A self-employed musician’s failure to pay Class 2 NIC was not because of a lack of due care and diligence, and he was entitled to make (and be credited for) late payment of Class 2 contributions.
The appellant first became self-employed as a musician in 1968. In 1978, he appointed accountants to prepare his tax returns. The appellant did not pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs). Between 1978 and 2014, the appellant did not receive any correspondence from HMRC about his failure to pay Class 2 NICs, even though he was paying Class 4 NICs.
Shortly after his 65th birthday, the appellant called the Pensions Office to ask about his pension. He was informed that there was no record of his self-employment, and that he was last recorded as unemployed in 1976. He subsequently contacted HMRC about paying Class 2 NICs for the period 1 January 1976 to his retirement date to restore his NIC record. This was allowed for the
