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In short
- 1257L gives you the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance spread across the year.
- It is right for most people with one job and no benefits in kind.
- It is wrong if you have expenses HMRC should be allowing, a second job, or a company benefit.
- Higher codes such as 1263L usually mean 1257L plus an allowance already built in, often for work expenses.
What 1257L means
£12,570 divided by 12 is £1,047.50 of tax-free pay each month; everything above is taxed at 20% until the higher rate threshold. Cumulative, so if you start mid-year the unused months catch up automatically.
When 1257L is wrong for you
- You claim work expenses each year: HMRC can raise the code so relief comes through your pay. 1263L, for example, is 1257L with the £60 standard uniform flat rate built in.
- You have a company car or medical insurance: the code should be lower.
- You have two jobs and your main job does not use the whole allowance: the second should not be BR.
- You receive Marriage Allowance: the code should end in M.
Worked example
A nurse on 1257L pays NMC and RCN fees and washes her uniform (nurses' flat rate £125), about £450 of relief a year (NMC £120, RCN £204.85, uniform £125). Her code should be around 1301L. On 1257L she overpays about £90 a year until she claims.
Questions
My code is 1257L X.
The X makes it non-cumulative, an emergency setting. It usually corrects at the next payroll update or year end, but check.
Will 1257L change in April?
The Personal Allowance is frozen at £12,570 until April 2031, so 1257L stays.
This guide is general information, not advice about your circumstances. Figures use HMRC rates for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. We are a paid tax agent and not HMRC.
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