Tax code decoder
£12,570 of tax-free pay this year
What each part means
- The number 1257 means you get £12,570 to £12,579 of tax-free pay in the year, which is £1,048.25 a month or £241.90 a week. Multiply the number by 10 to get the rough annual amount.
- The letter T means the code includes other calculations HMRC needs to review, most often because your income is over £100,000 and your Personal Allowance is being reduced.
Your tax-free pay under this code
Per year
£12,579
Per month
£1,048.25
Per week
£241.90
Everything you earn above this is taxed at the normal rates. On a cumulative code, unused allowance from earlier months carries forward.
Does it look right?
Higher than the standard allowance, so HMRC has given you extra tax-free pay for something.
- Common reasons are job expenses, professional subscriptions, Marriage Allowance, or higher-rate pension or Gift Aid relief.
- Check the reason still applies. If you stopped paying the expense or the pension contribution, tell HMRC or you will underpay and get a bill.
If you think it is wrong
- 1
Sign in to your Personal Tax Account. Under PAYE you can see what HMRC thinks you earn from each source and what is in your code, and you can correct most of it yourself.
Personal Tax Account (GOV.UK) - 2
If you would rather talk to someone, ring the Income Tax helpline on 0300 200 3300 with your National Insurance number to hand. Ask them to explain each line of your code and to send you a P2 if you have not had one.
Income Tax enquiries (GOV.UK) - 3
Once HMRC changes your code they send the new one to your employer or pension provider. Any tax you overpaid earlier in the year comes back automatically in your next pay on a cumulative code.