PART 1U.K. GENERAL

Citation, commencement and interpretationU.K.

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 6th April 2001 immediately after—

(a)the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2001 F1;

(b)the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2001 F2;

(c)the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2001 F3;

(d)the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 3) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2001 F4;

(e)the Social Security (Crediting and Treatment of Contributions, and National Insurance Numbers) Regulations 2001) F5; and

(f)the Social Security (Crediting and Treatment of Contributions, and National Insurance Numbers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 F6.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

[F7“the acquired gender” has the same meaning as it has in the Gender Recognition Act 2004;]
“the Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 F8;
“the Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992 F9;
[F10“advance payment” for the purposes of regulation 7 and paragraph 21AE of Schedule 4 means a payment of earnings that—
(a)
is not made at a regular interval,
(b)
is for an amount that would otherwise be included in the payment at the next regular interval that follows the making of the payment of earnings, and
(c)
does not exceed the amount that, at the time that payment of earnings is made, reasonably represents completed service in respect of which no other payment of earnings has been made;]
“aggregation” means the aggregating and treating as a single payment under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 1 to the Act (Class 1 contributions; more than one employment) of two or more payments or earnings and “aggregated” shall be construed accordingly;
“apportionment” means the apportioning under paragraph 1(7) of Schedule 1 to the Act to one or more employers of a single payment of earnings made to or for the benefit of an employed earner in respect of two or more employments, or, as the case may be, the apportioning under paragraph 1(8) of that Schedule of contribution liability between two or more employers in respect of earnings which have been aggregated under paragraph 1(1)(b) of that Schedule, and in either case “apportioning” and “apportioned” shall be construed accordingly;
[F11“approved method of electronic communications” in relation to the delivery of information or the making of a payment in accordance with a provision of these Regulations, means a method of electronic communications which has been approved, by specific or general directions issued by the Board, for the delivery of information of that kind or the making of a payment of that kind under that provision;]
“the Board” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, and subject to section 4A of the Inland Revenue Regulation Act 1890F12, includes any officer or servant of theirs;
[F13“business travel” has the meaning given in section 236(1) of ITEPA 2003 [F14and includes journeys which are treated as business travel by section 235A of ITEPA 2003 (journeys made by members of local authorities etc).];]
[F15“cash voucher” has the meaning given to it in section 75 of ITEPA 2003;]
F16...
“company” means a company within the meaning of section [F171] of the Companies Act [F172006] or a body corporate to which, by virtue of [F18regulations made under section 1043 of [F17that Act], any provision of [F17that Act]] applies;
[F19“completed service” means work undertaken or obligations performed by the earner in accordance with the earner’s contract with the employer;]
F20...
“conditional interest in shares” means an interest which is conditional for the purposes of [F21Chapter 2 of Part 7 of ITEPA 2003 as originally enacted;]
F22...
F23...
F24
“contribution week” means a period of seven days beginning with midnight between Saturday and Sunday;
“contribution year” shall be construed in accordance with section 12(1) or (as the case requires) section 13(5) of the Act (late paid Class 2 or Class 3 contributions);
[F25“contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance” means an allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as amended by the provisions of Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Welfare Reform Act 2012 that remove references to an income-based allowance, and a contribution-based allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as that Act has effect apart from those provisions;]
“contributory benefit” includes a contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance but not an income-based jobseeker’s allowance;
[F26“controller” means the person who controls the disbursement of any money raised by an independent sporting testimonial committee to or for the benefit of an individual who is or has been employed as a professional sports person;]
F27...
F28...
“director” means—
(a)
in relation to a company whose affairs are managed by a board of directors or similar body, a member of that board or similar body;
(b)
in relation to a company whose affairs are managed by a single director or similar person, that director or person; and
(c)
any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the company’s directors as defined in paragraphs (a) and (b) above are accustomed to act; and for this purpose a person is not to be treated as such a person by reason only that the directors act on advice given by him in his professional capacity;
[F29“due date” in Part 6 means, in relation to—
(a)
any Class 1 contribution, the date by which payment falls to be made;
(b)
any Class 2 contribution which a person is liable or entitled to pay, the 31st January following the end of the tax year in respect of which it is paid or payable; and
(c)
any Class 3 contribution, the date 42 days after the end of the year in respect of which it is paid.]
“earnings period” means the period referred to in regulation 2;
“earnings-related contributions” means contributions payable under the Act in respect of earnings paid to or for the benefit of an earner in respect of employed earner’s employment;
[F30“electronic communications” includes any communications conveyed by means of an electronic communications network.]
[F31employment and support allowance” has the same meaning as in the Welfare Reform Act 2007;]
[F32“full gender recognition certificate” means a certificate issued under section 4 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004;]
[F33“HMRC” means Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs; and]
“an income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in the Jobseekers Act 1995;
[F34“independent sporting testimonial committee” means a committee which acts independently of the secondary contributor in organising a sporting testimonial and making the sporting testimonial payment;]
F35...
“national insurance number” means the national insurance number allocated within the meaning of regulation 9 of the Social Security (Crediting and Treatment of Contributions, and National Insurance Numbers) Regulations 2001;
[F36“non-cash voucher” has the meaning given to it in section 84 of ITEPA 2003;]
F37...
F38...
F39...
[F40“official computer system” means a computer system maintained by or on behalf of the Board;]
[F41“optional remuneration arrangements” has the meaning given in section 69A of ITEPA 2003;]
F42...
“the PAYE Regulations” means the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003;
F43...
F44...
“profits or gains” for the purposes of Part 8 means profits or gains which, subject to the provisions of Schedule 2 to the Act, are chargeable to income tax under Case I or Case II of Schedule D;
“readily convertible asset” has the meaning given in [F45section 702 of ITEPA 2003 as amended by the Finance Act 2003;]
[F46“reduced regular interval payment” means a payment of earnings made at a regular interval that has been reduced by reference to advance payments made to the earner;]
[F47“registered pension scheme” has the meaning given in section 150(2) of the Finance Act 2004;]
“regular interval” for the purposes of regulations 3, 4 and 7 includes only such interval as is in accordance with an express or implied agreement between the employed earner and the secondary contributor as to the intervals at which payments of earnings normally fall to be made, being intervals of substantially equal length;
[F48“relevant employment income” has the meaning given in paragraph 3B(1A) of Schedule 1 to the Act;]
[F49“restricted securities” and “restricted interest in securities” have the meanings given in sections 423 and 424 of ITEPA 2003 as substituted by the Finance Act 2003;]
“retirement benefits scheme” has the meaning given in section 611 of the Taxes Act F50;
[F51“retrospective contributions”, in relation to an amount of retrospective earnings, means the amount of earnings-related contributions based on those earnings which the employee is liable to pay under section 6(4)(a) of the Act (primary contributions);]
[F51“retrospective contributions regulations” means regulations made by virtue of section 4B(2) of the Act and, in relation to an amount of retrospective earnings, “the relevant retrospective contributions regulations” means the regulations which treat that amount as earnings;]
[F51“retrospective earnings” means an amount retrospectively treated as earnings by retrospective contributions regulations;]
F52...
“secondary contributor” means the person who, in respect of earnings from employed earner’s employment, is liable to pay a second Class 1 contribution under section 6(4)(b) of the Act (liability for Class 1 contributions) F53;
[F54“securities” and “securities option” have the meaning given by section 420 of ITEPA 2003 as substituted by the Finance Act 2003;]
F42...
“serving member of the forces” means a person, other than one mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 6, who, being over the age of 16, is a member of any establishment or organisation specified in Part I of that Schedule (being a member who gives full pay service) but does not include any such person while absent on desertion;
[F55“sporting testimonial” and “sporting testimonial payment” have the meanings given by section 226E of ITEPA 2003;]
“the Taxes Act” means the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988F56;
[F57“tax month” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 4;]
[F58“termination award” means a payment or benefit received by an earner, or an earner’s spouse, civil partner, blood relative or dependent, in connection with the termination of the earner’s employment;]
“training” means full-time training at a course approved by the Board;
“the Transfer Act” means the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc) Act 1999;
[F33“tribunal” means the First-tier tribunal or, where determined by or under Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal.]
“week” means tax week, except in relation to Case C of Part 9, where “week” and “weekly” have the meanings given in regulation 115;
“the Welfare Reform Act” means the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999F59;
“year” means tax year;
“year of assessment” has the meaning given to it in section 832(1) of the Taxes Act;

