Can I pay voluntary Class 2 NIC?

Tech entrepreneur with nil income needs to fill gaps in NIC record.

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Independent Software Vendor. Microsoft Partner working full time developing FinTech cloud app for the past several years.  Hoping to commence initial investment round later this year to fund a start up. Work alone quietly writing code wherever there is Wi-Fi. No business or employment income. Living off rental income and savings. Cost kept to a minimum, mainly professional membership fees, internet domains, software and business grade hardware. Historic hosting fees. Currently free with Microsoft. I maintain a UK registered limited company as an investment vehicle in waiting. I am the sole diretor.  It has never traded. Only activity is start up costs, ongoing bank fees and registered office costs.

Approaching retirement age. Need to fill gaps in contribution record to secure full state pension. Consider myself self-employed but always assumed HMRC would not accept it without trading income. Reading posts elsewhere on this site encourages me to think otherwise.

Can I reasonably declare myself as self-employed? If so is there any chance of back dating the status several years? Any harm in declaring it in my current tax return y/e 2018 with explanatory notes?  It would cost a lot less to top up with Class 2 NICs than pay voluntary Class 3 NICs.

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RLI
By lionofludesch
16th Jan 2019 09:53

No, but you can indeed pay Class 3.

The Government reckons that people with no income at all can afford to pay five times as much as self employed folk earning £8000.

NIC for the low paid/not paid at all is an absolute shambles of inconsistencies.

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By richard2019
17th Jan 2019 08:27

Thanks for that. A bit deflating. I read elsewhere here that my overheads create a business loss i.e. negative income.

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RLI
By lionofludesch
17th Jan 2019 08:51

If you're trading.

The difficulty will be showing that you are. Bearing in mind you seem to have no sales.

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By richard2019
17th Jan 2019 09:05

That's right. No sales at all. Only R&D.

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By richard2019
17th Jan 2019 09:57

Is there a Sales income threshold to qualify as self employed? I can't start selling my product until it's in production but I could put some Google ads on my website. Site visits will be low for now but it will generate some income if only a few quid.

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Replying to richard2019:
RLI
By lionofludesch
17th Jan 2019 13:08

Nothing to lose by claiming you're self employed.

They can only say no.

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