It’s really important to understand what your tax code means, and to get it checked if it looks wrong. Your tax code lets your employer know how to tax your pay through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, and if you’ve got more than one PAYE job, you’ll have more than one tax code.

One of the most important things your tax code shows is the tax-free Personal Allowance you qualify for. Not everyone gets the same Personal Allowance, and things like day-to-day work expenses can make a difference to yours. As an example, let’s look at the 1288L tax code.

What does the 1288L tax code mean for my tax?

If you’ve for a 1288L tax code, it means your Personal Allowance is a little higher than most people’s. Good for you – assuming that your circumstances match your code. Having a higher Personal Allowance means you can earn more money each year before you start to pay Income Tax on it.

Here’s how a 1288L tax code works. The letter at the end tells you if any special circumstances affect the tax you pay. You can find a list of what the various letters mean here , but an L at the end of your tax code just means that everything’s normal and you qualify for a Personal Allowance.

As for how big your Personal Allowance is, that’s where the numbers come in. Multiply the numbers at the start of your tax code by 10. That’s how much you can make in a year before you start getting taxed. So, with a tax code of 1288L, you can earn £12,880 per year tax-free.

Why was I given a 1288L tax code?

HMRC will sometimes change your tax code if your financial or work situation changes. For example, if you’ve claimed some tax back for the essential costs of doing your job, HMRC might change your code to take those expenses into account.

The 1288L tax code is a good example of this. When you work from home, HMRC says that a few of your everyday costs count as allowable expenses for claiming tax relief. To account for these, they’ve set a ‘flat rate expense’ of £6 per week. If your expenses are pretty simple, or you don’t want to bother with the record keeping and paperwork of claiming your total expenses, you can use this flat rate to get your tax relief.

When you claim this way for working from home, HMRC will change probably your tax code to 1288L, increasing your Personal Allowance and bringing down your tax bill.

How does the Working from Home Allowance work?

Once you’ve made a claim for Working from Home tax relief (WFH), HMRC alters your tax code so you don’t need to make the same claim every year. Instead, those expenses are automatically included in your Personal Allowance.

Keep in mind that you can’t keep claiming WFH tax relief through your 1288L tax code if you no longer qualify for it. If you stop working from home, you need to let HMRC know so they can fix your tax code for you.

There are specific rules about claiming WFH tax relief, so expect to have to back up your claim with some evidence that your employer requires you to work from your home.

Also, claiming the Working from Home allowance isn’t the only reason why you might have a 1288L tax code. If you don’t understand why you’ve got one, get in touch with HMRC as soon as possible, or talk to RIFT.

Can I fix my 1288L tax code if it's wrong?

If your tax code’s wrong, HMRC says it’s your responsibility to get it fixed – even if it wasn’t your mistake. If you’ve got a 1288L tax code, but your employer isn’t requiring you to work from home, then you need to get your code looked into straight away. There are other reasons why you might be on tax code 1288L, but there are strict rules for claiming the WFH allowance. If you’re a ‘hybrid worker’ or working from home voluntarily, for instance, you could quickly run into trouble.

Get in touch with HMRC to let them know you think there might be a problem. You can reach them online through your Personal Tax Account, or see their contact page for other options.

Find out more about how to change your tax code.

Of course, RIFT will take care of all your tax code troubles when you claim your tax refund with us. With no hidden fees or hourly rates to factor in, checking your tax code and getting it corrected is all included in our year-round service.