UK Tax Codes Explained (2026/27)

Your tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much of your pay to tax. HMRC sets it, and you get a separate code for each job or pension. Most people in 2026/27 have 1257L: the number × 10 is your tax-free allowance (£12,570, frozen this year), and the letter shows how it applies – L for the standard allowance, M or N for Marriage Allowance, T when other calculations are involved. A K code means you have untaxed income or benefits worth more than your allowance, so tax is added to your pay rather than an allowance taken off. Codes with no number – BR, D0, D1, 0T and NT – tax a whole job or pension at one rate, or not at all, and are common on second jobs. An S or C at the start means Scottish or Welsh rates apply. W1, M1 or X at the end means an emergency, non-cumulative code. Each guide below explains what a code means, how PAYE taxes a £30,000 salary with it, why HMRC might give it to you and what to do if it looks wrong. You can check your code at any time in your personal tax account or the HMRC app, and overpaid tax from a wrong code is refunded through payroll or a P800 after the year ends.

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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Every tax code

How payroll uses your tax code each payday

On a cumulative code such as 1257L, payroll works out your tax on total pay since 6 April, not just this month's pay. Each month adds one twelfth of your allowance (£1,047.50) to your tax-free pay to date, and one twelfth of each tax band. Tax due to date, minus tax already paid, is what comes off this payslip.

That is why a corrected code can produce a refund straight away. If you were on 0T for the first six months of the year and HMRC then issues 1257L, your seventh payslip gets seven months of tax-free pay at once, about £7,333. For a basic-rate taxpayer that refunds roughly £1,257 for the six months already overtaxed, with the remaining month's allowance used as normal.

Non-cumulative codes, ending W1, M1 or X, look at each payday in isolation. They stop large refunds or underpayments building up in payroll, and any difference is settled by HMRC after the tax year.

Starting a new job: what code will you get?

If you hand over a P45 from your last job, your new employer uses the code on it. If you have no P45, or you left your last job before the current tax year, your employer asks you to complete HMRC's starter checklist instead. Your answers tell payroll whether this is your only job, whether you have had other work or a pension since 6 April, and whether you repay a student loan.

Until HMRC has your full details, you may be taxed on an emergency code. GOV.UK says these end in W1 (paid weekly), M1 (paid monthly) or X (pay dates vary), and payslips can show "NONCUM". The code 0T can also appear when you have started a new job and your employer does not have the details it needs, which means no tax-free allowance at all.

HMRC usually updates your code once it has details from your new and previous employers, which GOV.UK says can take up to 35 days from your start date.
If you are still on an emergency code after that, update your details in your personal tax account or the HMRC app rather than waiting for the year end.
Any tax overpaid while on the emergency code comes back through payroll once a cumulative code arrives, or after the tax year through a P800.
Starting company benefits or the State Pension can also put you on an emergency code for a while.

What raises or lowers the number in your code

HMRC starts from the £12,570 allowance and adjusts it. These are the most common adjustments.

Lowers your code (less tax-free pay)	Raises your code (more tax-free pay)
Company car or fuel benefit	Work expenses you claim tax relief on, such as professional fees or uniform washing
Private medical insurance	Marriage Allowance received (+£1,260, code ends in M)
Untaxed income such as savings interest over your allowance or rental profit	Blind Person's Allowance (+£3,250)
High Income Child Benefit Charge collected through PAYE	Higher-rate relief on personal pension contributions or Gift Aid
Underpaid tax from an earlier year	Overpaid tax being refunded through your code
State Pension, when you also have a private pension or job

Pensioners and tax codes

The State Pension is paid without tax taken off, but it is taxable. HMRC collects that tax by reducing the allowance on your private pension or job. The full new State Pension of £241.30 a week is about £12,548 a year, close to the whole £12,570 allowance, so many pensioners have a very low code, 0T, or a K code on their workplace or personal pension.

When you first take a flexible pension payment, the provider may not yet have a code and will use an emergency one. You can reclaim any overpayment straight away with the right HMRC form rather than waiting for the year end; the pension withdrawal calculator explains which one.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find my tax code?

On your payslip, P45 or P60, on a coding notice from HMRC, or in the HMRC app and your personal tax account, which show the code for each job and pension.

What is a cumulative tax code?

One where payroll calculates tax on your total pay since 6 April. Overpayments are refunded and underpayments collected automatically through later payslips. Codes ending W1, M1 or X are non-cumulative.

Why is my code different on my second job?

Your allowance can only be used once. HMRC normally gives it to your main job, so the second job gets BR, D0 or D1. You can ask HMRC to split it.

Can my tax code collect money I owe HMRC?

Yes. HMRC can reduce your code to collect an underpayment over the following year. If you owe more than £3,000, it uses Simple Assessment instead.

Sources

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