How much tax do I pay on a second job in the UK?

Full answer

Many people are surprised at how much tax is deducted from a second job, but the mechanics are straightforward once you understand how HMRC allocates your Personal Allowance across multiple sources of income. **Personal Allowance goes to one job** HMRC normally allocates your full £12,570 Personal Allowance to what it considers your main job (typically your higher-paying or first-registered employment), leaving your second job to be taxed without any further tax-free allowance -- this usually means a BR (basic rate) tax code on the second job, taxing all of that income at 20%. **Why this can be wrong for lower earners** If your main job pays less than the £12,570 Personal Allowance, using the full allowance there means you are not using it efficiently -- in this situation, you can ask HMRC to reallocate some of your Personal Allowance to your second job instead, so that your combined tax-free allowance is used properly across both jobs rather than wasted. **Higher rate second job income** If your combined income from both jobs pushes your TOTAL earnings above £50,270 (the higher rate threshold for England, Wales and Northern Ireland), some of your second job's income may need to be taxed at 40% rather than 20% -- HMRC should adjust your tax code accordingly (often a D0 code, taxing everything from that job at 40%) once they have full information about both jobs. **National Insurance is separate per job** Unlike Income Tax, National Insurance thresholds generally apply separately to each job (unless your employers are connected), meaning you could get the NI Primary Threshold benefit on both jobs individually -- this is one area where having two jobs can actually be more NI-efficient than one combined job of the same total pay, up to certain limits. **Worked example** Someone earns £30,000 in their main job (using their full £12,570 allowance) and £8,000 from a second job, taxed entirely at 20% via a BR code = £1,600 tax on the second job. Total income of £38,000 keeps them within the basic rate band overall, so the 20% BR code on the second job is correct in this case. **Checking your tax codes are right** Always check both tax codes via your Personal Tax Account to confirm your allowance is allocated sensibly across your jobs -- an incorrect allocation (for example, both jobs coded as if each had a full personal allowance) can lead to underpaid tax and an unexpected bill later. **Practical tip** Use the Take-Home Pay calculator to model your combined income from both jobs together, since looking at each payslip in isolation can be misleading -- your true tax position only makes sense when both income sources are considered as a whole.

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More answers

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