Answers · UK 2025/26

What does tax code D0 mean and why am I on it?

Tax code D0 means all income from that job or pension is taxed at the 40% higher rate with no Personal Allowance. It is usually applied to a second job or pension when your main employment already uses your full GBP 12,570 allowance and is expected to fill the basic-rate band.

Last updated: 10 June 2026Last reviewed: 10 June 2026How we verify

Full answer

D0 is a flat-rate code: every pound from that source is taxed at 40% (the higher rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for 2026/27), with no tax-free Personal Allowance applied. HMRC uses it when your main job already uses all of your GBP 12,570 allowance and is expected to use up the basic-rate band (taxable income to GBP 37,700, i.e. earnings to the GBP 50,270 higher-rate threshold), so income from a second source should be taxed at 40% from the first pound. Example: your main salary is GBP 60,000, so you are already a higher-rate taxpayer. A second job paying GBP 8,000 on a D0 code is taxed GBP 8,000 x 40% = GBP 3,200. By contrast, D1 taxes everything at the 45% additional rate (used when you are an additional-rate taxpayer), and BR taxes everything at 20% basic rate. If your total income would not actually reach the higher-rate band, a D0 code can over-tax you; you can ask HMRC to split your allowance across jobs or issue a cumulative code so the right amount is collected. Note Scotland uses Scottish equivalents (D0 there reflects the Scottish higher rate of 42%). Any over- or under-payment is reconciled by HMRC after year end, often via a P800. Use the Take-Home Pay and Income Tax calculators to see the combined effect of two incomes, and review your code breakdown at gov.uk/tax-codes.