Where do I find it?
On your payslip, your P60, or in your personal tax account or the HMRC app. HMRC sets it, not your employer.
What does 1257L mean?
- S · Where you pay tax
- S for Scotland, C for Wales. No letter for England and Northern Ireland.
- 1257 · Your tax-free pay
- The number × 10: £12,570 a year with no Income Tax.
- L · Your allowance type
- L means the standard tax-free allowance.
- The number is your tax-free amount divided by 10. So 1257 means £12,570.
- The L means you get the standard tax-free allowance.
Your employer spreads that allowance across the year. If you’re paid monthly, roughly the first £1,047.50 of each month’s pay is tax-free.
Why might my number be different? HMRC lowers it to collect tax through your pay, for example if you owe tax from an earlier year or get a taxable benefit such as a company car.
Other common codes
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| L | You get the standard tax-free allowance |
| M | You’ve received Marriage Allowance from your partner |
| N | You’ve given part of your allowance to your partner |
| S at the start | You pay Scottish income tax, e.g. S1257L |
| C at the start | You pay Welsh income tax, e.g. C1257L |
| BR | All pay from this job is taxed at 20%, often for a second job |
| D0 | All pay from this job is taxed at 40% |
| D1 | All pay from this job is taxed at 45% |
| 0T | No tax-free allowance on this job |
| NT | No tax is taken from this pay |
| K | You have income or benefits worth more than your allowance, so extra tax is taken |
In Scotland, the codes that tax all your pay at one rate start with S too: SBR (20%), SD0 (21%), SD1 (42%), SD2 (45%) and SD3 (48%). In Wales, they start with C, such as CBR.
Emergency tax codes
If your code ends in W1, M1 or X, your employer is using an emergency code, often because you started a new job without a P45. You get the standard allowance for that week or month only, not for the year so far, so you might pay too much tax at first.
Once HMRC sends your employer the right code, any extra tax is usually paid back through your pay.
What if my code looks wrong?
Check that HMRC knows about all your jobs, pensions and benefits. You can see why your code was set, and update your details, in your personal tax account or the HMRC app, or by contacting HMRC. If you’ve paid too much, you’ll get it back through your pay or after the tax year ends.
See what your code means for your pay
Our salary calculator uses the standard 1257L code and shows your take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance. For the rates behind it, see UK income tax rates and bands.