(3) For the purposes of regulations 52, 57, 67 and 116, references to “contributions”, “Class 1 contributions” and “earnings-related contributions” shall, unless the context otherwise requires, include any amount paid on account of earnings-related contributions in accordance with regulation 8(6).

[F60(3A) In these Regulations, references to—

(a)Schedule 24 to the Finance Act 2007 (penalties for errors); and

(b)Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009 (penalties for failure to make a return)

include references to these Schedules as amended by paragraphs 3 and 5 of Schedule 33 to the Finance Act 2014 (Part 4: Consequential Amendments).]

(4) Where, by any provision of these Regulations—

(a)any notice or other document is required to be given or sent to the Board, that notice or document shall be treated as having been given or sent on the day that it is received by the Board; and

(b)any notice or other document is required to be given or sent by the Board to any person, that notice or document shall, if sent by post to that person’s last known address, be treated as having been given or sent on the day that is was posted.

(5) Unless the context otherwise requires—

(a)any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations;

(b)any reference in these Regulations to a numbered Part or Schedule is to the Part of, or Schedule to, these Regulations bearing that number;

(c)any reference in a regulation or a Schedule to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation or Schedule;

(d)any reference in a paragraph of a regulation or a Schedule to a numbered or lettered sub-paragraph is a reference to the sub-paragraph bearing that number or letter in that paragraph; and

(e)any reference in a sub-paragraph to a numbered head is a reference to the head in that sub-paragraph bearing that number.

Textual Amendments

F6S.R. 2001 No. 102.

F7Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (6.4.2005) by The Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/778), regs. 1(1), 3(2)

F81992 c. 4.

F91992 c. 5.

F10Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (6.4.2024) by The Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/306), regs. 1, 2(2)(a)