Tax Code SD0 Explained
All income from this source taxed at the Scottish intermediate rate of 21%.
At a glance — SD0
- Personal Allowance
- £0
- Region
- Scotland
- Cumulative?
- Yes
- Code type
- Flat-rate / special
What does SD0 mean?
All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the Scottish intermediate rate.
How much tax will you pay on SD0?
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 | Scotland — income tax | Effective rate | Take-home (pre-NI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £4,200 | 21.0% | £15,800 |
| £30,000 | £6,300 | 21.0% | £23,700 |
| £50,000 | £10,500 | 21.0% | £39,500 |
| £80,000 | £16,800 | 21.0% | £63,200 |
| £100,000 | £21,000 | 21.0% | £79,000 |
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
SD0 compared with 1257L — the standard Scottish code most single-job employees with no adjustments are on — at the same salary, 2025-26 rates.
| Annual salary | SD0 tax | 1257L tax | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £6,300 | £3,483 | +£2,817 |
| £50,000 | £10,500 | £9,014 | +£1,486 |
| £80,000 | £16,800 | £21,764 | −£4,964 |
Should you be on tax code SD0?
Why you have this code
- A second job or pension in Scotland is taxed at the intermediate rate because your main income already uses your Personal Allowance and starter/basic-rate bands
How to fix it if SD0 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
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.
SBR — Scottish Basic Rate
Scottish equivalent of BR — all income from this source taxed at 20% with no Personal Allowance.
SD1 — Scottish Higher Rate
All income from this source taxed at the Scottish higher rate of 42%.
SD2 — Scottish Advanced Rate
All income from this source taxed at the Scottish advanced rate of 45% (introduced 2024-25, £75,001–£125,140 band).
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.