Emergency Tax Codes and How to Fix Them
Summary
Starting a new care job, or juggling more than one, can land you on an emergency or incorrect tax code and leave you paying too much tax. This article explains what codes like 1257L W1/M1, 0T and BR mean, how to check your code, and how to get it corrected and any overpaid tax refunded.
- Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (PAYE system)
- Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003
What a tax code is
Your tax code tells your employer's payroll how much income tax to take from your pay under PAYE (Pay As You Earn). It appears on your payslip, usually near your name or National Insurance number. If the code is wrong, the tax taken from your wages will be wrong, and in care work, where people often move between employers or hold several jobs at once, wrong codes are common.
The standard code for most people with one job is currently 1257L. It means you get the standard tax-free Personal Allowance of 12,570 pounds spread evenly across the year. You can read more about how codes work at gov.uk/tax-codes.
Common emergency and non-standard codes
| Code | What it means | Typical effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1257L W1, 1257L M1 or 1257L X | An emergency, non-cumulative code. W1 means week 1, M1 means month 1. Each payday is taxed in isolation, ignoring the rest of the tax year. | You get a slice of your Personal Allowance each payday but no adjustment for earlier weeks or months, so refunds owed to you do not come through automatically. |
| 0T | No Personal Allowance is applied at all, often because your employer does not have the information needed to give you a code. | Tax is taken from the first pound you earn. Often too much tax. |
| BR | All pay from this job is taxed at the basic rate of 20 per cent, with no allowance. | Normal and often correct for a second job, because your allowance is used against your main job. Usually wrong if applied to your only job. |
Why care staff end up on emergency codes
- You started a new job and did not give your new employer a P45 from your last job.
- You did not complete a starter checklist (the form that replaced the old P46) or the information on it was incomplete.
- You work for more than one employer or agency, and HMRC has split or allocated your allowance in a way that no longer matches your earnings.
- You moved from self-employment, from a period on benefits, or from study into employment.
- You started receiving a workplace or private pension alongside earnings.
An emergency code is meant to be temporary. It should be replaced once HMRC has matched your job to its records, but this does not always happen without a prompt.
How to check your code
- Look at your payslip. Note the code and whether W1, M1 or X appears after it.
- Sign in to your personal tax account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account or use the HMRC app. You can see every job and pension HMRC has on record for you, the code for each, and an estimate of the tax you will pay.
- Check the jobs listed are right. A very common problem for care staff is an old employer still showing as live, which can leave your allowance attached to a job you no longer have.
How to fix it
- Give your new employer your P45 from your previous job as soon as you can. If you do not have one, ask to complete a starter checklist and answer it accurately, especially the question about other jobs.
- Update your details online. In your personal tax account you can tell HMRC that a job has ended, that estimated pay is wrong, or that allowances should be moved between jobs.
- Phone HMRC on 0300 200 3300 (Income Tax enquiries) if you cannot fix it online. Have your National Insurance number and payslips to hand.
- Your employer cannot change your code themselves. Payroll must use the code HMRC issues, so the fix always goes through HMRC, but once the corrected code arrives your employer must apply it.
Getting overpaid tax back
Once HMRC issues a corrected cumulative code, any tax you have overpaid in the current tax year is usually refunded automatically through your wages over the following paydays. If the overpayment relates to a previous tax year, HMRC will normally send a calculation (a P800) and you can claim online. See gov.uk/claim-tax-refund. If you stopped working part-way through a year, you may also be able to claim an in-year refund.
Keep your payslips and P45s. They are your evidence if the figures need correcting later.
Where to get help
- HMRC Income Tax helpline on 0300 200 3300, or your personal tax account online, for anything to do with your tax code or a refund.
- Citizens Advice can help you understand deductions and deal with HMRC if you are struggling.
- Your union can help if your employer is applying codes incorrectly or delaying refunds through payroll.
- Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 if a tax code problem has turned into a dispute with your employer about pay.
Guidance, not advice. This article is general information based on the position at the last update date. It is not legal advice — for your specific circumstances speak to ACAS, your union, your regulator or a solicitor as appropriate.