Tax code NT: what it means

What NT says

GOV.UK says NT means you are not paying any tax on this income.

GOV.UK's guidance for employers says that with an NT code no tax is deducted, and that it is for very specific cases, for example musicians who are regarded as self-employed and not subject to PAYE.

Letters in a tax code refer to your situation, and how it affects your tax-free Personal Allowance and the rates of tax you pay.

NT and the codes it is mistaken for

A code with no tax deducted is not the same as a code with no allowance. The difference is in what the employer is told to do.

GOV.UK's guidance for employers says that with a 0T code tax is deducted from all income and there is no Personal Allowance. It is used when an employee has not given the employer a P45 or enough details to work out a code, or when their Personal Allowance has been used up.

GOV.UK's guidance for employers says BR, D0 and D1 take tax from all income at the basic, higher and additional rate, and are for a second job or pension.

• 0TNo Personal Allowance applied
• BRAll income at the basic rate

The allowance, for comparison

The standard Personal Allowance is £12,570, which is the amount of income you do not have to pay tax on.

The numbers in your tax code tell your employer or pension provider how much tax-free income you get from them in that tax year.

GOV.UK's guidance for employers says you usually multiply the number in a tax code by 10 to get the total amount of income that can be earned before being taxed. Its example: with the code 1257L, an employee can earn £12,570 before being taxed.

GOV.UK's guidance for employers says that with L, M and N, tax is deducted at the basic, higher and additional rates depending on the amount of taxable income: L for an employee entitled to the standard tax-free Personal Allowance, M where a spouse or civil partner has transferred some of their Personal Allowance, and N where the employee has transferred some of theirs to a spouse or civil partner.

If a code changes

HMRC changes your tax code if you need to pay a different amount of tax. GOV.UK says this usually happens when your income or circumstances change, for example if you start a new job, get taxable state benefits, start to get income from an additional job or pension, earn savings interest above your Personal Savings Allowance, or your weekly State Pension amount changes.

HMRC will usually contact you to explain how it worked out your individual tax code if your tax code changes.

You get a tax code for each employment or pension you have.

Checking a code for yourself

GOV.UK says you can find your tax code by checking it online (you need to sign in or create an online account), in the HMRC app, on your payslip, or on a Tax Code Notice letter from HMRC if you get one.

GOV.UK's Check your Income Tax service lets you check your tax code and Personal Allowance, see your estimated income from jobs and pensions and the tax you can expect to pay for the current tax year, update details of your income, see if your tax code has changed, tell HMRC about changes that affect your tax code, and update your employer or pension provider details.

GOV.UK has a tool for checking what a tax code means: it explains what the numbers and letters mean, how much Income Tax you are due to pay, and how to update your records if something is wrong. To use GOV.UK's tax code checker you need your tax code, your annual income before any deductions, your company benefits details and your State Pension amount.

If the code looks wrong

HMRC usually updates your tax code using information it gets from your employer or pension provider. GOV.UK says that if your tax code is wrong, it is usually because HMRC has incorrect or missing information, and that to correct it you check and update the details HMRC has about you.

GOV.UK says using the online service is the quickest way to check and update your details: sign in to the Check your Income Tax online service, check your employment, pension, estimated taxable income, company benefit and expenses details, and update your details if there is anything wrong or missing.

If you think your tax code is wrong and you cannot use the online service, GOV.UK says you can contact HMRC. HMRC's Income Tax enquiries line is 0300 200 3300. The Income Tax enquiries line is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and closed on bank holidays.

• Tax code notice (P2)The letter HMRC sends when your code changes

GOV.UK pages on this

• GOV.UK: What your tax code meansGOV.UK's page on what your tax code means: the numbers, the letters and a worked example.
• GOV.UK: Understanding your employees' tax codesGOV.UK's guide for employers, which explains the tax codes they put into payroll.
• GOV.UK: Check your Income TaxGOV.UK's Check your Income Tax service for the current year, where you can see your tax code and Personal Allowance.

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