Can you keep a secret?

KEY POINTS

• Three sets of rules for NIC international issues.
• General principles old rules and definitions.
• The new rules and their limitations.
• The principles applying in secondments.

One of the biggest tasks I’ve faced over the years is getting people to understand that when it comes to international issues involving National Insurance contributions (NICs) there are three different sets of rules you need to know about.

The first relates to European Union (EU) member states (and a few others as mentioned below).

The second group is that tiny number (compared to tax agreements) of states with which we have reciprocal arrangements (and many of those few are with EU members and therefore almost entirely superseded).

Finally there is the ‘rest of the world’. This article is concerned only with countries affected by the EU rules. New...