Tax Code 0T Explained
No Personal Allowance — typically assigned when HMRC does not have enough information. Income taxed from £0 through normal bands.
At a glance — 0T
- Personal Allowance
- £0
- Region
- UK-wide (rUK / Wales)
- Cumulative?
- Yes
- Code type
- Flat-rate / special
What does 0T mean?
Your Personal Allowance has been used up or you have not provided enough information for your employer to work out your tax code. You still get the benefit of the basic and higher rate bands.
How much tax will you pay on 0T?
Annual income tax HMRC would deduct on 2025-26 rates for a range of salaries, assuming the full year on this code. National Insurance is additional and the same across the UK.
| Annual salary | England / Wales / NI — income tax | Effective rate | Take-home (pre-NI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £4,000 | 20.0% | £16,000 |
| £30,000 | £6,000 | 20.0% | £24,000 |
| £50,000 | £12,460 | 24.9% | £37,540 |
| £80,000 | £24,460 | 30.6% | £55,540 |
| £100,000 | £32,460 | 32.5% | £67,540 |
For Scottish / rUK side-by-side, or to model your own salary, student loan and pension contributions, use the tax code checker.
What you'll actually pay vs the standard code
0T compared with 1257L — the standard code most single-job employees with no adjustments are on — at the same salary, 2025-26 rates.
| Annual salary | 0T tax | 1257L tax | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £6,000 | £3,486 | +£2,514 |
| £50,000 | £12,460 | £7,486 | +£4,974 |
| £80,000 | £24,460 | £19,432 | +£5,028 |
Should you be on tax code 0T?
0T usually applies to a second job, pension or one-off payment. If you only have one source of income, you almost certainly should be on 1257L (or the S / C equivalent), so contact HMRC to correct it.
Why you have this code
- You started a new job without providing a P45 or completing a Starter Checklist
- Your Personal Allowance has already been used up against another source of income
- A temporary placeholder while HMRC investigates a coding query
- Your income is above the level where the Personal Allowance is fully tapered away
How to fix it if 0T is wrong
- Check your current code in the HMRC app, your Personal Tax Account, or your latest P2 coding notice or payslip.
- New job with no P45? Ask your employer for a Starter Checklist — completing it correctly is what moves you off a temporary code.
- Not sure what your P45 figures mean, or already overpaid? See the P45 box-by-box guide to decode what your employer reported, or run the tax refund estimator to check what you might be owed.
- If HMRC agrees your code was wrong, most in-year corrections refund automatically through payroll; larger over- or underpayments are settled via a P800 calculation after the tax year ends.
Related tax codes
580T — T Code £5,800 Allowance
T code — Personal Allowance is £5,800, typically applied when HMRC needs to review your allowance (e.g. high-income PA taper, split allowances, other adjustments).
1257L — Standard
The default HMRC tax code for most UK employees — gives you the full £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance.
S1257L — Scottish Standard
The Scottish version of the standard code. Same £12,570 allowance, but Scottish tax bands (19% / 20% / 21% / 42% / 45% / 48%) apply.
C1257L — Welsh Standard
The Welsh version of the standard code. Full £12,570 allowance with Welsh (rUK-aligned) rates.
FAQ
Is 0T an emergency tax code?
It behaves like one — 0T gives no Personal Allowance, so you are taxed from the first pound. It is often paired with W1/M1 when used as a genuine emergency basis for a new starter.
Why do I have 0T on a new job?
Most commonly because you did not give your new employer a P45 and did not complete a Starter Checklist, so HMRC has no information to confirm your allowance.
Check your own code: enter any HMRC tax code into the free tax code checker — it decodes the letters and number, shows your Personal Allowance, and estimates your take-home using 2025-26 or 2026-27 rates.
For the full plain-English guide to every UK tax code letter, prefix and suffix, see UK Tax Codes Explained 2026-27.
Sources
Tax code rules from gov.uk/tax-codes. Income tax rates from HMRC. Effective tax figures computed live from central configuration — correct for 2025-26.