Tax on two jobs · 2026/27 tax year
Tax on a second job when your total pay is under £50,270
If your main job uses your £12,570 Personal Allowance and your total pay stays under £50,270, your second job is taxed at a flat 20% on every pound through the BR code. That is the right amount, not emergency tax: with £30,000 from your main job and £8,000 from a second, the second job pays £1,600 a year, about £133.33 a month, and the two together pay exactly the £5,086 due on £38,000.
Second job tax rules checked against GOV.UK on .
Tax code on second job
BR
20% on every pound
Tax on £8,000 second job
£1,600
£133.33 a month
Owed at year end
£0
if total pay stays under £50,270
NI on £8,000 second job
£0
under the £1,048 a month threshold
Main job on 1257L plus a second job on BR, 2026/27
Tax a year on each job under its code, and the right tax on the total pay with one allowance. While total pay stays under £50,270, BR takes the right amount.
| Main job pay | Second job pay | Tax on main (1257L) | Tax on second (BR) | Right tax on total | Owed at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £22,000 | £1,800 | £1,886 | £360 | £2,246 | None |
| £25,000 | £5,000 | £2,486 | £1,000 | £3,486 | None |
| £30,000 | £8,000 | £3,486 | £1,600 | £5,086 | None |
| £35,000 | £10,000 | £4,486 | £2,000 | £6,486 | None |
| £40,000 | £10,000 | £5,486 | £2,000 | £7,486 | None |
What a BR second job pays you each month
Paid monthly. Employee National Insurance is worked out on this job alone, so it only starts above £1,048 a month.
| Second job pay a year | Pay a month | Tax a month (BR) | NI a month | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £5,000 | £416.67 | £83.33 | £0 | £333.33 |
| £8,000 | £666.67 | £133.33 | £0 | £533.33 |
| £12,000 | £1,000 | £200 | £0 | £800 |
| £15,000 | £1,250 | £250 | £16.16 | £983.84 |
Why the whole second job is taxed
GOV.UK says you only get one Personal Allowance each tax year even with income from more than one job, and it is usually given to the job that pays you the most. Your main job already gives you the £12,570 tax-free, so none is left for the second job, and BR taxes all of it at the basic rate.
GOV.UK's own example
A permanent job paying £22,000 uses the whole allowance and pays £1,886 tax. A seasonal job paying £1,800 on BR pays £360. Together that is £2,246, exactly the tax due on £23,800.
When BR stops being enough
BR never charges 40%. If your two jobs together pay more than £50,270, the part above that should be taxed at 40% but BR only takes 20%, so you will owe the difference. See the higher rate page for worked figures.
Scotland
Scottish taxpayers get SBR on a second job, which taxes all of it at the Scottish basic rate of 20%. Because Scotland has a 21% intermediate rate from £29,527, a Scottish second job on SBR can leave a small amount to pay once total pay passes that point.
Getting your codes changed
If BR is on the job that pays you most, or on your only job, you are probably paying too much. Check each job is listed correctly in the PAYE section of your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app, and update your income in HMRC's Check your Income Tax service. HMRC tells you and your employers any new code within 15 working days. You can also call the Income Tax helpline on 0300 200 3300 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).
Guides and definitions
- Why is my tax code wrong? What it means and how to fix it (Guide)
- Emergency tax code (An emergency tax code, marked W1, M1 or X, taxes each payday on its own, as if you were paid that amount every period of the year.)
- Marginal tax rate (Your marginal tax rate is the share of your next pound or dollar of income that goes in tax and deductions.)
- P11D (A P11D is the form UK employers send HMRC by 6 July to report each employee's taxable benefits and expenses that were not taxed through payroll.)
- P60 (A P60 is the yearly summary of your pay and tax from one employer, due by 31 May if you work there on 5 April.)
- Personal Allowance (The Personal Allowance is the income you can earn each UK tax year before Income Tax starts: £12,570 for 2026/27.)
Other second job situations
- Second job at 40% (D0) (When a second job takes you over £50,270)
- Splitting your allowance (Main job under £12,570: move the unused allowance)
- National Insurance on two jobs (Each job has its own NI threshold)
- Self-employed side income (The £1,000 trading allowance and Self Assessment)
Second job tax: the overview · BR tax code explained · D0 tax code explained · Second job tax calculator · Work out tax on your own two jobs
Common questions
Why is my second job taxed at 20%?
Because your main job uses your whole £12,570 allowance, so the second job gets the BR code and every pound of it is taxed at the basic rate. GOV.UK says BR is usually used if you have more than one job or pension. It is not emergency tax.
How much tax will I pay on a second job?
20% of its pay while your total stays under £50,270. A second job paying £5,000 a year costs £1,000, £8,000 costs £1,600 and £10,000 costs £2,000, whatever your main job pays within that limit.
Will I get a tax refund on my second job?
Not usually. If your main job pays at least £12,570 and your total is under £50,270, BR takes the right amount. With £30,000 and £8,000, you pay £5,086 in total, exactly the tax due on £38,000.
Do I pay National Insurance on a part-time second job?
Only if that job alone pays more than £1,048 a month or £242 a week. NI is worked out on each job separately, so an £8,000 second job paid monthly pays no employee NI, while a £15,000 one pays £16.16 a month.
Is BR the right code for my second job?
Yes if your main job pays at least £12,570 and your total pay is under £50,270. If your main job pays less than £12,570, ask HMRC to split your allowance. If it pays over £50,270, D0 is more likely to be right.
Sources and assumptions
- Income Tax for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), with the same pay every month from both jobs for the whole year.
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates unless a table says Scotland. The main job is on 1257L with the standard £12,570 allowance and pay under £100,000.
- Employee National Insurance is worked out on each job's monthly pay with HMRC's monthly thresholds (£1,048 and £4,189), so yearly totals can differ by a few pence from an annual sum.
- GOV.UK: How tax works if you have more than one job
- GOV.UK: Tax codes, what your tax code means
- GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances
- GOV.UK: If you think your tax code is wrong
- GOV.UK: Income Tax enquiries (HMRC contact)
These are estimates to help you understand tax on more than one job, not tax advice. HMRC and your employers' payroll decide what you actually pay.