Why has HMRC put me on 0T?

Three common reasons: (1) you started a new job without giving a P45 or a Starter Checklist, so your employer had to use 0T on a week 1/month 1 basis while waiting for HMRC; (2) your income exceeds £125,140, so your Personal Allowance has been fully tapered to zero (£1 of allowance is removed for every £2 of income above £100,000, reaching zero at £125,140); (3) HMRC explicitly removed your allowance - for example because it is being used at another job or pension, a large benefit-in-kind, or recovery of a tax debt. Check your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account to see which applies.

Can I stay on 0T permanently?

Yes - if your income exceeds £125,140 and HMRC has correctly tapered your Personal Allowance to zero, 0T is the standard working code for additional-rate taxpayers and is not an error. Most £125k+ PAYE employees see 0T on every payslip indefinitely. It is only "wrong" when your allowance should actually be available at this source.

What's the difference between 0T and BR?

BR applies 20% flat to everything. 0T uses the full band structure (20/40/45%) but without a PA. For high earners, 0T is more punitive - higher-rate income gets 40% from pound one, whereas BR stops at 20%. For a low-paid second job the two codes give identical tax; for a £60,000 second source, BR collects £12,000 (20% of everything) while 0T collects £16,460 (£37,700 at 20% plus £22,300 at 40%).

Is 0T the same as an emergency tax code?

Not strictly. The emergency code is 1257L W1/M1/X. 0T on a week 1/month 1 basis is the starter code a new employer must use when you give it neither a P45 nor a Starter Checklist, so it often gets called emergency tax. Plain 0T without a suffix is an ordinary working code and stays in place until HMRC changes it.

How fast can I get 0T corrected?

Give your employer your P45 or a Starter Checklist and they can update your code in payroll from the next payday. A code sent by HMRC can take up to 35 days from when you start, according to gov.uk. Any over-paid tax is refunded through later payslips once you are on a cumulative code, or after the year ends - you do not need to file Self Assessment for it.

Does 0T taper with the £100k+ PA reduction?

Yes. Once your income exceeds £125,140, HMRC tapers your PA to zero and codes you 0T. Anyone earning above that threshold on a PAYE scheme should expect 0T as the working code.

Will I get a refund from a 0T code?

Yes, if 0T was applied while your Personal Allowance was actually unused. Once your employer has your P45, or a Starter Checklist with Statement A, you move to a cumulative code (a Statement B checklist gives 1257L week 1/month 1 instead), and the next cumulative payslip recalculates year-to-date and refunds the over-paid tax automatically - you do not need to file Self Assessment. For over-tax on a flexibly accessed pension payment, forms P55, P50Z and P53Z let you claim it back within the same tax year.

I gave my employer my P45 but I'm still on 0T - what now?

Two possibilities: the employer has not yet put the P45 through payroll, or HMRC has overriding records. gov.uk says an updated code can take up to 35 days from when you start. If you are still on 0T after that, ask HR/payroll to confirm they have reported it to HMRC via Real Time Information, then call HMRC on 0300 200 3300 to ask why the code has not been updated.

Does the 0T code apply in Scotland?

Yes - Scottish taxpayers see S0T. The mechanism is identical (no Personal Allowance), but the bands above are Scottish: 19% on the first £3,967, 20% to £16,956, 21% to £31,092, 42% to £62,430, 45% to £125,140, then 48% above. A Scottish higher earner on S0T can therefore be paying 42-48% from a relatively low income level, which is more punitive than the rest-of-UK 0T equivalent.

Tax Code · 2026/27

0T Tax Code: No Personal Allowance UK 2026/27

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.

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What the 0T tax code means

The 0T tax code strips your Personal Allowance entirely — the numeric 0 is literally £0 ÷ 10. Unlike BR (flat 20% everywhere) or D0 (flat 40%), 0T runs your income through the full band structure, but with no PA.

