How to check your tax code

What is a tax code?

Your tax code is a series of numbers and letters used by your employer or pension provider to work out how much income tax to take from your pay or pension.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will tell your employer or pension company which code to use. If your tax code is wrong you could pay too little or too much tax.

You can see how much income tax and National Insurance you pay by looking at your payslip.

How do I find my tax code?

You can find your tax code in various ways:

What are the different tax codes?

The different tax codes show each person’s tax-free allowance and what levels of tax you must pay. Your tax code is made up of numbers and letters. Tax code 1257L is the most common.

To understand UK tax codes you need to remember the numbers represent how much tax-free income you get in a tax year. This is called your ‘personal allowance’. The letters refer to your situation and how it affects your personal allowance.

So, in the above example, 1257 would represent £12,570 – this is the personal allowance most people get. ‘L’ means you’re entitled to the standard tax-free personal allowance.

Here are what all the different letters mean:

The L tax code

The L tax code means you’re entitled to the standard tax-free personal allowance (£12,570 for the 2023/24 tax year).

The K tax code

The K tax code means you have income that is not being taxed another way and it's worth more than your tax-free allowance. This might happen if you’re paying tax you owe from a previous year through your wages or pension.

The S tax code

The S tax code is used if your income or pension is taxed using the rates in Scotland.

SOT means your personal allowance has been used up, or you’ve started a new job and your employer does not have the details they need to give you a tax code.

SBR means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate in Scotland.

SDO means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the intermediate rate in Scotland (usually used if you’ve got more than one job or pension).

SD1 means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the higher rate in Scotland, while SD2 means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the top rate in Scotland (both these are usually used if you’ve got more than one job or pension).

The T and OT tax codes

T and OT tax codes mean other calculations are used to work out your Personal Allowance.

OT means your Personal Allowance has been used up, or you’ve started a new job and your employer does not have the details they need to give you a tax code.

If a T follows a number that isn't zero, it means you get a personal allowance, which is dictated by that number.

The M and N tax codes

M means marriage allowance and that you’ve received a transfer of 10% of your partner’s personal allowance.

N means you’re the spouse who has transferred 10% of your personal allowance to your partner.

The BR, DO & D1 tax codes

BR stands for basic rate. BR means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate.

DO means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the higher rate.

D1 means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the additional rate.

These codes are all usually used if you’ve got more than one job or pension.

The NT tax code

The NT tax code means you’re not paying any tax on this income

The W1 and M1 tax codes

If your tax code ends in ‘W1’ or ‘M1’ or ‘X’ you’re on an emergency (temporary) tax code.

You may be put on an emergency tax code if HMRC does not get your income details in time after a change in circumstances such as starting a new job or getting company benefits or the State Pension.

Dealing with Incorrect Tax Codes

It’s important to deal with incorrect tax codes at once as they can have an impact on your finances. Sometimes HMRC gets tax codes wrong or receives the necessary information too late. Check, and challenge when wrong.

You can check your tax code online.

Why your tax code might change

Your tax code might change if:

• you change jobs
• you get a second or additional job
• you start to get income from an additional pension
• your weekly state pension amount changes
• you start or stop getting benefits from your job (i.e. a company car)
• you get taxable state benefits (such as the state pension or jobseekers’ allowance)
• you claim marriage allowance (this lets you transfer £1,260 of your personal allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner).
• you claim expenses that you get tax relief on (i.e. uniforms or working from home expenses)

If you do any of the above you should check if your tax code is correct.

Steps to take if your tax code seems wrong

It’s important to deal with incorrect tax codes at once as they can have an impact on your finances.

Sometimes HMRC gets tax codes wrong or receives the necessary information too late.

You should contact HMRC if your tax code seems wrong.

If you think your tax code is wrong, you can update your employment details or tell HMRC about a change in income that may have affected your tax code online.

To do this you need to access your personal tax account using your Government Gateway user ID and password.

You can also use HMRC online chat or helpline to report a change in income.

Reclaiming Overpaid Taxes

You can usually reclaim overpaid taxes after HMRC updates your tax code.

If HMRC update your tax code and you’ve paid too much or too little tax, HMRC will usually send you a tax calculation letter (known as a ‘P800’) which will tell you how you can get your refund.

You can normally claim refunds online if you have a Government Gateway account. If your tax calculation letter says you’ll get a cheque, HMRC will send this to you automatically.

Settling Outstanding Taxes

If you need to settle outstanding taxes, HMRC will tell you how to do this when it writes to you with a P800 letter.

If you:

• owe £3,000 or more
• owe income tax that cannot be automatically taken out of your income
• have to pay tax on the state pension

HMRC may send you a ‘Simple Assessment’ letter instead, either by post or via your personal tax account.

Who to contact for assistance with my tax code?

If you think your tax code is wrong you should contact HMRC as soon as possible.

This can be done in the following ways:

• By phone on 0300 200 3300
• Online at www.tax.service.gov.uk/ask-hmrc/chat/
• By post via Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS
  Watch for scams. HMRC doesn't make outbound calls or send texts.

Common Questions About tax codes

What are the tax bands in the UK?

There are four tax bands in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: zero rate, 20%, 40% and 45%.

Scotland has six bands: zero rate, 19%, 20%, 21%, 42% and 47%.

Tax bands are marginal which mean you only pay the specified tax rate on that portion of your salary or taxable income.

Everyone has a personal allowance of £12,570 – you don’t pay tax on this proportion of your income. The main exception to this is if you earn £100,000 or more per year - then the personal allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 of income above the £100,000 limit, potentially all the way down to zero.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the following tax bands apply after the personal allowance has been used.

Do I have a tax code if I am a student?

Students will be issued tax codes on the same basis as other workers.

Students will only pay tax if they earn more than the personal allowance (£12,570 for the 2023/24 tax year) in a year. This works out to about £1,048 a month.

How do I find my tax code if I am self-employed?

Tax codes apply to PAYE (Pay As You Earn) income, so you don’t have a tax code if you are self-employed.

You will need to complete a Self-Assessment tax return and pay tax via Self-Assessment instead.

You might have a tax code if you are self-employed but work for a company that pays you via PAYE, or if you have income from a pension.

What is a tax year?

In the UK the tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the following year. For example, the 2024/25 tax year runs from 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025.

Additional Resources for Tax Code Information

The government website is the best resource for tax code information. You can visit it at www.gov.uk/money/income-tax

There is also useful information on the government-backed money advice site Money Helper.