Two Jobs Tax Calculator

How the two jobs tax calculator works

1. 1

   Enter the pay for each job

   Add the annual gross pay for your main job and your second job. The calculator combines them to work out Income Tax, because Income Tax is charged on your total taxable income for the year rather than on each job in isolation.

2. 2

   Set the tax code applied to each job

   Choose the code on each payslip. A main job usually carries 1257L for the standard Personal Allowance, while a second job commonly uses BR, D0 or D1, or a Scottish equivalent, with no allowance.

3. 3

   Compare the tax each code would take

   The calculator shows what the common flat second-job codes would deduct so you can see whether the code currently on your second job is taking roughly the right amount, too much or too little.

4. 4

   Check the combined liability against what is being deducted

   The result shows the total Income Tax and National Insurance across both jobs, which tells you whether your codes are likely to leave you underpaid or overpaid at the end of the tax year.

How tax on two jobs is calculated

Income Tax = tax bands applied to (job 1 pay + job 2 pay) minus one Personal Allowance Employee National Insurance = calculated separately on each job's own earnings Total deductions = Income Tax + NI on job 1 + NI on job 2

• •One Personal Allowance of £12,570 covers all your employments for 2026/27, which is why a second job normally has no allowance of its own.
• •National Insurance is assessed per employment rather than on combined pay, so two jobs each below the primary threshold can pay little or no employee National Insurance.
• •In real payroll, National Insurance is worked out for each pay period rather than annually, so the annual estimate here can differ slightly from the total on your payslips.
• •Scottish taxpayers use the Scottish rates and bands and the S-prefixed flat codes such as SBR, SD0 and SD1.

Worked example: a £30,000 main job and a £12,000 second job

Marcus earns £30,000 in his main job with a 1257L tax code and £12,000 in a second job with a BR code, in the 2026/27 tax year, and lives in England.

Job 1 pay and tax code

£30,000 on 1257L

Job 2 pay and tax code

£12,000 on BR

Combined taxable income

£42,000

Income Tax on combined income

£5,886.00

Employee National Insurance on job 1

£1,394.40

Employee National Insurance on job 2

£0.00

Total Income Tax and National Insurance

£7,280.40

Marcus pays £7,280.40 across both jobs, and because job 2 uses a BR code the £2,400 deducted there matches the tax actually due on it.

Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026/27

Rates and thresholds for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish taxpayers use the Scottish rates and bands for Income Tax on non-savings income.

Source: UK Government, UK Government

What the second-job tax codes mean

1257L on your main job

1257L gives the standard Personal Allowance of £12,570 and is normally applied to the job or pension HMRC treats as your main source of income.

BR, D0 and D1 on a second job

BR taxes all pay from that job at the basic rate of 20%, D0 taxes it all at 40% and D1 taxes it all at 45%. The right one depends on how much of your basic-rate and higher-rate bands the main job already uses.

0T is different from BR

A 0T code gives no Personal Allowance but still applies the tax bands in order, so it can deduct more or less than BR depending on the level of pay in that employment.

Ask HMRC to move the allowance if the split is wrong

If your main job pays less than your Personal Allowance, some of the allowance may be going unused. HMRC can split the allowance between jobs or move it to the higher-paying one so you stop overpaying during the year.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get two Personal Allowances if I have two jobs?

No. You get one Personal Allowance for the tax year regardless of how many jobs or pensions you have, and for 2026/27 it is £12,570. It is normally set against your main job through a code such as 1257L, which is why a second job usually has a code with no allowance attached and can feel more heavily taxed than it really is.

What does a BR tax code on my second job mean?

BR stands for basic rate. It means every pound from that job is taxed at 20% with no Personal Allowance applied, because the allowance is already being used against your main job. If your combined income stays inside the basic-rate band, a BR code on the second job usually collects close to the right amount of tax across the year.

Will I pay more National Insurance because I have two jobs?

Not necessarily, and sometimes less than you would on the same total pay from one job. Employee National Insurance is worked out separately on each employment, so earnings below the primary threshold in each job may attract little or no National Insurance even though the combined figure is well above it. Income Tax works the opposite way and is charged on your total income.

Why might I owe tax at the end of the year with two jobs?

Underpayments usually happen when the flat code on your second job does not match your real marginal rate. If your combined income crosses into the higher-rate band but the second job is still on BR, only 20% is being deducted on income that should be taxed at 40%. The calculator's code comparison highlights that gap so you can contact HMRC before it becomes a bill.

Which job should my Personal Allowance be applied to?

Generally the job that pays the most, so the allowance is used in full. If your main job pays less than £12,570 the unused part of the allowance is wasted week by week, and you would only recover it after the end of the tax year. HMRC can split the allowance across employments or reassign it if you tell them how your work is arranged.