It is often confused with 'emergency' coding because it is the starter code when a new employee gives the employer neither a P45 nor a Starter Checklist: gov.uk tells employers to use 0T on a week 1/month 1 basis in that case. Like BR it gives no Personal Allowance, so tax starts from the first pound; unlike BR it runs through the rate bands, so pay above the basic-rate band is taxed at the higher and additional rates.

Persistent 0T usually means HMRC has been told your PA is fully used elsewhere or fully lost — for example, if income exceeds £125,140 (PA tapers to zero) or if tax allowances have been adjusted away by substantial deductions.

Reading the code: the letter is a capital "T", but many payslip systems print it as "OT" with a capital "O" that looks identical to a zero - either way the mechanics are the same (no allowance, full bands). Scottish taxpayers see S0T (Scottish bands above) and Welsh taxpayers C0T. A 0T W1, 0T M1 or 0T X suffix is the non-cumulative variant, taxing each pay period in isolation - the most punitive standard combination, because it strips both the allowance and the year-to-date smoothing.

If your employer put you on 0T, they are almost certainly not at fault: employers must apply whatever code HMRC issues, and when a new starter provides neither a P45 nor a Starter Checklist, the gov.uk starter rules give 0T on a week 1/month 1 basis until HMRC sends a code. BR is a different starter outcome - it applies only when the Starter Checklist says you have another job or a pension (Statement C).

When you'll see 0T

You started a new job without providing a P45 or a Starter Checklist - the employer must use 0T on a week 1/month 1 basis.
Your income exceeds £125,140 and HMRC has tapered your PA to zero.
HMRC has set a "no allowances" indicator on your record, for example because your allowance is given against another job or pension (PAYE Manual PAYE11015).
Unusual circumstances where HMRC explicitly codes you with no PA across all sources.

What to do if you have a 0T code

Provide your new employer with a P45 from your previous job, or complete a Starter Checklist (Statement A if this is your first job since 6 April and you have had no taxable benefits or pension), as soon as you can - with Statement A the employer can move you to 1257L itself. The employer reports you to HMRC through Real Time Information, and gov.uk says a code sent by HMRC can take up to 35 days from when you start.
Log into your Personal Tax Account to see HMRC's reasoning for 0T — the tax code notice explains any PA removal. If it says HMRC has no information from your employer, the fix is an RTI submission; ask payroll to confirm they have reported you.
If you gave your employer a P45 but are still on 0T more than 35 days after starting, ask HR/payroll to confirm they have reported it to HMRC via RTI, then call HMRC directly to ask why the code has not updated - occasionally HMRC has overriding records that need correcting.
If you believe 0T is wrong and your PA should apply, call HMRC on 0300 200 3300 with your National Insurance number to hand.
For over-tax on a flexibly accessed pension payment, you can claim it back in the same tax year rather than waiting for year-end: form P55 if you have not emptied the pot and will not take regular or flexible payments before the end of the tax year, P50Z if you have emptied it and stopped work, or P53Z if you have emptied it and are still working (gov.uk guidance for each form).
Any over-tax from temporary 0T is otherwise refunded automatically once HMRC switches you to a cumulative code (the next payslip rebalances year-to-date), or via a P800 reconciliation after the tax year ends (sent between June and March of the following year).

Worked example

£35,000 salary on 0T: no PA, so all £35,000 is taxed. Tax: 20% × £35,000 = £7,000 (the whole amount falls in basic-rate band). Compare with 1257L: £22,430 taxable × 20% = £4,486. The 0T code over-taxes by £2,514 (that is £12,570 of lost allowance × 20%), or about £210 a month, until corrected. For a higher-rate taxpayer the over-tax is larger, because the lost £12,570 of allowance sits in the 40% band: a £75,000 earner on 0T pays roughly £5,028 (£12,570 × 40%) more than on 1257L. Above £125,140 there is genuinely no PA anyway, so 0T is the correct working code and there is nothing to reclaim.

Want to see the numbers for your own salary? Use the salary calculator and pick 2026/27 to see how 0T interacts with your full take-home.

