Investment Zones & Freeport - Special Tax Sites

This article explains the NI Categories that apply to businesses located within the Investment Zones & Freeport sites.

Investment Zone

From 06 April 2024, a reduction in the rate of employer NICs is available for all Investment Zone tax site-based businesses. The employers located within the Investment Zones tax sites are eligible for this relief (where the other eligibility criteria are met).

Investment Zone regions

The proposed East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority
Greater Manchester Mayoral Combined Authority
Liverpool City Region Mayoral Combined Authority
The proposed North East Mayoral Combined Authority
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Tees Valley Mayoral Combined Authority
West Midlands Mayoral Combined Authority
West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Glasgow Mayoral Combined Authority
North East Scotland Mayoral Combined Authority

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for the Investment Zone NIC relief,

The employer must have business premises in the Investment Zone tax site
The employee should spend at least 60% of the time working in the Investment Zone tax site.
The employees must be new hires with an employment start date on or after the 6^th of April 2024 and should not have worked for that employer or any business connected with that employer, in the previous 24 months.
The eligibility to claim expires within 36 months of the employee's employment start date.
This relief can be applied for 36 months per employee.

Investment Zone NI Categories

NI Category	Description
N	Investment Zone standard NI category, the equivalent of NI category 'A'
E	Investment Zone married women/widow reduced rate NIC, the equivalent of NI category 'B'
D	Investment Zone deferred rate NIC, the equivalent of NI category 'J'
K	Investment Zone over state pension age, the equivalent of NI category 'C'

For more information on the Investment Zone, please visit the HMRC link below

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investment-zone-special-tax-sites/investment-zone-special-tax-sites-with-enhanced-tax-and-national-insurance-contributions-reliefs

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Freeport

From 06 April 2022, a reduction in the rate of employer NICs was available for all Freeport site-based businesses. The employers located within the Freeport sites were eligible for this relief (where the other eligibility criteria are met).

Freeport Zone regions

East Midlands Freeport
Freeport East
Humber Freeport
Liverpool City Region Freeport
Plymouth and South Devon Freeport
Solent Freeport
Teesside Freeport
Thames Freeport

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for Freeport NIC relief,

The employer must have business premises in the Freeport tax site.
The employee should spend at least 60% of the time working on the Freeport tax sites.
The employees must be new hires with an employment start date on or after the 6^th of April 2022 and should not have worked for that employer or any business connected with that employer, in the previous 24 months.
The eligibility to claim expires within 36 months of the employee's employment start date.
This relief can be applied for 36 months per employee.

Freeport NI Categories

NI Category	Description
F	Freeport standard NI category, the equivalent of NI category 'A'
I	Freeport Married women reduced rate NIC, the equivalent of NI category 'B'
S	Freeport deferred rate NIC, the equivalent of NI category 'J'
L	Freeport over state pension age, the equivalent of NI category 'C'

For more information on Freeport, please visit the HMRC link below

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-can-claim-national-insurance-relief-in-freeport-tax-sites

Important: Please note that it is the Employer's responsibility to verify the eligibility for both Investment Zone & Freeport tax sites. Accentra's Primo cannot determine whether an employer is eligible for this relief or not. Visit the above government links to check your eligibility.