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If you’ve got a K tax code for your job, it means you’ve got some income factored into it that isn’t being taxed any other way, and it’s over your Personal Allowance threshold. For example:
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Let’s say you qualify for a standard Personal Allowance of £12,570, but you have some unpaid tax from a previous year and/or some tax to pay for the benefits you’re getting. Normally, on a standard L tax code, you’d simply have your tax-free Personal Allowance reduced to account for the extra tax you owe. However, if you owe enough this way to use up your entire Personal Allowance, you’ll be given a K tax code instead for the extra.
For example, suppose HMRC decides you owe tax on £15,000 of income or benefits that you aren’t already being taxed on some other way. You might be given a tax code of K243. This tells your employer to count your income as if it were £2,430 higher (the amount over your £12,570 Personal Allowance) when calculating how much tax to take out of it. It’s like having a negative Personal Allowance! It sounds nasty, but there are rules to give you a little protection. Whatever tax you owe, you can’t have more than half of your pre-tax pay taken out because of a K 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 rebate with RIFT, 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.
Find out more about how to change your tax code
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:
Any of these situations can mean you’re paying too much Income Tax and might be able to claim a tax refund. 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.
At the heart of RIFT is a friendly, close-knit team. Each team member is here not only because they're incredibly talented - but because they love what they do and believe in helping our customers.
They're trained specifically in UK tax legislation and are ATT and FCCA qualified so you're in safe hands. Each of our customers are assigned a personal tax assistant too. Over the last 25 years, we have found that this continuity reduces duplication and improves accuracy.
The answer lies in experience, compliance and accountability. We have specialised exclusively in tax refunds since 1999. Over that time, we have reclaimed more than £400 million in overpaid tax for UK workers across travel, Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) and Armed Forces claims. We believe informed decisions build trust.
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An M1 tax code is a bit like an emergency tax code. It should only be temporary until HMRC has enough information to issue the right code.
If you're on an NT tax code, you're in a pretty unusual position in that you're aren't paying income tax on your earnings from this job.
If you've got this tax code, you're in good company. This is the basic code that most people paying through the PAYE system will have.
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