How to check my tax code

What is a tax code?

Your tax code is a series of numbers and letters. Your employer or pension provider uses it to work out the tax to take from your pay or pension.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) tells them which code to use. If your tax code is wrong, you could pay too much or too little tax.

Look at your payslip to check how much tax and National Insurance you pay.

How do I check my tax code?

You can check 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.

The numbers in your tax code represent how much you can earn before you pay tax. This amount is called your ‘personal allowance’. The letters refer to your situation and how it affects your allowance.

In the code 1257L, the 1257 stands for £12,570. This is the personal allowance most people get. The ‘L’ means you get the standard tax-free 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. This is £12,570 for the 2026/27 tax year.

The K tax code

The K code means you have income that is not taxed another way. This income is worth more than your tax-free allowance. For example, you might owe tax from a previous year. This is then taken from your wages or pension.

The S tax code

The S code is used if you pay tax at Scottish rates.

SOT means your personal allowance has been used up. Or you have a new job, and your employer does not yet have the details to set your tax code.

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

SDO means all your pay from this job or pension is taxed at the middle rate in Scotland. This often applies if you have more than one job or pension.

SD1 means your pay from this job or pension is taxed at the higher rate in Scotland.

SD2 means it is taxed at the top rate. Both often apply if you have more than one job or pension.

The T and OT tax codes

T and OT codes mean other methods are used to work out your personal allowance.

OT means your personal allowance has been used up. Or you have a new job. Your employer may not yet have the details to set your tax code.

If T comes after a number that is not zero, you get a personal allowance. That number shows how much it is.

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 get an emergency tax code if HMRC does not get your details in time. This can happen if you start a new job. Or if you get company benefits. It can also happen if you start to get 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 details online. You can tell HMRC about a change in your income.

Log in to your personal tax account to do this. You need your Government Gateway ID and password.

You can also use HMRC online chat or phone to report a change.

Reclaiming overpaid taxes

You can usually get back the tax you have overpaid. This happens once HMRC updates your tax code.

If you paid too much or too little tax, HMRC will send you a P800 letter. It tells you how to get a refund.

You can claim refunds online with a Government Gateway account. If the letter says you will get a cheque, HMRC will send it to you.

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/hmrc-digital-assistant
• 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. You only pay each tax rate on the portion of your income that falls in that band.

Everyone gets a personal allowance of £12,570. You do not pay tax on this amount. If you earn more than £100,000 a year, your allowance goes down. It drops by £1 for every £2 you earn over £100,000. It can fall to zero.

The tax bands below apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They start after your 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 2026/27 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 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.

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 MoneyHelper.