UK Tax Codes Explained 2026/27: Full List and Meanings
Every UK tax code explained for 2026/27 - a full list of what 1257L, BR, D0, D1, K, 0T, NT and emergency codes mean, and how to fix a wrong one.
Full list of UK tax codes and what they mean
Every current UK tax code for the 2026/27 tax year, with a plain-English meaning and the situation that triggers it. Codes are set by HMRC and shown on your payslip, P60, P45 and in your Personal Tax Account.
| Code | What it means | When you see it |
|---|---|---|
| 1257L | The standard code: full £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance, spread evenly across the year. | Most employees and pensioners with one income, no company benefits and no adjustments. |
| Other number + L | Standard allowance reduced (or raised) by an adjustment. The number times 10 is your tax-free amount, so 1100L = £11,000. | You have a company benefit-in-kind, or HMRC is recovering a small tax debt through your code. |
| K (e.g. K475) | A negative allowance: deductions exceed your £12,570 PA, so the K number times 10 is added to your taxable pay (K475 = +£4,750). | Large benefits-in-kind, State Pension above the allowance, or tax owed from a previous year. |
| BR | Basic Rate: all income from this source taxed at 20%, with no Personal Allowance. | A second job or pension when your main income already uses your allowance. |
| D0 | Higher Rate: all income from this source taxed at 40%, with no Personal Allowance. | A second income when your main job already fills the basic-rate band (over £50,270). |
| D1 | Additional Rate: all income from this source taxed at 45%, with no Personal Allowance. | A second income when your main job already exceeds £125,140. |
| 0T | No Personal Allowance; income runs through the normal 20% / 40% / 45% bands from the first pound. | Allowance fully used or lost (income over £125,140), or a new job with no P45 or Starter Checklist. |
| NT | No Tax: zero Income Tax is deducted from this income at source. | Rare - certain non-residents, treaty relief, or specific exempt cases. |
| L (suffix) | You get the standard tax-free Personal Allowance. The normal suffix on most codes. | Any straightforward code, e.g. 1257L. |
| M (suffix) | Marriage Allowance received: £1,260 added to your allowance, giving code 1383M (£13,830 tax-free). | Your spouse or civil partner has transferred 10% of their allowance to you. |
| N (suffix) | Marriage Allowance transferred: £1,260 given to your partner, giving code 1131N (£11,310 tax-free). | You have transferred 10% of your allowance to your spouse or civil partner. |
| T (suffix) | Your code includes other items HMRC reviews each year. | gov.uk: the code "includes other calculations to work out your Personal Allowance". Your P2 coding notice or Personal Tax Account shows which. |
| W1 / M1 / X | Emergency, non-cumulative suffix: each pay period is taxed in isolation on 1/52 (W1) or 1/12 (M1) of your allowance. | After a job change, before HMRC has your full year-to-date record. Usually you overpay until it is fixed. |
| S (e.g. S1257L) | Scottish taxpayer: Scotland’s six bands apply - 19% starter, 20% basic, 21% intermediate, 42% higher, 45% advanced, 48% top. | Your main home is in Scotland for most of the tax year (your employer’s location does not matter). |
| SBR / SD0 / SD1 / SD2 / SD3 | Scottish flat-rate codes: SBR 20% basic, SD0 21% intermediate, SD1 42% higher, SD2 45% advanced, SD3 48% top. | A Scottish second job or pension where your allowance is already used elsewhere. |
| S0T | Scottish 0T: no allowance, Scottish bands applied from the first pound. | A Scottish taxpayer whose allowance is used, or a new Scottish job without a P45. |
| C (e.g. C1257L) | Welsh taxpayer: Welsh Rates of Income Tax apply. For 2026/27 they match England - 20% / 40% / 45%. | Your main home is in Wales for most of the tax year. |
| CBR / CD0 / CD1 | Welsh flat-rate codes: CBR 20% basic, CD0 40% higher, CD1 45% additional. | A Welsh second job or pension where your allowance is already used elsewhere. |
| C0T | Welsh 0T: no allowance, Welsh bands applied from the first pound. | A Welsh taxpayer whose allowance is used, or a new Welsh job without a P45. |
Meanings verified against HMRC - What your tax code means and the 2026/27 Income Tax rates.
