1257L is the tax code HMRC currently uses for most people who have one job or pension. The 1257 tells your employer you can earn £12,570 tax free in the 2026 to 2027 tax year, which is the standard Personal Allowance, and the L shows you get that standard allowance with nothing added or taken away. If W1, M1 or X follows it, your employer is using it as an emergency code.
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This page deals only with 1257L. Our guide to PAYE tax codes explains how the other numbers and letters work.
What does the number 1257 mean?
The number in a tax code shows how much tax free income you get from that job or pension in the tax year. HMRC’s guidance for employers says you usually multiply the number by 10 to find the income someone can earn before tax, so an employee on 1257L can earn £12,570 before being taxed.
£12,570 is the standard Personal Allowance for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, which runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. HMRC builds every code by starting with the Personal Allowance and then subtracting things such as untaxed income, before replacing the last digit with a letter. If nothing needs to be subtracted, the result is 1257L.
Payroll does not give you the whole £12,570 at once. HMRC’s rates and thresholds for employers set the 2026 to 2027 employee Personal Allowance at £242 a week or £1,048 a month, spread across the year.
What does the L at the end mean?
On GOV.UK the letter L means you are entitled to the standard tax free Personal Allowance. For employers, an L code tells them to deduct tax at the basic, higher and additional rates depending on how much taxable income you have.
The letter also has a practical job inside payroll. HMRC’s PAYE Manual explains that there are six suffixes (L, M, N, P, T and Y), and that suffixes let HMRC identify codes containing a particular allowance. If a Budget raised that allowance, HMRC could tell employers to increase every code with that suffix by a standard amount. The manual’s own example is that a £200 rise would mean raising all L codes by 20. A T suffix is used where HMRC does not want the employer to raise the code automatically.
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Who should have 1257L?
HMRC’s employer guidance describes 1257L as the code used for most people with one job and no untaxed income, unpaid tax or taxable benefits, such as a company car. If that describes you, 1257L on your main job or pension is usually right.
If you have a second job or a second pension, 1257L normally belongs on only one of them. HMRC says your Personal Allowance is usually allocated to the job that pays you the most, and the others usually get a code such as BR, or D0 or D1 if your total income is higher.
What do W1, M1 and X after 1257L mean?
1257L on its own is worked out cumulatively, so tax takes account of everything you have been paid since 6 April. 1257L is an emergency code only if it is followed by W1, M1 or X. HMRC’s guidance says W1 is used when you are paid weekly, M1 when you are paid monthly and X when your pay dates vary. On an emergency code your tax is based only on that week’s or month’s pay, as if you will earn the same amount every period, which can mean paying the wrong amount. Our guide to week 1 and month 1 tax codes covers this in more depth.
HMRC’s rates and thresholds for employers list 1257L W1, 1257L M1 and 1257L X as the emergency tax codes from 6 April 2026. A new employer without your P45 uses your starter checklist. HMRC’s PAYE Manual says Statement A (first job since 6 April) gets the emergency code on a cumulative basis, Statement B (now your only job) gets it on a week 1 or month 1 basis, and Statement C (you have another job or a pension) gets code BR.
Why might your code not be 1257L?
A different number or letter does not mean something has gone wrong. HMRC lists reasons your code can change, including when:
- your employer tells HMRC you have started or stopped getting benefits from your job
- the interest on your savings is more than your Personal Savings Allowance
- your weekly State Pension amount changes
- you claim Marriage Allowance
- you claim expenses that you get tax relief on
- you pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge through your wages or pension
- you have been on the wrong tax code and owe tax
Some changes swap the letter rather than the number. M and N codes are for Marriage Allowance, a K code means deductions are larger than your allowance (our PAYE tax codes guide covers K codes), and an S or C prefix means Scottish or Welsh rates apply (see S and C tax codes). High earners also lose the allowance gradually: it goes down by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, and it is zero at £125,140 or above. Our page on Personal Allowance tapering explains how that works.
How do you check or change a 1257L code?
HMRC says the quickest way is the Check your Income Tax online service, where you can review your employment and pension details, estimated taxable income and company benefits, and correct anything wrong or missing. If a change is needed, HMRC tells you and your employer the new code within 15 working days. Monthly paid employees should see it on the next or following payslip, and weekly paid employees on the third payslip.
If you have just started a new job, HMRC asks you to wait 35 days before getting in touch, because it usually updates your code within that time. Our guide on how to correct a wrong tax code walks through the steps.
What are the key 1257L figures for 2026 to 2027?
| Item | What it means for 2026 to 2027 |
|---|---|
| 1257 | £12,570 of tax free income for the year |
| Weekly and monthly tax free pay | £242 a week or £1,048 a month |
| L | Standard tax free Personal Allowance |
| 1257L W1, M1 or X | Emergency code: tax worked out on each pay period alone |
| Basic rate (England and Northern Ireland) | 20% on £12,571 to £50,270 |
| Higher rate | 40% on £50,271 to £125,140 |
| Additional rate | 45% over £125,140 |
What does 1257L mean in pounds for a typical salary?
Illustration only. Priya lives in England, has one job paying £30,000 a year and no other income or benefits. Her code is 1257L, so her first £12,570 is tax free. The remaining £17,430 sits within the basic rate band, so she pays 20%, which is £3,486 of Income Tax over the year, collected through payroll. National Insurance and pension contributions are ignored here.
If Priya changed jobs and her new employer used 1257L M1 for a month, her tax for that month would look at that month’s pay alone. Once her new employer has her P45 details and switches her back to 1257L, any overpayment is usually refunded through her pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1257L an emergency tax code?
Not by itself. HMRC says 1257L is an emergency code only when W1, M1 or X follows it. Plain 1257L is the normal cumulative code for most people with one job or pension.
Will 1257L change in April 2027?
The Budget 2026 rates and allowances annex shows a Personal Allowance of £12,570 for both 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028, so the standard code is not expected to move for that reason. Our page on frozen income tax thresholds covers the wider picture.
Does 1257L mean the first £12,570 I earn is tax free?
It means £12,570 across the tax year. Payroll spreads it as £242 a week or £1,048 a month, so if your pay in one period goes above that slice you can pay some tax even if your yearly total ends up below £12,570.
I earn over £100,000. Why am I still on 1257L?
HMRC may not yet know your full income. Your allowance falls by £1 for every £2 above £100,000. When your code is updated, HMRC estimates any tax owed and, where possible, adjusts your code to collect it over one or more tax years.
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Related cover: Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for most employers. Ask for a quote or call 01795 841 310.
Sources
- GOV.UK: What your tax code means
- GOV.UK: Numbers
- GOV.UK: Income tax rates
- GOV.UK: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
- GOV.UK: Letters
- GOV.UK: manual page PAYE11075
- GOV.UK: Employee tax codes
- GOV.UK: Emergency tax codes
- GOV.UK: manual page PAYE61030
- GOV.UK: How tax works if you have more than one job
Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 November 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.