 - Class 2 National Insurance contributions liability: Payment methods: Inhibition of six-monthly payment requests

Two years unpaid Class 2 National Insurance contributions

Using the authority of HMRC’s collection and management powers, HMRC inhibited the issue of payment requests once there was the equivalent of two years of unpaid Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs). The person remained liable to pay Class 2 NICs and could ask for a payment request at any time.

When the payment request was issued in

  • October 2011 if, prior to this date, six consecutive quarterly bills were issued and remained unpaid (covers maximum of one and a half years), the payment request issued in October 2011 would be the final payment request;
  • April 2012 if, prior to this five consecutive payment requests, (four quarterly bills covering a maximum of a year and one six monthly payment request), were issued and remained unpaid, the payment request issued in April 2012 would be the final payment request;
  • October 2012, if, prior to this four consecutive payment requests, (two quarterly bills covering a maximum of six months and two six monthly payment requests covering a maximum of eighteen months), were issued and remained unpaid, the payment request issued in October 2012 would be the final payment request;
  • April 2013, if, prior to this three consecutive payment requests, (three six monthly payment requests covering a maximum of eighteen months), were issued and remained unpaid, the payment request issued in April 2013 would be the final payment request.

This pattern was repeated thereafter for every new payment date.

HMRC’s policy was that payment requests would stop being issued when a person failed to pay the equivalent of two years Class 2 NICs. The onus rested with the person liable to pay to notify HMRC of certain changes, (see NIM20750), which may have affected the amount and period of Class 2 NICs liability and whether payment requests were issued to the correct address. If a person failed to pay Class 2 NICs for which they were liable the fact that HMRC stopped issuing payment requests did not take away their liability to pay.

Those persons could ask HMRC at any time for a payment request which would include arrears.

The inhibition of payment requests did not affect the time limits within which Class 2 NICs have been paid. Nor did it affect the date from which higher rates might apply, as described in NIM23002.

At the time HMRC would have followed NIM23010 if a person asserted that

  • HMRC should have extended the time limits within which Class 2 NICs must be paid to count for contributory benefits, and/or
  • higher rates should not apply

because they did not get payment requests.

Address out of date

Payment requests were not issued to an out of date address. When HMRC obtained a new address, the issue of payment requests would resume.