Is BR an emergency tax code?

Not technically. Emergency codes are 1257L with W1, M1 or X on the end, which give you the allowance but ignore your year-to-date pay. BR is a flat-rate code that gives no allowance at all. Both can be wrong, but they are wrong in different ways and BR usually costs more.

How much extra tax do I pay on a BR tax code?

If BR is wrongly applied to your only or main job, you lose the £12,570 personal allowance and pay 20% on it: £2,514 a year, about £209.50 a month. The overpayment is the same across typical salaries because the lost allowance is the same size.

Do I get BR tax back automatically?

For the current tax year, yes. Once HMRC corrects your code, payroll recalculates your tax for the year to date and refunds the difference through your next pay. Overpayments from earlier tax years come back separately via a P800 calculation letter from HMRC.

Should my second job be on tax code BR?

Usually yes. Your main job normally uses the whole personal allowance, so a second job is correctly taxed at 20% from the first pound. The exception is if your combined income reaches the higher-rate band, where the right code for the second job is D0 at 40%.

What is the difference between BR and 0T?

Neither gives you a personal allowance, but BR taxes everything at a flat 20% while 0T applies the normal tax bands, so larger pay can hit 40% or 45%. Employers use 0T when a new starter provides no checklist at all, and BR when the checklist says you have another job or pension.

// Source citations for the factual claims in this guide (kept out of the // rendered tree: flow-level MDX comments break Next scroll-on-navigation). export const sources = [ "source: https://www.gov.uk/tax-codes/what-your-tax-code-means retrieved 2026-06-12: BR = "All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate (usually used if you've got more than one job or pension)"; D0 = higher rate, D1 = additional rate, same multiple-job context; 0T = personal allowance used up or employer lacks the details needed to give a tax code", "source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-the-onboarding-process-for-new-starters-communication-resources/employer-help-card-how-to-support-your-new-employees-to-get-the-right-pay-faster-understanding-the-starter-declaration-form retrieved 2026-06-12: starter declaration statement C means another job or a pension; "If the starter checklist shows that your new employee should be on starter declaration code C, use tax code BR"; no checklist at all means code C with tax code 0T", "source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/starter-checklist-for-paye retrieved 2026-06-12: the starter checklist is used when you do not have a P45 or the employer needs more information", "source: https://www.gov.uk/tax-codes/how-to-update-your-tax-code retrieved 2026-06-12: fix via the Check your Income Tax online service (sign in, check employment details, update anything wrong or missing); HMRC tells you and your employer the new code within 15 working days; wait 35 days after starting a new job before contacting HMRC; new code appears on the payslip within 1 to 3 pay cycles", "source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-your-tax-code-when-you-start-a-new-job retrieved 2026-06-12: "Your new tax code will make sure any overpayments are paid back to you through your pay" once the corrected code is in place for the current tax year", "source: https://www.gov.uk/tax-overpayments-and-underpayments/if-youre-employed retrieved 2026-06-12: overpayments from earlier tax years are reconciled by HMRC via a P800 tax calculation letter", "source: site/lib/tax/config.ts (2026/27, verified in-repo against gov.uk 2026-06-10): personal allowance £12,570; basic rate 20% on taxable income to £37,700 (£50,270 gross); Scottish basic rate also 20%. Worked figures: 20% of £12,570 = £2,514 a year = £209.50 a month; £28,000 on 1257L = £3,086 tax a year (£257 a month), on BR = £5,600 (£467 a month)", ];

Guide · 4 minute read

Why is my tax code BR?

BR means every pound from that job or pension is taxed at the basic rate of 20%, with no tax-free personal allowance. It is correct for most second jobs; on your only or main job it is usually a mistake that costs about £209.50 a month.

What BR actually does

A normal tax code like 1257L tells your employer to give you the personal allowance, £12,570 of tax-free pay in 2026/27, spread across the year, and then tax the rest through the usual bands. BR (Basic Rate) skips all of that. Payroll taxes the whole of your pay from that employment at 20%, from the first pound, with no allowance at all.

HMRC's own definition is blunt: all your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate, usually used if you have more than one job or pension. That phrase "usually used" is the key to whether your BR code is right or wrong. (Scottish taxpayers see SBR instead, which works the same way at the Scottish basic rate, also 20% in 2026/27.)

