Your tax code is the single instruction that tells your employer or pension provider how much tax-free income you’re allowed before deductions begin — get it wrong, and you could be paying more (or less) tax than you should for months without noticing.
Codes change with each Budget and can also shift because of a new job, a second income, company benefits, or an HMRC error, which is why it pays to check yours regularly rather than assume it’s correct.
Below you’ll find straightforward answers on how to find your tax code, what the letters and numbers mean, and what steps to take if you think HMRC has got it wrong.
Anyone who is employed, or has income through PAYE, is given a tax code by the tax office (HMRC)…
Checking your tax code is a valuable exercise to make sure the right amount of tax is being deducted from your income…
An emergency tax code is used by your employer because your correct tax code is not available…
BR stands for Basic Rate and means all your income from this source is taxed at 20%…
The 2024/2025 tax year starts on the 6th April 2024 bringing with it changes to the way some people pay tax…
The 2023/2024 tax year starts on the 6th April 2023 bringing with it changes to the way some people pay tax…
Your tax code is used by your employer and/or pension provider to calculate the amount of income tax to deduct…
The 2026/2027 tax year starts on the 6th April 2026 bringing with it changes to the way some people pay tax…
Estimate how much tax you should pay on your income…
Free tax rebate guides and calculators helping UK taxpayers claim HMRC tax refunds since 2001.
