What does the BR tax code mean?
BR means: BR: all of this income is taxed at the basic rate (20%), with no tax-free allowance. Normal for a second job or pension, but wrong if this is your only income. In short: all income taxed at basic rate, normal for second jobs, costly on your only job. A UK tax code is the instruction HMRC sends your employer for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027): it sets how much of your pay is tax-free before income tax is deducted through PAYE, so the code on your payslip directly decides your take-home. The standard code for most employees with one job is 1257L, worth £12,570 of tax-free income a year, any other code should have a reason behind it (a company benefit, a second job, an HMRC adjustment), and a code that's wrong for your situation means paying the wrong tax every single payday until it's fixed. Decoded below against HMRC's rules as checked on 2026-08-28, with what BRcosts or saves against the standard code.
Decoded
- ⚠ If this is your only job, this code is probably costing you money. Contact HMRC.
On a £32,000 salary, BR deducts roughly £2,514.00 more income tax per year than the standard 1257L code, £209.50 a month. If this is your only job and nothing explains the code, that is money to reclaim.
Check your own code
Type any code, this page's and every other format HMRC issues:
Tax-free allowance of about £12,570.00 a year.
- L: you get the standard personal allowance.
Other codes people look up
2026/27 rules, checked 2026-08-28. If your code looks wrong, correct it via your personal tax account on gov.uk, refunds for the current year arrive through your pay automatically.