Mechanism for paying class 2 NI contributions from abroad

I am living abroad and looking to pay the amounts for voluntary NIC. I have received confirmation and a letter detailing the missing year and contributions amounts due. Is it now just a question of transferring monies into the account: GB49 BARC 2020 4830 9447 93 with the relevant reference?

Hi Joe G,
Paying from an overseas bank account.
Use the following details:
•    account number (IBAN) - GB49 BARC 2020 4830 9447 93
•    Bank Identifier Code (BIC) - BARCGB22 
•    account name - HMRC NIC receipts
Reference number to use
Use your National Insurance number followed by ‘IC’ your surname then your initial. If your bank limits you to a certain amount of characters, you should use your National Insurance number followed by ‘IC’ and as much of your surname as possible.
Thank yhou.
 

hi, i have received my confirmation letter stating i can pay Class 2 NICs and a list of 16 possible years available, i need to pay 12 yrs only. how do HMRC know which years i have picked? when i pay from my uk Halifax bank all you will have is my ref. field (18 digits) and a total amount paid. this question has been answered before with the 2 different responses "we will use our best judgement to allocate the funds " " ring and speak to the contributions helpline" does that mean verbally they will make a note of the years i choose before i send funds? which of the 2 responses is correct please?

As Pat has said if you click on the link 'there's a different way to pay if you live abroad permanently' it doesn't give any details whatsoever of how to pay differently, it just produces a Guidance on filling CF83 form. which has already been done if your at looking for ways to pay stage. This is not of any use at all and would be better removing the link completely, it's just confusing and promoting doubt into a process that is already confusing enough.

Hi, I want to pay my NIC before the deadline. I received written correspondence from HMRC outlining my shortfalls for 2019-2023 were class 2 and I also spoke to a representative on the phone who also said they were class 2 (my 2015-2019 are class 3). However when I login to my account today to look at my shortfalls they appear to be at a class 3 rate by cost rate associated with them ~£900. Can you clarify if I pay the class 2 rate that I will not be penalised or is the online projection more accurate? Thanks. DH

Hello HMRC I permanently live in Australia and have recently been given the banking details I need to use to make voluntary NI contributions. I was given a BIC number, an IBAN number, the account name and asked to use a reference made up from my national insurance number and name. When I go to enter these details into my Australian banking app to make a payment I'm only asked for the IBAN number, account name and a field entitled 'Details to payee' which I will use as the opportunity to provide my reference number (NI number and name combo) I'm not asked for BIC number but I am asked for the address of the payee. My question is, is the BIC number an absolute requirement given they're not asking for it and what address do I use? Thanking you in anticipation of your assistance with this. 

Hi luckyrog,
When you make your payment of voluntary National Insurance contributions, please allow 10 working days for your payment to be recorded on your National Insurance account and then call our National Insurance Helpline 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) and let them know what tax years that you would like your payment to go to.
Thank you.

Hello HMRC.
I am trying to find out the process I need to follow to pay my missing years NI voluntary contributions while living abroad so that I can receive an increased pension.
I am confused as to what i need to do.
I am already retired from my job abroad and i am 66, I have filled in the required pension form to claim my pension but deferred it until October of 2025.
I was born, lived and worked in the UK and then worked abroad after I left the UK in 1990 and I still live abroad.
I have viewed my HMRC account and contributions and it states that I can pay voluntary contributions for the years 2006/2007 to 2018/2019 by April 5th 2025 and then the years 2019/2020 to 2023/2024 by April 5th of 2026-2030 respectively.
I have only just found out I need to fill in form CF83 which will let me know if i should pay class 2 or 3, but it seems that reply could well be received after April 5th 2025, so it would be too late to pay the missing voluntary contributions.
So do I just fill in CF83 and pay what I believe to be the correct amount of contributions before the deadline?
Does it make any difference that I am retired from my job abroad?
Does it make any difference that I have completed the pension forms but deferred receiving my pension?
Thank you for any help that you can give.

Hello HMRC, after having made the payment of voluntary National Insurance contributions and having spoken with the National Insurance to let them know what tax years the payment referred to, how long should I wait to see the Pension NI online statement updated?
In my case I am now living in an EU country and I have completed the previous tasks a month ago.
Many thanks for you clarification

Hi Daisy Halley,
Your personal tax account will always show any shortfalls of voluntary National Insurance contributions at the class 3 rate. If you have a letter which confirms that you may pay at the voluntary class 2 rate then please use this when deciding to pay any voluntary contributions.
Thank you. 

Hi Chenzo,
Some banks use the Bank Identifier Code (BIC) rather than the IBAN (Account Number) so either would be fine. The address for our bank is:  
Barclays Bank plc,
1 Churchill Place,
London,
E114 5HP,
United Kingdom.
Thank you.

