Tax Code BR Explained
All income from this job or pension is taxed at the 20% basic rate, with no Personal Allowance. Usually a second job or pension.
At a glance — BR
- Personal Allowance
- £0
- Region
- UK-wide (rUK / Wales)
- Cumulative?
- Yes
- Code type
- Flat-rate / special
What does BR mean?
All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate of 20%. Usually used for a second job or pension.
How much tax will you pay on BR?
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 | £10,000 | 20.0% | £40,000 |
| £80,000 | £16,000 | 20.0% | £64,000 |
| £100,000 | £20,000 | 20.0% | £80,000 |
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
BR compared with 1257L — the standard code most single-job employees with no adjustments are on — at the same salary, 2025-26 rates.
| Annual salary | BR tax | 1257L tax | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £6,000 | £3,486 | +£2,514 |
| £50,000 | £10,000 | £7,486 | +£2,514 |
| £80,000 | £16,000 | £19,432 | −£3,432 |
Should you be on tax code BR?
BR 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 have a second job or pension and your Personal Allowance is already used against your main income
- You started a new job without submitting a P45 or completing a Starter Checklist
- HMRC has not yet processed the paperwork confirming this is a secondary source of income
How to fix it if BR 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
D0 — Higher Rate
All income from this job or pension taxed at 40% higher rate, with no allowance or basic rate band.
D1 — Additional Rate
All income from this job or pension taxed at 45% additional rate. Typically a second income for a top-rate taxpayer.
NT — No Tax
No tax deducted at source. Usually applies to non-UK residents, some pension situations, or specific tax-treaty arrangements.
1257L — Standard
The default HMRC tax code for most UK employees — gives you the full £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance.
FAQ
Will I get the BR tax back?
If BR is not the right code for your only or main income, yes — once HMRC corrects your code, any overpaid tax is refunded automatically through payroll, or you can claim it back via Self Assessment or a P800.
Is BR an emergency code?
Not officially — BR is a flat-rate code, not one of HMRC's W1/M1/X emergency codes. It commonly appears alongside a second job or pension while HMRC confirms your main source of income.
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.