Can you reclaim NI contributions when you've only earned 6K in a year?

[HappySonHappyMum]

My DD works part time hours but during the summer was working full time hours. The electronic payroll system at her work automatically made her pay NI contributions but not tax. She will have earned around 6K by April - has paid about £100 in NI - can she reclaim this? She is 18 years old and at Uni.

Any National Insurance contributions that have been paid because you were working and liable to pay them, cannot be refunded. Assuming she crossed the earnings level threshold in each month she's been charged NI then no, she isn't able to reclaim these.

National Insurance isn't cumulative as tax is. You pay based on the earnings of the relevant month so it's not possible to reclaim.

Tax and NI are calculated using different rules. That's why you sometimes have a tax refund but never an NI refund.

As others have said NI is calculated differently to Income Tax.

For Income Tax, your wages are looked at cumulatively, over the year, and if you have not earned over the personal allwance £12,570, then you may be eligible to reclaim any income tax you paid.

But NI is different. NI is calculated each time you get paid. If you have earned over the threshold for that pay period, you will have NI deducted.

For example for the 2023/24 threshold is either £242 a week or £1,048 a month.
If your DD is paid weekly, it could be one week she earned £200, so wouldn't have NI deducted, but the next week she earned £300, so would have NI deducted.
This is just an example.

Your DD paid NI each time she earned over the threshold for that week/month shecwas paid, so she would not be able to reclaim this.

Thank you so much everyone - there will be much huffing and puffing when I tell her😆

No, ni is how much you earn in your pay cycle (week or month) not annually