Tax Code Calculator

Your tax code tells your employer how much tax-free pay to give you. Check it’s right — a wrong code is the most common reason for paying too much tax.

Updated 2026-10-03 · 2026/27 HMRC rates

Tax-free allowance from this code£12,570Cumulative

Income tax with this code	£3,486
Income tax with standard 1257L	£3,486
Difference per month	£0.00

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Key facts

The personal allowance stays at £12,570 in 2026/27 and is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000, so it is gone entirely at £125,140 (HMRC income tax rates and allowances).
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27 income tax is 20% on the first £37,700 of taxable income, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above that (HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027).
Scotland has six bands in 2026/27: 19% starter on the first £3,967 of taxable income, 20% basic to £16,956, 21% intermediate to £31,092, 42% higher to £62,430, 45% advanced to £125,140 and 48% top above that (HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027).
Budget 2025 extended the freeze on income tax thresholds and the equivalent employee and self-employed National Insurance thresholds for a further three years, from April 2028 to April 2031 (HM Treasury Budget 2025).
Employees pay Class 1 National Insurance at 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year and 2% above that in 2026/27 (HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027).
Employers pay 15% National Insurance on earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold, and eligible employers can claim an Employment Allowance of £10,500 (HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027).
Self-employed people pay Class 4 National Insurance at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that; voluntary Class 2 costs £3.65 a week if profits are below £7,105 (GOV.UK self-employed National Insurance rates).
Dividend tax rose by 2 percentage points from April 2026: the basic rate is now 10.75% and the higher rate 35.75%, while the additional rate stays at 39.35% and the dividend allowance stays at £500 (GOV.UK tax on dividends).

How to read any UK tax code in three parts

Every PAYE tax code can be split into up to three pieces. Read them from left to right.

Prefix: S means Scottish rates and C means Welsh rates. K means you have deductions bigger than your allowance, so an amount is added to your taxable pay instead of taken off.
Number: multiply by 10 to get the tax-free pay for the year from this job or pension. 1257 is £12,570; 1100 is £11,000.
Suffix: L for the standard allowance, M or N for Marriage Allowance received or given, T when HMRC needs to review other items. W1, M1 or X at the very end means the code is non-cumulative, so each payslip is taxed separately.
Some codes have no number: BR, D0, D1, 0T and NT tell payroll to use one rate, no allowance, or no tax at all.

How HMRC builds your code

HMRC starts with your Personal Allowance, then takes off income you have not paid tax on, such as untaxed interest or part-time earnings, and other deductions such as company benefits or the High Income Child Benefit Charge. What is left, divided by 10, becomes the number.

GOV.UK's own example is a £1,570 private medical insurance benefit: £12,570 − £1,570 = £11,000, giving a code of 1100L. If deductions are larger than the allowance, the code turns into a K code. For example, a company car benefit and an underpayment worth £17,320 in total, against a £12,570 allowance, leaves £4,750 to add to taxable pay: code K475.

What different codes cost on a £35,000 salary

The calculator above compares one code with 1257L. This table shows the yearly income tax, outside Scotland, for common codes on the same £35,000 job, worked out by the same engine.

Code	Income tax a year	Difference vs 1257L per month
1257L	£4,486	–
1100L	£4,800	+£26.17
1383L	£4,234	−£21.00
K475	£8,360	+£322.83
BR	£7,000	+£209.50
0T	£7,000	+£209.50
D0	£14,000	+£792.83
NT	£0	−£373.83

Where to find your code and how to check it

Your current tax code is on every payslip and on your P45 if you leave a job. Your P60 shows the code at the end of the tax year. HMRC also sends a coding notice when it changes your code, and the HMRC app and your online personal tax account show the code for each job and pension, with the figures behind it.

HMRC's "check what your tax code means" tool asks for the code, your annual income, company benefits and any State Pension, then explains each element. The responsibility for making sure you pay the right tax is yours, not your employer's, so it is worth checking each time the code changes.

If your code looks wrong

Codes are often wrong because HMRC is working from old information. Update it rather than waiting for the year end.

Check the estimated income HMRC holds for each job in your personal tax account and correct it if it is out of date.
Tell HMRC when a company car or medical insurance ends, or when you stop receiving taxable benefits.
If you have two jobs, HMRC normally gives the allowance to the main job and BR or D0 to the second. You can ask for the allowance to be split if the main job pays less than £12,570.
Once the code is corrected, an overpayment is usually refunded through payroll. If not, HMRC sends a P800 between June and March after the tax year. If you owe more than £3,000, you will get a Simple Assessment bill instead of a code adjustment.

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard tax code for 2026/27?

1257L — a £12,570 Personal Allowance. It has been frozen since 2021 and is due to stay until April 2031.

Why has my tax code changed in the middle of the year?

HMRC changes codes when it receives new information, such as a new job, a change in company benefits, an underpayment from an earlier year, or an updated income estimate. Check the coding notice or your personal tax account for the reason.

Who sets my tax code?

HMRC. Your employer or pension provider must use the code HMRC sends them. If they have no code for you, they use an emergency code until HMRC issues one.

Does my tax code affect National Insurance?

No. Tax codes only control income tax. NI is worked out separately from your pay in each period.

I have two jobs. Which one gets 1257L?

Usually the job that pays more. The other job normally gets BR, D0 or D1. You can ask HMRC to split your allowance if that suits your pay better.

Sources

Figures are taken from official government publications and were last reviewed on 2026-10-03.