S1257L tax code: Scottish rates explained

S1257L compared with 1257L in 2026/27

Income Tax a year on the same salary for a Scottish taxpayer and for someone in England or Northern Ireland.

Scottish Income Tax bands 2026/27

For someone with the standard £12,570 allowance, from GOV.UK.

Who gets an S code

You pay Scottish Income Tax if your main home is in Scotland. If you have homes in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, HMRC goes by your main home, usually where you live and spend most of your time. With no home, you are a Scottish taxpayer if you spend more days in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK in the tax year.

Moving to or from Scotland

You pay Scottish rates if you live in Scotland longer than anywhere else in the UK during the tax year. HMRC backdates the change to 6 April and adjusts the tax from your wages automatically, so tell HMRC your new address as soon as you move.

Where Scotland is cheaper and dearer

The 19% starter rate makes Scottish tax a little lower on modest pay. From £29,527 the 21% intermediate rate applies, and from £43,663 the 42% higher rate starts, well below the £50,270 point in the rest of the UK, so higher earners in Scotland pay more.

Other Scottish codes

S0T means no tax-free pay at Scottish rates, SBR taxes everything at 20%, and SD0, SD1, SD2 and SD3 tax everything at 21%, 42%, 45% or 48%. These are mostly used on second jobs or pensions.

If you think this code is wrong

If you live in Scotland and your code has no S, or you do not live in Scotland and it does, your address details at HMRC are probably out of date. 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)
• C1257L tax code (Standard allowance, taxed at Welsh rates)
• 1257M / 1383M tax code (You receive £1,260 of Marriage Allowance from your partner)
• 1257N / 1131N tax code (You transfer £1,260 of Marriage Allowance to 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