Hi HMRC,
I recently filled in the cf83 form online and have got an email confirmation from HMRC that it has been received.
However, the page with the link to start filling in the cf83 mentions printing out the completed online form and sending it in to HMRC.
Is mailing in a physical copy of the completed cf83 online form an essential part of the process of applying to pay voluntary contributions?
If it is what is the address to send it to?
There was no address or instructions to send it in on the " Form submitted page" that you get after you have finished and submitted the online cf83 form.
Thanks for your help with this.

Hi I live abroad permanently and have applied for paying shortfalls and received the necessary information.
I only want to pay the Class 2 payment years and not the Class 3 ones.
When making payments either yearly ones (e.g 2013-2014) or as a lump sum for several years (e.g.2013 - 2021) how do I specify which years I am paying?
Thanks in advance.

After submitting my CF83 and being advised I could, I made a voluntary payment to cover my NIC shortfall on Sept 14th 2024 via electronic funds transfer from a UK bank as per instructions.
However, no confirmation of the payment has appeared on my national insurance record/state pension record which I check regularly.
The gov site online it says this can take up to 8 weeks for the payment to be reflected in these records, but it's now been around twice that time.
Is this usual?
And is there a number I can call to follow up?
Thank you for any help you can offer.

Hi rlpoh
You have submitted two questions on the 03 January 2025 and the 06/01/24
Firstly in your response to question of 03/01/25
In the first instance you should contact the National Insurance Helpline, 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas), in relation to the questions you have. Please see National Insurance: general enquiries.
When you make your payment of voluntary National Insurance contributions, please allow 10 working days for your payment to be recorded on your National Insurance account and then call our National Insurance Helpline 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) and let them know what tax years that you would like your payment to go to.
Regarding your follow up question of the 06/01/25
You can choose to complete the CF83 online or alternatively complete the form, print it off and send it to the address on the last page of the form.
As you have completed the form online and received an acknowledgement there is no further action required. Full instructions are available at: 
Apply to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions when abroad (CF83)
You can also find out information, along with progress of your form by creating accounts in:
•    the official HMRC app
•    your personal tax account 
Thank you
 

Hi jjordan001
It may take up to 8 weeks after you’ve made your payment of voluntary National Insurance contributions for it to be shown on your Personal Tax Account.  
If it’s not recorded after the 8 weeks then you may wish to call our National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) and they will arrange for your payment to be dealt with.  
Please have your payment details handy when you call.
You can also find out information, along with progress of your form by creating accounts in:
•    the official HMRC app
•    your personal tax account
Thank you
 

Hi Caro Merle
It may take up to 8 weeks after you’ve made your payment of voluntary National Insurance contributions for it to be shown on your Personal Tax Account.  
If it’s not recorded after the 8 weeks then you may wish to call our National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) and they will arrange for your payment to be dealt with.  
Please have your payment details handy when you call.
You can also find out information, along with progress of your form by creating accounts in:
•    the official HMRC app
•    your personal tax account 
Thank you

Hi phdavies
You may wish to call our National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) and they will arrange for your payment to be dealt with.
Please have your payment details handy when you call.
You can also find out information, along with progress of your form/payments credited by creating accounts in:
• the official HMRC app
• your personal tax account
Thank you

Hi. My application to pay voluntary Class 2 NIC for periods spent working overseas was accepted and I have been sent a letter which outlines how much I owe for each year. There are 18 years in total (2006/2007-2023/2024). If I wish to use online banking to pay for 17 of those years (instead of all 18) how do I go about doing this? How do I specify which year I do not wish to pay for (2023-2024)? Do I just total up the amount owed for the other 17 years and pay that amount, and hope that HMRC works out which year I don't want to pay for?

Dear HMRC I have made my payment to cover 18 years of Class 2 NICs. I qualified for the Class 2 rate, but 18 years is still a significant sum. I have read on this forum that it takes at least 8 weeks and longer for our National Insurance records to be updated with our voluntary contributions, and therefore we must call from overseas and wait in a long queue for our call to be answered just to establish that our contributions have been received, and to request a receipt for these contributions. I have also read that when updated our National Insurance Record will still show a deficit/shortfall because it is showing the Class 3 contribution rate owing even if we have been approved at the Class 2 contribution rate. I have downloaded the HMRC app as you have suggested and can confirm that my record is showing gaps of 18 years at Class 3 rates even though the letter that I have received from HMRC clearly states that I have been approved for Class 2 contribution rates. This renders the app completely useless as it will never be accurate. How are we supposed to know how much to pay for future year contributions which we need to pay to qualify for the full pension? The Class 2 rates that I have just paid have differed slightly from one year to another so if your app is not showing the right contribution rate due, how are we to navigate an already confusing process, going forward? Any clarification greatly appreciated.