Emergency Tax Code Guide
Understand why you might be on an emergency tax code and estimate how much extra tax it could be costing you compared to your normal tax code.
Calculate Your Emergency Tax
Enter your pay and the emergency tax code shown on your payslip to see roughly how much extra tax is being deducted compared to your normal tax code.
Pay & Tax Code Details
Enter what’s on your latest payslip
Tax Comparison
Emergency code tax vs. standard tax code
Common Emergency Tax Codes
What each emergency tax code means and how it affects the tax taken from your pay.
| Code | Meaning | Effect on Pay |
|---|---|---|
| 1257L W1 / M1 | Standard allowance, non-cumulative basis | Usually close to normal tax |
| BR | Basic Rate, no personal allowance | 20% flat on all pay from this job |
| 0T | No personal allowance applied | Taxed across all bands from £0 |
| D0 | All income at higher rate | 40% flat on all pay from this job |
| D1 | All income at additional rate | 45% flat on all pay from this job |
Emergency Tax Code FAQ
Everything you need to know about emergency tax codes and getting them corrected.
An emergency tax code is a temporary code HMRC or your employer applies when they don’t have enough information about your income history, such as when starting a new job without a P45. It can result in more tax being deducted than you actually owe.
Common reasons include starting a new job without giving your employer a P45 from a previous job, starting your first job partway through the tax year, receiving company benefits or the State Pension alongside a salary, or returning to work after being self-employed.
1257L W1/M1 still gives you the standard tax-free personal allowance but calculates tax non-cumulatively, treating each pay period in isolation. BR gives no personal allowance at all and taxes all of your income from that job at the basic rate of 20%.
Give your employer your P45 from a previous job, or complete HMRC’s starter checklist if you don’t have one. HMRC usually updates your tax code automatically once it has the correct information, and any overpaid tax is typically refunded through your pay or a tax rebate.