In-depth guide to each code
Click any code for a dedicated page with scenarios, worked examples, and an FAQ covering the most common questions.
- 1257L
1257L is the default UK tax code for 2026/27. It gives you the full £12,570 Personal Allowance before Income Tax is deducted - the number 1257 is your allowance divided by 10, and the L means a standard untouched allowance.
- BR
BR stands for 'Basic Rate'. It taxes 100% of pay from that source at 20%, with no Personal Allowance. HMRC uses it most often on second jobs and pensions, where your £12,570 PA is already used up by the main income.
- D0
D0 applies a flat 40% higher-rate to all pay from this source. HMRC uses it when they believe your total income already sits above the basic-rate band.
- D1
D1 applies a flat 45% additional rate to 100% of pay from this source. HMRC uses it when your total income already exceeds the £125,140 additional-rate threshold.
- K
A K-prefix tax code (e.g. K475) means your taxable deductions exceed your Personal Allowance. The number represents extra taxable income added to your pay, not a tax-free amount.
- NT
NT stands for 'No Tax'. Your employer or pension provider deducts zero Income Tax at source - unusual, and always tied to a specific reason HMRC has recorded.
- 0T
0T (zero-T) gives you no Personal Allowance. Tax is calculated on every pound of your pay using the normal bands (20%, 40%, 45%) as if your whole income is taxable.
- 1257L W1/M1/X
An 'emergency' tax code is a non-cumulative version of your main code. You'll see W1 (weekly), M1 (monthly), or X (either) appended - each pay period is taxed in isolation, which usually means you pay more tax than you owe.
- W1 / M1 / X
W1, M1 and X suffixes mean your PAYE is calculated on a non-cumulative basis - each pay period treated in isolation, ignoring year-to-date earnings. You get 1/52 or 1/12 of your Personal Allowance each period.
- S prefix
The S prefix (e.g. S1257L, SBR, SD0) tells PAYE you are a Scottish taxpayer. Income Tax follows Scotland's 6-band system: 19% starter, 20% basic, 21% intermediate, 42% higher, 45% advanced, 48% top.
- C prefix
The C prefix (e.g. C1257L, CBR, CD0) identifies you as a Welsh taxpayer for Income Tax. Welsh rates for 2026/27 currently mirror rUK (20%/40%/45%) but the Welsh government has devolved rate-setting power.
- T suffix
A T suffix means your tax code "includes other calculations to work out your Personal Allowance" (gov.uk). HMRC reviews T codes itself rather than letting employers apply a Budget change automatically. The number still represents your annual tax-free amount.
- L suffix
L is the most common UK tax code suffix - it indicates you receive the standard Personal Allowance with no special items. The numeric portion × 10 gives your annual tax-free amount, so 1257L = £12,570 PA for 2026/27.
- M suffix
M is the Marriage Allowance recipient suffix. Your spouse has transferred £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to you, raising your tax-free amount from £12,570 to £13,830 (1383M for 2026/27). Saves £252/year for a basic-rate taxpayer.
- N suffix
N is the Marriage Allowance transferor suffix. You have given £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your spouse. Your tax-free amount reduces from £12,570 to £11,310 (1131N for 2026/27). Net household saving £252/year via the recipient spouse.
- SBR
SBR codes a Scottish taxpayer at the 20% Basic Rate on every pound of income from this employment, with no Personal Allowance applied. Used most often when your primary job has already used your full PA, and a second job needs all income taxed.
- CBR
CBR codes a Welsh taxpayer at the 20% Basic Rate on every pound of income from this employment, with no Personal Allowance applied. For 2026/27 the Welsh Rates of Income Tax mirror rest-of-UK rates exactly, so CBR cash effect is identical to BR.
- 1131N
1131N is the code of the partner who gave Marriage Allowance away. The N suffix means you have transferred £1,260 of your £12,570 Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner, leaving £11,310 - which is where 1131 comes from.
- 1383M
1383M is the code of the partner who received Marriage Allowance. The M suffix means £1,260 of your husband, wife or civil partner’s Personal Allowance has been added to your own £12,570, giving £13,830 - which is where 1383 comes from.
