Tax Code Checker 2026/27: what your tax code means
Type in the tax code from your payslip or P45 to see what each part means in plain English. Add your salary to see the tax it gives compared with the standard 1257L code.
How tax codes work
Your tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much of your pay to leave tax-free before taking income tax. HMRC sets it and sends it to them. You can find it on your payslip, your P45 or P60, or in your HMRC online account.
Most codes are a number followed by a letter. Take off the letter and multiply the number by 10 to get the amount you can earn from that job in the tax year without paying tax. The standard code is 1257L, which matches the standard Personal Allowance of £12,570.
What the letters mean
| Code or letter | What it means |
|---|---|
| L | You get the standard tax-free Personal Allowance. |
| M | You have received £1,260 of your spouse's or civil partner's allowance through Marriage Allowance. |
| N | You have transferred £1,260 of your allowance to your spouse or civil partner. |
| T | Your code includes other calculations to work out your allowance. |
| S or C at the start | S means you pay Scottish Income Tax rates. C means you pay Welsh rates. |
| K at the start | You have income that is not being taxed another way and it is worth more than your tax-free allowance. The amount is added to your taxable pay. |
| BR | All income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate, 20%. |
| D0, D1 | All income from this job is taxed at the higher rate, 40% (D0), or the additional rate, 45% (D1). |
| SD0 to SD3 | Scotland: all income taxed at the intermediate rate, 21% (SD0), higher rate, 42% (SD1), advanced rate, 45% (SD2) or top rate, 48% (SD3). |
| 0T | You have no tax-free allowance from this job. |
| NT | No tax is taken from this income. |
| W1, M1 or X at the end | An emergency code: tax is worked out on each payday on its own (NONCUM on some payslips). |
Worked examples
You earn £35,000 and your code is 1100L. Your tax-free pay is 1100 × 10 = £11,000, so your taxable pay is £24,000. Income tax at 20% is £4,800. On 1257L the tax would be £4,486 (20% of £22,430), so this code takes £314 more a year.
You earn £30,000 and your code is K475. Instead of tax-free pay, £4,750 is added to your pay, so you are taxed on £34,750. At 20% that is £6,950, compared with £3,486 on 1257L. The extra tax covers income that is not taxed another way.
Emergency tax codes
If your code ends in W1, M1 or X, or your payslip says NONCUM, you are on an emergency basis. Each payday is taxed on its own, rather than on your total pay so far this tax year. This often happens when you start a new job or your employer does not have your details. It is usually put right when HMRC sends your employer an updated code. If you paid too much, you normally get it back through your pay or from HMRC; our tax rebate calculator can help you check.
Related calculators
See your tax band by band with the income tax calculator, or your full net pay with the take home pay calculator. If your code ends in M or N, the Marriage Allowance calculator shows how much you and your partner save. Think you have paid too much? Try the tax rebate calculator.
How this is worked out
We read the parts of your code and explain each one. If you add a salary, we take off the tax-free amount (or add the K amount), then apply the 2026/27 income tax bands for your nation to what is left. BR and D codes tax all pay at one rate, and NT means no tax.
What this calculator assumes
- Tax year 2026/27. S codes use Scottish rates. C codes and codes with no prefix use the England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands.
- The tax-free amount is the code number × 10.
- The salary is your only pay from this job for the whole tax year. The estimate is for a full year, not period by period.
- For 1257L, the allowance is reduced above £100,000 of income. For other codes, the amount in the code is used as it is.
- K codes: the rule that limits extra tax to half your pay each payday is not applied.
- Income tax only. National Insurance does not depend on your tax code.
Sources
- Tax codes (GOV.UK)
- What your tax code means (GOV.UK)
- Emergency tax codes (GOV.UK)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax (GOV.UK)
Rates checked against GOV.UK on 12 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
1257L is the standard tax code. The number means you can earn £12,570 a year from this job before paying income tax, which is the standard Personal Allowance. The L means you get the standard allowance with no changes.
Emergency codes end in W1, M1 or X, or show as NONCUM on a payslip. They are often used when you start a new job, start a pension or your employer does not have your details yet. Tax is worked out on each payday on its own, not on your total pay so far this tax year. Your code is usually updated once HMRC has your details, and any tax you overpaid is normally paid back.
A K code means you have income that is not being taxed another way and it is worth more than your tax-free allowance. Instead of tax-free pay, the number times 10 is added to your taxable pay. For example, K475 adds £4,750. The extra tax taken each payday cannot be more than half of your pay for that period.
BR means all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate of 20%, with no tax-free amount. It is usually used for a second job or pension, because your Personal Allowance is used by your main job.
A code other than 1257L is not necessarily wrong. It may reflect a second job, company benefits or Marriage Allowance. You can check your code and the reasons for it with HMRC. If you have paid too much tax, it is usually refunded through your pay or by HMRC.