Tax Codes explained

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863486#Comment_81863486

The emergency code is 1257L. What code does she think she should be on?

And yes, assuming she doesn't have to file a tax return for any reason any extra tax owed or refund due will be sorted automatically.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-overpayments-and-underpayments

LightFlare

She is also in receipt of a teachers/uni pension which I believe may "complicate" things a touch

Teachers pension ~£4k p.a — tax code on this is 1170L — net 330 a month

NHS pension ~ £19.15k p.a —- tax code on this is 112T —- net 1295 a month

I think this means she is getting slightly over taxed on the NHS part - to me it all looks to be ~£150 a month "short"

Below is her NHS pension this year

(retired starting 1st June 2025)

Hopefully it all gets straightened after April.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863693#Comment_81863693

Neither of those is the emergency code (1257L).

Did she have Income from a previous employment in this tax year as well?

That could be a factor but if these pensions are her only income she might save a lot of hassle by calling HMRC after she gets her final payments for 2025/26 and getting them to make the NHS pension her main source of income.

Then she can (probably) have 1257L at that and a BR (basic rate) code for the Teachers pension.

LightFlare

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863741#Comment_81863741

yes - she had full time wages from Uni for April/May

will def get in touch with them in the new tax year — many thanks for the help

MV33

Are the tax codes the same for 2026-27 tax year?

molerat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81951332#Comment_81951332

What exactly do you mean ?

Tax codes are individual according to your personal circumstances.

The personal allowance of £12570 which, with no adjustments, gives a code of 1257L for many is remaining the same.

The tax bands in England, Wales and NI are remaining the same but in Scotland the 20% and 21% thresholds are increasing with the higher bands staying the same.

MV33

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81951351#Comment_81951351

Thanks! I was just double-checking because even with the 1257L code staying the same, the frozen thresholds mean most people will effectively be paying more tax this year if they've had a pay rise. I'm just trying to get my head around what the actual net pay looks like for 2026/27 compared to last year.