- 1263L
1263L is the standard code with a small expenses allowance added. £12,570 plus £60 gives £12,630, which is where 1263 comes from. The £60 is almost always the default flat rate expense for washing and maintaining your own work uniform.
How a tax code is built
Your tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much tax-free allowance to apply before deducting Income Tax from your pay. Most codes have two parts: a number and a letter.
The number is your Personal Allowance divided by 10. For 2026/27 the standard allowance is £12,570, so the standard code is 1257L. The allowance has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021/22 and is set to stay there until April 2031 (extended from the original April 2028 end at the Autumn Budget 2025) (gov.uk - Income Tax rates), so 1257L stays the default code for most people. If you claim Marriage Allowance you might see 1383 (£13,830) as the recipient or 1131 (£11,310) as the person who transferred it.
The letter modifies the allowance or flags something special about you: L for the standard allowance, M or N for Marriage Allowance, T for items HMRC reviews each year, and BR / D0 / D1 for income taxed entirely at one rate. A K prefix reverses the logic - see below.
Marriage Allowance codes: M and N
Marriage Allowance lets a non-taxpaying spouse transfer £1,260 (10% of the Personal Allowance) to a basic-rate partner, worth £252 a year in saved tax (gov.uk - Marriage Allowance). The recipient's code becomes 1383M (£12,570 + £1,260 = £13,830) and the person who transferred it gets 1131N (£12,570 - £1,260 = £11,310). The non-taxpayer must earn under £12,570 and the recipient must be a basic-rate taxpayer (usually income up to £50,270; in Scotland a starter, basic or intermediate rate taxpayer, usually up to £43,662).
K codes: the negative allowance
A K code means your deductions exceed your Personal Allowance. Instead of subtracting an allowance, HMRC adds the K number times 10 to your taxable income. K500 adds £5,000: if you earn £30,000, tax is worked out on £35,000. K codes usually appear when you have a valuable benefit-in-kind (such as a company car), owe tax from a previous year, or receive a State Pension above the £12,570 allowance. HMRC caps K-code deductions at 50% of your gross pay in any pay period, so your take-home never drops below half from this adjustment alone; anything over the cap carries forward.
Cumulative vs emergency (W1 / M1 / X) codes
A normal code is cumulative: PAYE looks at your total pay and allowance since 6 April and corrects any over- or under-payment in each payslip. An emergency code adds W1, M1 or X and switches to non-cumulative - each pay period is taxed in isolation, with only 1/52 (weekly) or 1/12 (monthly) of your allowance applied and no year-to-date adjustment. There is no separate emergency tax rate; the bands are the standard 20% / 40% / 45%. Emergency codes appear when you start a job without a P45, or take a flexible pension drawdown, and usually mean you overpay until HMRC switches you back to a cumulative code (gov.uk - Emergency tax codes).
Scottish (S) and Welsh (C) codes
An S prefix marks a Scottish taxpayer. Scotland sets its own bands: for 2026/27 that is a 19% starter rate, 20% basic, 21% intermediate, 42% higher, 45% advanced and 48% top rate. Scottish flat-rate second-job codes are SBR (20%), SD0 (21%), SD1 (42%), SD2 (45%) and SD3 (48%). A C prefix marks a Welsh taxpayer; the Welsh Rates of Income Tax currently match England (20% / 40% / 45%) but are devolved and could diverge in future. In both cases the £12,570 Personal Allowance and National Insurance are UK-wide - only the Income Tax bands differ. Where you live, not your employer's location, decides the S prefix: the test in the Scotland Act 1998 s.80D turns mainly on a close connection with Scotland (s.80E: your only UK place of residence is there or, with more than one, your main one is there for more of the year than in any other part of the UK), not on an address you have registered.
Where to find your tax code
- Any recent payslip - shown near your National Insurance number.
- Your P60 (annual summary) or P45 (when you leave a job).
- Your P2 Coding Notice - the letter HMRC sends when it sets or changes your code, showing the allowances and deductions that add up to it.
- Your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app, which show the current code and how it was calculated.