When BR is correct

You only get one personal allowance, and PAYE normally attaches all of it to one job. So if you have a main job that already uses the full £12,570, a second job genuinely should be taxed at 20% from the first pound. BR on the second job is exactly right, and you are not paying extra tax overall; the allowance is simply being used elsewhere.

The same logic applies if you have a workplace or private pension in payment alongside a job: one source gets the allowance, the other often gets BR.

One honest caveat: BR is a flat 20%, so it can undertax as well as overtax. If your combined income pushes the second job's pay into the higher-rate band, a flat 20% is too little and the right code is D0 (everything at the higher rate). HMRC usually catches this after the year ends and asks for the difference, so it is worth checking rather than enjoying the surprise.

When BR is a mistake

The classic failure is starting a new job without a P45. Your new employer asks you to complete a starter checklist instead, and the checklist has three statements: A (first job this tax year), B (had another job earlier this year, but this is now my only one), and C (I have another job or pension). Tick C, or leave the form ambiguous, and the employer is instructed to put you on BR. If they get no checklist at all, they use 0T, which also strips the allowance.

So BR lands on people's only job through entirely mundane routes: a lost P45, a checklist filled in hastily on a first day, ticking C because an old job had not formally ended yet, or payroll defaulting when paperwork arrives late. The employer is following the rules; the rules just have no way of knowing the allowance is sitting unused.

If you are not sure what your current code should be, the tax code checker walks through it in a minute.

What it costs you each month

A wrong BR code on your main job taxes your personal allowance at 20%. That is 20% of £12,570, which is £2,514 a year, or roughly £209.50 a month, and it is the same overpayment whether you earn £20,000 or £45,000, because the lost allowance is the same size.

Concretely, on a £28,000 salary in 2026/27 the correct code (1257L) produces income tax of £3,086 for the year, about £257 a month. On BR the same salary is taxed £5,600, about £467 a month. National Insurance is unaffected either way; tax codes only drive income tax. You can sanity-check your own payslip against the take-home pay calculator.

How to fix it, and how the money comes back

You do not fix this through your employer; they can only use the code HMRC sends them. The route is:

Sign in to your personal tax account (the Check your Income Tax service on gov.uk) or the HMRC app.
Check the employments and estimated income HMRC holds for you, and update anything wrong or missing, for example an old job that never got closed off.
HMRC issues the corrected code to you and your employer, normally within 15 working days, and it shows up on your payslip within one to three pay cycles. If you have just started the job, give HMRC 35 days to receive your details before chasing.

The refund part is the pleasant bit: for the current tax year you do not need to claim anything. A corrected cumulative code makes payroll recalculate your tax for the year to date, so the overpaid amount comes back automatically through your next pay. If the wrong code ran across the end of a tax year, HMRC reconciles the closed year separately and sends a P800 calculation letter telling you how to get that refund.

Free tool

Tax code checker

What your tax code means, and whether HMRC is taking too much from your pay.

Common questions

Is BR an emergency tax code?: Not technically. Emergency codes are 1257L with W1, M1 or X on the end, which give you the allowance but ignore your year-to-date pay. BR is a flat-rate code that gives no allowance at all. Both can be wrong, but they are wrong in different ways and BR usually costs more.
How much extra tax do I pay on a BR tax code?: If BR is wrongly applied to your only or main job, you lose the £12,570 personal allowance and pay 20% on it: £2,514 a year, about £209.50 a month. The overpayment is the same across typical salaries because the lost allowance is the same size.
Do I get BR tax back automatically?: For the current tax year, yes. Once HMRC corrects your code, payroll recalculates your tax for the year to date and refunds the difference through your next pay. Overpayments from earlier tax years come back separately via a P800 calculation letter from HMRC.
Should my second job be on tax code BR?: Usually yes. Your main job normally uses the whole personal allowance, so a second job is correctly taxed at 20% from the first pound. The exception is if your combined income reaches the higher-rate band, where the right code for the second job is D0 at 40%.
What is the difference between BR and 0T?: Neither gives you a personal allowance, but BR taxes everything at a flat 20% while 0T applies the normal tax bands, so larger pay can hit 40% or 45%. Employers use 0T when a new starter provides no checklist at all, and BR when the checklist says you have another job or pension.

Guidance and education, not regulated financial advice.