Frequently asked questions about 0T

Why has HMRC put me on 0T?: Three common reasons: (1) you started a new job without giving a P45 or a Starter Checklist, so your employer had to use 0T on a week 1/month 1 basis while waiting for HMRC; (2) your income exceeds £125,140, so your Personal Allowance has been fully tapered to zero (£1 of allowance is removed for every £2 of income above £100,000, reaching zero at £125,140); (3) HMRC explicitly removed your allowance - for example because it is being used at another job or pension, a large benefit-in-kind, or recovery of a tax debt. Check your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account to see which applies.
Can I stay on 0T permanently?: Yes - if your income exceeds £125,140 and HMRC has correctly tapered your Personal Allowance to zero, 0T is the standard working code for additional-rate taxpayers and is not an error. Most £125k+ PAYE employees see 0T on every payslip indefinitely. It is only "wrong" when your allowance should actually be available at this source.
What's the difference between 0T and BR?: BR applies 20% flat to everything. 0T uses the full band structure (20/40/45%) but without a PA. For high earners, 0T is more punitive - higher-rate income gets 40% from pound one, whereas BR stops at 20%. For a low-paid second job the two codes give identical tax; for a £60,000 second source, BR collects £12,000 (20% of everything) while 0T collects £16,460 (£37,700 at 20% plus £22,300 at 40%).
Is 0T the same as an emergency tax code?: Not strictly. The emergency code is 1257L W1/M1/X. 0T on a week 1/month 1 basis is the starter code a new employer must use when you give it neither a P45 nor a Starter Checklist, so it often gets called emergency tax. Plain 0T without a suffix is an ordinary working code and stays in place until HMRC changes it.
How fast can I get 0T corrected?: Give your employer your P45 or a Starter Checklist and they can update your code in payroll from the next payday. A code sent by HMRC can take up to 35 days from when you start, according to gov.uk. Any over-paid tax is refunded through later payslips once you are on a cumulative code, or after the year ends - you do not need to file Self Assessment for it.
Does 0T taper with the £100k+ PA reduction?: Yes. Once your income exceeds £125,140, HMRC tapers your PA to zero and codes you 0T. Anyone earning above that threshold on a PAYE scheme should expect 0T as the working code.
Will I get a refund from a 0T code?: Yes, if 0T was applied while your Personal Allowance was actually unused. Once your employer has your P45, or a Starter Checklist with Statement A, you move to a cumulative code (a Statement B checklist gives 1257L week 1/month 1 instead), and the next cumulative payslip recalculates year-to-date and refunds the over-paid tax automatically - you do not need to file Self Assessment. For over-tax on a flexibly accessed pension payment, forms P55, P50Z and P53Z let you claim it back within the same tax year.
I gave my employer my P45 but I'm still on 0T - what now?: Two possibilities: the employer has not yet put the P45 through payroll, or HMRC has overriding records. gov.uk says an updated code can take up to 35 days from when you start. If you are still on 0T after that, ask HR/payroll to confirm they have reported it to HMRC via Real Time Information, then call HMRC on 0300 200 3300 to ask why the code has not been updated.
Does the 0T code apply in Scotland?: Yes - Scottish taxpayers see S0T. The mechanism is identical (no Personal Allowance), but the bands above are Scottish: 19% on the first £3,967, 20% to £16,956, 21% to £31,092, 42% to £62,430, 45% to £125,140, then 48% above. A Scottish higher earner on S0T can therefore be paying 42-48% from a relatively low income level, which is more punitive than the rest-of-UK 0T equivalent.

All UK tax codes →

Sources & further reading

All figures and definitions on this page reflect the 2026/27 UK tax year and are cross-checked against HMRC guidance.

HMRC — What your tax code means (official meanings for L, BR, D0, D1, K, 0T, NT, M, N, S, C, T)
HMRC — Income Tax rates and Personal Allowance (2026/27 bands and thresholds)
HMRC — Emergency tax codes (W1, M1 and X suffixes)
HMRC — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
HMRC — Your Personal Tax Account (check your current code and how it was calculated)
Our methodology & calculation sources →