A worked example
On code 1257L earning £30,000 a year, paid monthly (£2,500/month), month 1: payroll's monthly free pay for 1257L is £1,048.26 (PAYE builds the code from £12,579, not £12,570), and taxable pay is rounded down to the pound, so £2,500 − £1,048.26 gives £1,451. Income Tax at 20% is £290.20, and Class 1 National Insurance (8% on pay above the £1,048 monthly primary threshold) is £116.16, leaving net pay of £2,093.64 that month. Our salary calculator works on the annual figures and shows £2,093.30 a month; the difference of a few pence is payroll rounding.
What to do if your code looks wrong
- Check your latest payslip for the current code and any W1/M1/X suffix.
- Log in to your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account to see HMRC's breakdown of the allowances and deductions behind it.
- If it looks wrong - a benefit you no longer receive, a duplicate employment, or a missing Marriage Allowance - update it online or call HMRC on 0300 200 3300.
- Over-paid tax within the year is usually refunded automatically through later payslips once the code is corrected.
- Under-paid tax is often collected by adjusting the following year's code, spreading the cost.
Common tax-code mistakes to watch for
- Emergency tax dragging on. A new job on W1/M1/X should switch to cumulative within a pay cycle or two once HMRC has your P45 or Starter Checklist. Chase it if it does not.
- Old company car still on your code. If you returned a benefit but it still reduces your allowance, you are over-paying. Tell HMRC.
- Missing Marriage Allowance. If one partner earns under £12,570 and the other pays tax at the basic rate (in Scotland, the starter, basic or intermediate rate), claiming it is worth £252 a year.
- BR on the wrong job. If your bigger income is coded BR while a smaller job holds the allowance, ask HMRC to swap them so the allowance sits on the higher earner.
Related tools
- Salary calculator - see how your tax code affects take-home.
- Two-jobs calculator - common use-case for BR/D0 codes.
- Scottish income tax bands - detail behind the S prefix.
- Methodology - all sources + testing approach.
Frequently asked questions
What are all the UK tax codes and what do they mean?
The core UK tax codes for 2026/27 are: 1257L (standard £12,570 allowance), BR (all at 20%), D0 (all at 40%), D1 (all at 45%), 0T (no allowance, banded rates), K (negative allowance), NT (no tax), and the M/N suffixes for Marriage Allowance. Prefixes S (Scotland) and C (Wales) apply regional rates, and W1/M1/X mark an emergency, non-cumulative code. The full list with meanings is in the table below.
What does tax code 1257L mean?
1257L is the standard UK tax code for 2026/27 - "1257" represents your Personal Allowance (£12,570) divided by 10, and "L" means you get the standard allowance. Unchanged because the PA is frozen until April 2031 (the original April 2028 freeze was extended a further 3 years at the Autumn Budget 2025).
What is BR tax code?
BR means Basic Rate - all income from this job is taxed at 20% with no Personal Allowance. Common for second jobs when the PA is already assigned to your main employment.
What are D0 and D1 codes?
D0 = all at higher rate (40%). D1 = all at additional rate (45%). Typically applied to second jobs or pensions when you are already a higher / additional rate taxpayer.
What is a K tax code?
A K code means your deductions (e.g. untaxed benefits, tax owed from previous years) exceed your Personal Allowance. The number after K, multiplied by 10, is a 'negative allowance': it is added to your taxable pay instead of being taken off it.
What is NT?
NT = No Tax. gov.uk describes it as "You're not paying any tax on this income". It does not apply to statutory sick pay, which is taxable (ITEPA 2003 s.660) and goes through PAYE like other pay. If you have NT and think it is wrong, contact HMRC, because tax not taken during the year may be collected later.
How do I fix a wrong tax code?
Log into your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account, or call HMRC on 0300 200 3300. Over-paid tax is usually refunded via PAYE in subsequent months; under-paid tax may be collected in next year's code.
What's an emergency tax code?
Codes ending in W1 (week 1), M1 (month 1), or X - HMRC uses these when it lacks enough info. They tax only the current period in isolation, ignoring year-to-date earnings. Usually replaced once HMRC has your P45 or Starter Checklist.