national insurance - all I need to do is pay my class 2s each month and fill in my tax return right?

[hatwoman]

I went s-e about 9 months ago. I looked into all the tax and ni stuff, did whatever I discovered I needed to do, and then filed it in the "dealt with" box in my head. So I've been paying my £27-ish a month and have no particular memory of needing to do anything else ni-specific. If my mental note (and some quick googling) serves me right any additional NI I need to pay will be processed via my tax return. Am I right or am I missing something? I was just talking about it with DH and he seemed to think I should be paying more.

No, that's it (but be prepared for horror of the top-up when it comes to working out your tax return).

top-up? is that where you effectively pay 6 months in advance - ie your first return is equivalent to 18 months tax?

No, I meant you are paying a minimum amount: if you earn more than a very small amount, when it comes to working out your tax bill, your accountant will also work out how much NI you should have contributed and add that (minus your minimum monthly contributions) to the amount you pay at the end of the year. Yes, you will have to pay 150% at the end of your first year as six months will be on account for the following year - the deadline is January 31st - and then you pay the other six months at the end of July. It is horrible in the first year but not quite so painful subsequently.

what if I don;t have an accountant? will me filling in a self-assessment tax return form work out the NI?