How do I specify which years I am paying Vol Class 3 NI contributions for?

I want to pay several years of Voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions, but when I pay online it doesn't give me any option to stipulate which years I am paying for. In particular, I want to pay for 2011-2017, but not for 2017-2020 as I can pay those next year. please can HMRC advise? I can't get through by phone in any reasonable time so any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi there I would be so grateful if someone from HMRC (or anyone else in the know) could reply to my post. Many thanks!

I have the same problem. The NI office told me I had to sepcify which years I was contributing for but there is no facility to do this on any of the payment options. Someone in HMRC please help!

Hi Neil, I stuck it out and waited for 45 minutes on the HMRC NI helpline - call 0300 200 3500. I spoke to a very helpful advisor. He has made a note on my account about which years I want to pay for so their accountants allocate payments to the correct years when they receive them. I still have to pay each year separately online, but I assume the years come up at their end anyway. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi Claire Mac,

The deadline for paying all tax years from 2006-07 to 2016-17 has been extended until 31 July 2023.

As long as the Future Pensions Centre (FPC) part of the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) have confirmed that paying shortfall prior to 2016-2017 will increase your state pension then you can make your payment and our individuals caseworkers will allocate to the oldest years first.

 If they have any doubt in which years you are going to pay they will contact you directly by either telephone or post prior to allocating the payment to the pre 2016-2017 tax years.

Once allocated you should receive a letter confirming the tax years your payment was allocated to.

Thank you. 



 

Above HMRC reply not specifically relevant to my query. However I spoke to NI this morning and I now have an answer. When I spoke to them on a previous call, they told me what years would be best to pay for. According to the person I spoke to this morning, this info was recorded on their system. So when my payment for 4 years is received they will match up my 18 digit no. with the notes on their system which has a record of what years I am paying for and there is no need to specify which years I am paying for as they already have this info. As such, it is impossible to determine which years are most advatageous to pay for without speaking to NI (try calling as soon as the office opens at 8.00am for shortest waiting time) and make sure you agree on the years you are paying for as well as collecting the 18 digit number. It would be helpful if the web links made this clear somewhere.