Build a row for each tax year. A partially completed year, an earlier-year rate and a full current-rate year can have different prices. Use HMRC’s quoted amount and keep eligibility separate from price.
Class 3 contributions are voluntary payments commonly used to fill gaps in a National Insurance record. For 2026/27, the weekly Class 3 rate is £18.40, equivalent to £956.80 for 52 weeks.
Short answer
Class 3 voluntary National Insurance costs £18.40 a week in 2026/27, so a full 52-week year costs £956.80. Gaps from 2025/26 and 2024/25 are charged at their original rates (£17.75 and £17.45 a week); older gaps are charged at today’s £18.40. A missing year typically adds about £6.89 a week (£358 a year) to the new State Pension, so a full year pays back in roughly 2.7 years before tax, but only if HMRC or the Future Pension Centre confirms that year increases your pension.
Class 3 rates by tax year (what you pay in 2026/27)
Gap year
Weekly rate charged if you pay now
Full year (52 weeks)
Why
2026/27 (current year)
£18.40
£956.80
Current rate
2025/26
£17.75
£923.00
One of the previous 2 tax years: original rate
2024/25
£17.45
£907.40
One of the previous 2 tax years: original rate
2020/21 to 2023/24
£18.40
£956.80
More than 2 tax years ago: current rate
Rates from GOV.UK voluntary National Insurance rates, checked 31 October 2026. Prices are for a whole missing year; HMRC will quote fewer weeks if the year is partly filled already.
Deadlines by gap year
Gap year
Last day to pay (normal 6-year limit)
2020/21
5 April 2027
2021/22
5 April 2028
2022/23
5 April 2029
2023/24
5 April 2030
2024/25
5 April 2031
2025/26
5 April 2032
See GOV.UK deadlines. Pay the oldest useful year first: 2020/21 is the next year to drop out of reach.
Worked example: three gap years paid in 2026/27
Suppose HMRC shows full gaps in 2021/22, 2024/25 and 2025/26 and the Future Pension Centre confirms each would add a year. Paying now costs £956.80 (2021/22, charged at £18.40) + £907.40 (2024/25) + £923.00 (2025/26) = £2,787.20. Three extra years at about £6.89 a week add roughly £20.68 a week, or about £1,075 a year before tax, so the gross payback is about 2.6 years after your State Pension starts. Model your own figures in the calculator or see the break-even age guide.
Class 3 vs Class 2
Class 2 costs £3.65 a week in 2026/27, but only some people are entitled to pay it (for example certain self-employed people with low profits). Most people filling gaps, including most people living abroad from 2026/27, pay Class 3. HMRC tells you which class applies to each year. If you live overseas, read voluntary NI contributions from abroad.
Class 3 cost: common questions
How much is Class 3 National Insurance per week in 2026/27?
£18.40 a week. A full 52-week year therefore costs £956.80 at the 2026/27 rate.
How much does one full year of voluntary Class 3 cost?
£956.80 for 2026/27 (£18.40 × 52). If you are paying a gap from 2025/26 the original rate of £17.75 applies (£923.00 for 52 weeks); for 2024/25 it is £17.45 (£907.40). Gaps older than the previous two tax years are charged at the current £18.40 rate.
Why is my HMRC quote lower than £956.80?
Usually because the year is only partly missing (you need fewer than 52 weeks), or because the gap is in 2024/25 or 2025/26, which are charged at their original weekly rates. Always use the amount HMRC quotes for that year.
What is the deadline for paying Class 3 contributions?
You can normally pay for gaps in the past 6 tax years, and each year has a 5 April deadline. For example, you have until 5 April 2032 to pay for gaps in 2025/26, and until 5 April 2027 for 2020/21.
How much State Pension does one extra year add?
For someone on the new State Pension, one qualifying year is worth 1/35 of the full £241.30 a week in 2026/27: about £6.89 a week, or roughly £358 a year before tax. That is only the case if the year actually increases your forecast.
Can I pay Class 3 monthly?
Yes, for the current tax year you can pay by monthly Direct Debit. At £18.40 a week a 4-week month is £73.60 and a 5-week month is £92.00. Past years are paid as a one-off amount using HMRC’s reference for that year.
An incomplete year may need fewer than 52 weeks. Different rules can also apply to recent years and older gaps. Use the exact price displayed in your official NI record rather than assuming every year costs the full annual amount.
A simple break-even example
If a £956.80 payment produces the full simplified annual uplift of roughly £358 before tax, the gross break-even is about 2.7 years after State Pension payments begin. At a 20% marginal tax rate, the estimated break-even is closer to 3.3 years. See the full voluntary NI break even age breakdown by State Pension age.
Deadlines matter
You can normally fill only a limited number of past tax years, and payment deadlines can change. Check the year shown by HMRC and do not rely on an old article or screenshot for your deadline.
Do not pay from the rate alone
A compelling break-even calculation is irrelevant if that gap does not increase your pension. Verify the benefit of the specific year before making an irreversible payment.
The calculator’s standard £956.80 is £18.40 multiplied by 52 weeks for 2026/27. A partly completed year or a year to which a different original rate applies can have a different amount due. Enter the price HMRC gives for that year rather than assuming every gap costs the default.
Compare the price with the actual increase
A fictional gap priced at £400 that adds £3 a week gives £156 a year before tax and a simple recovery period of about 2.56 years. The same £3 increase at a price of £956.80 takes about 6.13 years. Neither calculation is useful until the increase has been confirmed; a lower price does not make a zero-uplift year beneficial.
Keep prices separate
Make one row per year with the quoted price, deadline, expected increase and confirmation status. The current calculator uses one entered price for all modelled purchased years. It does not optimise a mixed-price shopping list. Run separate comparisons instead of treating a blended price as an HMRC payment instruction.
A price comparison needs the actual quote for the tax year you are considering. Keep the year, amount payable, payment deadline and expected pension increase on the same row. A gap shown on your record is not by itself confirmation that filling it improves your pension.
The published 2026/27 Class 3 rate is £18.40 per week. Multiplying by 52 produces an illustrative full-year cost of £956.80; an incomplete year can have a different quote. Earlier-year pricing exceptions also mean that one assumed annual price should not replace the amounts shown for your own gaps.
For a purely illustrative annual pension increase of £350, £956.80 ÷ £350 is about 2.73 years after the higher pension begins. This uses an invented uplift to demonstrate the arithmetic, not a promised increase for a qualifying year. With a £175 increase, the same price takes about 5.47 years. A confirmed zero increase cannot be recovered through higher pension payments.
Run the calculation again after checking tax, possible benefit interactions and the start date. Keep the quotation and confirmation of the uplift together. Your payment reference and instructions should come through the official route, not from an illustrative calculator result.
Practical checks
Copy each quoted year and amount separately.
Confirm whether paying that year increases entitlement.
Use the confirmed uplift rather than a default.
Does the current annual rate equal my bill?
Not necessarily. Your missing weeks and the relevant earlier-year rules can change the amount. Use HMRC’s quote for the specific year.
Below State Pension age: use the Future Pension Centre to check whether a particular payment increases your pension, subject to its service scope.
At State Pension age: use the Pension Service. If you have lived or worked abroad and are at, or within six months of, State Pension age, follow the International Pension Centre route.
Do not send us your NI number, login details, bank details or private pension records.