1257N and 1131N tax codes: Marriage Allowance transferred

What the transfer costs you and saves as a couple

Your Income Tax on 1131N and 1257L, and the most your basic-rate partner saves. Marriage Allowance is meant for someone earning under their Personal Allowance, so these examples stay below £12,570.

Who should transfer

You can benefit if you are married or in a civil partnership, you do not pay Income Tax or earn under your Personal Allowance, and your partner pays the basic rate (starter, basic or intermediate rate in Scotland). If you earn more than £12,570 the transfer costs you as much as it saves your partner, so it gains nothing.

Why 1131N and not 1257N

Your tax-free amount is £12,570 minus £1,260, which is £11,310. HMRC drops the last digit and adds N, giving 1131N. A code of 1257N would still mean you have transferred the allowance, so check how HMRC worked out the number in your online account.

Stopping the transfer

It carries on every year until you cancel. You must cancel if your relationship ends, your income changes so you no longer qualify, or you no longer want to claim. After a change of income it runs to 5 April; after a relationship ends it may be backdated to 6 April.

Marriage Allowance helpline

To cancel or get help by phone, GOV.UK lists Marriage Allowance enquiries on 0300 200 3300, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. You can also cancel online, where you prove your identity using information HMRC holds.

If you think this code is wrong

If you did not make a Marriage Allowance claim but your code ends in N, contact HMRC. Sign in to HMRC's Check your Income Tax service (gov.uk/check-income-tax-current-year) and check your jobs, pensions, benefits and expenses. HMRC then tells you and your employer any new code within 15 working days; it should show on your next or following payslip if you are paid monthly, or your third if weekly. If you cannot go online, call the Income Tax helpline on 0300 200 3300 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). After starting a new job, wait 35 days before calling.

Guides and definitions

• High Income Child Benefit Charge: how it is worked out and cut (Guide)
• How to read your payslip: every line explained, with an example (Guide)
• Emergency tax: how it works and how to get your money back (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.)
• 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.)
• Tax code (A UK tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much tax-free pay to give you; 1257L, meaning £12,570, is the most common.)

Check your own tax code and pay

Other tax codes explained

• 1257L tax code (Standard tax-free allowance of £12,570 on one job or pension)
• Emergency codes (W1, M1, X) tax code (Emergency basis: each payment taxed on its own)
• S1257L tax code (Standard allowance, taxed at Scottish rates)
• C1257L tax code (Standard allowance, taxed at Welsh rates)
• 1257M / 1383M tax code (You receive £1,260 of Marriage Allowance from your partner)
• BR tax code (All pay taxed at the 20% basic rate, no allowance)
• 0T tax code (No tax-free pay; all pay taxed through the bands)
• D0 tax code (All pay taxed at the 40% higher rate)
• D1 tax code (All pay taxed at the 45% additional rate)
• SD0, SD1, SD2, SD3 tax code (Scottish flat-rate codes at 21%, 42%, 45% or 48%)
• K codes tax code (Untaxed income or deductions bigger than your allowance)
• NT tax code (No tax taken from this job or pension)

Every UK tax code in one table · Salary after tax calculator · Check your own tax code and pay

Common questions