This guide covers the current NHIMA contribution rate for 2026, how it appears on your payslip, and what employers need to know about remittance obligations.
Use our NHIMA calculator to calculate the exact contribution for any salary level.
Current NHIMA rate: 1% employee, 1% employer
The NHIMA contribution rate for 2026 remains unchanged:
Employee: 1% of basic monthly salary
Employer: 1% of the employee's basic monthly salary
Total: 2% of basic salary
Base: Basic pay only - allowances are excluded (SI No. 63 of 2019, Third Schedule)
Ceiling: None - the 1% applies to the full basic salary
No ceiling - how this differs from NAPSA
NAPSA contributions are capped at a ceiling. For 2026, the NAPSA ceiling means employee contributions are capped at K1,861.80 per month regardless of salary. Once your salary exceeds the ceiling, NAPSA contributions stop growing.
NHIMA has no such ceiling. Whether your basic pay is K5,000 or K100,000, you pay exactly 1% of it. This means high earners pay significantly more in NHIMA than the NAPSA cap would suggest:
Monthly Basic Pay | NAPSA (Employee, on gross) | NHIMA (Employee, on basic) |
|---|---|---|
K10,000 | K500 | K100 |
K20,000 | K1,000 | K200 |
K37,236+ | K1,861.80 (capped) | K372.36+ |
K50,000 | K1,861.80 (capped) | K500 |
K100,000 | K1,861.80 (capped) | K1,000 |
Where NHIMA sits on your payslip
The standard deduction order on a Zambian payslip is:
Gross salary - your total monthly pay before deductions
PAYE - income tax on the full gross, with no prior deduction
NAPSA - 5% of gross (capped at the ceiling)
NHIMA - 1% of basic pay (no ceiling)
Important: NAPSA and NHIMA are not deducted before PAYE - they do not reduce your taxable income. The employee deduction for pension contributions in section 37(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act was repealed by the Income Tax (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 2024 with effect from 1 January 2025, and replaced with a deduction the employer claims against its own profits.
Employer obligations
Employers must:
Register with NHIMA as a contributing employer
Deduct the employee's 1% from their salary each month
Add the employer's 1% contribution
Remit both contributions to NHIMA by the 10th of the following month
Submit a return listing all employees and their contributions
Penalties for late payment
Under the National Health Insurance Act, employers who fail to remit contributions on time face:
A penalty for late remittance
Interest on outstanding amounts
Potential prosecution for persistent non-compliance
Employees should check their payslips to confirm NHIMA deductions are being made. If deductions appear but your employer is not remitting, report this to NHIMA.
NHIMA contributions at different salary levels
Monthly Salary | Employee (1%) | Employer (1%) | Total Monthly | Total Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
K3,000 | K30 | K30 | K60 | K720 |
K5,000 | K50 | K50 | K100 | K1,200 |
K8,000 | K80 | K80 | K160 | K1,920 |
K10,000 | K100 | K100 | K200 | K2,400 |
K15,000 | K150 | K150 | K300 | K3,600 |
K20,000 | K200 | K200 | K400 | K4,800 |
K30,000 | K300 | K300 | K600 | K7,200 |
K50,000 | K500 | K500 | K1,000 | K12,000 |
To see your full payroll deductions including NAPSA and PAYE, use our NAPSA calculator and PAYE calculator.
