Paying tax on two jobs
By NetPayFinder team · Updated 5 October 2026 · Figures for the 2026/27 tax year, computed from official rates
How income tax and National Insurance work with two jobs, why your second job is often on a BR code, and how to split your Personal Allowance.
Having more than one job is common, whether it’s a part-time job alongside a full-time role, two part-time jobs, or a job alongside a pension. Income tax and National Insurance work differently when you have more than one source of pay, and mistakes with tax codes are common. This guide explains how it works.
How income tax works with two jobs
Income tax is charged on your total income for the year from all your jobs and pensions. You get one Personal Allowance, of £12,570 for most people, and one set of tax bands, however many jobs you have.
Each employer only knows about the pay it gives you. So HMRC uses your tax codes to tell each employer how much allowance to give and which rate to use. Usually your whole allowance goes to your main job, the one that pays the most, and your second job gets a code with no allowance. GOV.UK’s tax codes guide lists the codes that can be used.
The BR code
The most common code for a second job is BR. It tells your employer to tax all your pay from that job at the basic rate of 20%, with no tax-free amount.
Take someone with a main job paying £28,000 and a second job paying £9,000. Their main job uses the standard code 1257L, and their second job is on BR. Their second job pays £1,800 of income tax a year. Their total income of £37,000 is within the basic-rate band, so this gives the right amount of tax overall.
If your total income takes you into the higher-rate band, HMRC may put your second job on D0, which taxes everything at 40%, or adjust your main job’s code. Scottish taxpayers have their own versions, from SBR to SD3.
Splitting your Personal Allowance
If your main job pays less than your Personal Allowance, a BR code on your second job means you pay tax even though your total income may be close to or below the allowance. In that case, you can ask HMRC to split your allowance between your jobs.
For example, if your main job pays £8,000 and your second job £6,000, HMRC could give your main job a code covering £8,000 of allowance and your second job a code covering the rest. You then pay tax only on the part of your total income above the allowance.
You can ask HMRC to split your allowance using the Check your Income Tax service, the HMRC app or by phone. HMRC then sends new codes to both employers.
What happens if both jobs use the standard code
Sometimes both jobs end up on the standard code, for example if you fill in a starter checklist incorrectly or HMRC hasn’t yet updated your record. Each employer then gives you a full allowance, so you get it twice and pay too little tax.
In our example, if the second job used the standard code instead of BR, it would deduct £0 of tax a year. HMRC would then ask you to pay the difference, usually by adjusting your tax code the following year. It’s worth checking your codes as soon as you start a second job, to avoid a bill later.
National Insurance with two jobs
National Insurance isn’t worked out on your total income. Each employer works out NI on the pay it gives you, using the full thresholds for that job. If you earn less than the primary threshold of £12,570 a year in a job, you pay no NI on it.
In our example, the second job pays £0 of NI because it’s below the threshold. In total, the two jobs pay £1,234 of NI, compared with £1,954 if the same total pay came from one job.
The reverse can happen at the top end: if both jobs pay above the upper earnings limit, you could pay the main rate on more than you should. In that case, you may be able to defer NI on one job or claim a refund after the year ends. Our guide to National Insurance explains the thresholds.
Student loans and pensions with two jobs
Student loan repayments are worked out separately for each job, using the full threshold for each. If you earn below the threshold in each job, you won’t repay anything through payroll, even if your total income is above it. You may then need to make repayments through Self Assessment.
For workplace pensions, each employer assesses you separately for automatic enrolment, so you may be enrolled in one, both or neither depending on what each job pays.
Checking your codes
When you start a second job, you’ll fill in a starter checklist. Choose the statement that says you have another job. Then check your codes on GOV.UK once they’ve been issued:
- Your main job should normally have your allowance, such as
1257L. - Your second job should normally have BR, D0 or a split allowance code.
- If both jobs show the standard code, or your main job is on BR, contact HMRC.
If you’ve paid too much tax because of a wrong code, see our guide to claiming a tax refund. If you were put on an emergency code when you started, see our guide to emergency tax codes.
Working out your take-home pay
Our two jobs tax calculator shows tax, NI and take-home pay for each job, with the codes you enter, and compares the total with what you’d pay from a single job. If your second job is part-time, the pro-rata salary calculator helps you work out its annual equivalent.