Plans to simplify the way self-employed people pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs) have been published for consultation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

HMRC is exploring whether it would be simpler and more straightforward to collect these contributions alongside Class 4 NICs and Income Tax through the Self Assessment (SA) process. Self-employed people are required to file an annual SA return and the Class 4 NICs paid by self-employed people are already collected through SA.

This aims to reduce the administrative burden on self-employed people.

The self-employed and those who represent them are encouraged to respond to the consultation. The closing date is 9 October 2013 and, based on the responses received, HMRC will review the current system of collecting Class 2 NICs.