Payments

Method of Payment

Your contributions are payable in Cash, Certified Cheque or Manager’s Cheque at the Service Centre in your district. Personal Cheques (including company cheques) will be accepted up to the Limit of a Valid Bank Card. Payment must be submitted with the relevant forms.

Payment In Advance

The NIBTT will accept payment in advance. This may occur in cases where persons receive salary in advance, e.g. when they go on vacation leave. To do so complete in duplicate one NI 187 form for the entire period.

Where you reduce an employee’s pay because of suspension, etc., and his pay has been reinstated, that employee has to be treated as if he did not lose earnings.

You must therefore make adjustment payments to cover any underpayment of contributions.

Retroactive Salary Increases

Where there is a retroactive increase in earnings, e.g., salary, overtime, bonus, the adjustment of contribution class should be made only from the week/fortnight/month in which the increase was paid.

Regular / Intermittent Employment

Where employment is regulated so that an employee works a minimum number of days in a period, and the employee is paid as for the whole period, he/she may be considered to have worked for that whole period, and more than one contribution must be paid.

For example, if the employee is given five days work per fortnight, and is paid by the fortnight, then two contributions must be paid. The employee’s fortnightly wage would be divided between the two weeks to determine the relevant Earnings Class.

Multiple Employment

Where an employee has multiple employment all employers must pay contributions on behalf of the employee. With effect from March 1st 2004 the law states: -

“Where an employee is employed by more than one person or where his earnings are paid jointly by more than one person during any contribution year in which a contribution is payable or where such employee works under the control and management of some person other than his immediate employer, the NIBTT shall total all contributions paid for the employee in that year and place the employee in the highest earnings class that such total contributions would permit for the number of weeks worked.”


Termination Of Employment

Employers are required to issue their employee with a Termination Certificate within thirty (30) days of termination of employment. This certificate contains the following information.`   

  • The employee’s total insurable earnings for the contribution year.
  • The total amount of contributions deducted from those wages.
  • The total amount of contributions paid to the NIBTT.
  • The number of contribution weeks covered by those contributions.
     

The employer must forward a copy of this certificate to the NIBTT on the same day it is issued to the employee. Failure to issue the certificate to the employee or failure to forward a copy of the certificate to the NIBTT attracts a fine of $4,000.00 and imprisonment for 6 months on summary conviction.

Garnishment

Where Contributions are outstanding for insured persons and the NIBTT believes that a person whether an employer or not is indebted to the NIBTT or liable to make a payment to anyone who is indebted to the NIBTT for unpaid National Insurance contributions (including penalties and interest) the Executive Director of the NIBTT may deliver a demand for payment to the first person (the payer) who must pay the demand to the NIBTT.

Every person who receives such a demand for payment shall (must) pay the NIBTT at the same time as he would have paid the person who is indebted to the NIBTT.

Where the person receiving a demand for payment is the employer of the person indebted to the NIBTT for outstanding contributions the amount demanded for each pay period, being an amount not exceeding one third of the sum payable to the employee during that period must be paid to the National Insurance Board.

Failure to comply with a demand for payment makes the person receiving such a demand fully liable for the liability which he should have discharged.

Tax Relief

The employer’s share of the contributions that is paid on behalf of their employees is considered an operating expense and is tax deductible in its entirety. The employee claims 70% of his share of the contribution as a tax relief.