What is a BR tax code and why have I got one?

Last updated January 2023

A tax code is a string of numbers and letters that tells your employer how your earnings should be taxed. You get one for each Pay As You Earn (PAYE) job you have, and it’s important to keep track of them. Any time your tax code changes, HMRC will alter the Income Tax you’re paying each year.

If you’ve been given a BR tax code, it basically means you’re being taxed at the basic rate of Income Tax (20%) on all of your income from this job, without the benefit of a tax-free Personal Allowance!

Generally speaking, this probably just means that you’ve got more than one job, and your Personal Allowance is being applied to the other one.

Example of PAYE on tax code BR

When you’ve got two jobs, your tax-free Personal Allowance is usually only applied to one of them. So for instance:

Your “main” job gets a tax code of 1257L, meaning the first £12,570 of it is tax-free.
Your second job now gets a BR tax code, so your entire income from it is taxed at the basic rate.

How to change my BR tax code

Most of the time, HMRC will alter your tax code for you as your circumstances change. However, there are times when you might end up on the wrong tax code – and when that happens you need to get it fixed fast. It’s your responsibility to get the problem sorted, and things can get very tricky if you don’t.

If you think your tax code’s wrong, you need to contact HMRC to make sure they have the information they need to put it right. If you’re claiming a tax refund with RIFT Tax Refunds, of course, we’ll check your tax code for you as part of the service. If you’re ever given the wrong code, we’ll get it corrected for you.

How to change your tax code

Could I be due a tax rebate?

Being on the wrong tax code can easily leave you paying the wrong amount of Income Tax on your earnings. For example, this can happen when:

You change jobs and your new employer doesn’t have the information they need to tax your pay properly.
You have a spouse who isn’t using all of their tax-free Personal Allowance, and you’re not claiming Marriage Allowance to transfer a chunk of their allowance to you.
You’ve claimed a tax refund and HMRC has altered your tax code to factor in your expenses. If those expenses change from year to year, your tax code can end up wrong.

Any of these situations can mean you’re paying too much Income Tax and might be able to claim tax back. Get in touch with RIFT to find out more about tax rebates, and to see how the UK’s leading experts can get back everything you’re owed.

Start your claim for free >

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What is a BR tax code and why have I got one?

Example of PAYE on tax code BR

How to change my BR tax code

Could I be due a tax rebate?

Want more?Want to save some money?

More on tax codes

What is a 1257l tax code?

Am I on the wrong tax code?

HMRC tax codes explained

What is a BR tax code and why have I got one?​

Example of PAYE on tax code BR

How to change my BR tax code

Could I be due a tax rebate?

Want more?Want to save some money?

More on tax codes

What is a 1257l tax code?

Am I on the wrong tax code?

HMRC tax codes explained

What is a BR tax code and why have I got one?