HMRC has issued an update about tax codes (Image: Getty)
HMRC has spoken out to clarify some confusion for a frustrated taxpayer. The person contacted the tax authority with a question about their tax code as they had received some disturbing information.
The person said their tax code featured the letter ‘T’. They claimed that when they had asked HMRC for guidance on what this means, they had been told that it ‘doesn’t mean anything, it just needs to be a letter’.
The taxpayer fumed: “Seriously, this is how you operate in 2026?” HMRC initially responded in pointing the customer to the tax code checker tool on the Government website.
You can use this tool to find out what the letters and numbers in your tax code mean, as well as how much income tax you are due to pay this tax year. You can also use it to update your records if something is incorrect.
But the customer was not impressed with this answer telling HMRC “it still doesn’t seem that T means anything. HMRC responded to shed some light on the issue.
Split allowance
The group said: “A T suffix to a tax code can signify you have more that one source of income, leading to your personal tax-free allowance of £12,570 annually to be split over more than one tax code.”
If you use the tax code checker tool and input that you have ‘T’ at the end of your code, it may give you this information: “The T at the end of your tax codes means that your tax code includes other calculations to work out your personal allowance. This will be reviewed every tax year.”
HMRC asked the person if they have more than one source of PAYE income, to which they said that they did not. The customer voiced their frustration: “So your colleague who told me the T meant nothing and that ‘any letter could be used’ clearly needs retraining. This is really poor.”
‘Your employer may not have the details’
Seeking to help further, HMRC asked the person what tax code they had on their most recent payslip. The customer said their tax code was 0T. Given this response, HMRC said: “The 0T tax code means your employer may not have the details they need to ensure your tax-free personal allowance is allocated correctly.”
They asked the customer if they could access their personal tax account or the HMRC app, where they could view their tax code. To this the person responded saying they would call up the helpline about the issue.
If you use the tax code checker and say that your tax code is 0T, the tool tells you: “A 0T code means your personal allowance has been used up, or you’ve started a new job and your employer does not have the details they need to give you a tax code.”
Should you find out you are on the 0T tax code, it’s definitely worth checking if you need to correct it. If you are on this tax code, you will get zero personal allowance applied to your income and so will have to pay income tax on all your earnings.
Each person in England and Wales gets a standard personal allowance meaning they can earn up to £12,570 a year without paying income tax. If you missed out on this allowance and are a basic rate taxpayer, you would pay an extra £2,514 a year in tax.
You can get your tax code corrected by contacting HMRC online through the gov.uk website or through the HMRC app. You can also call up the income tax queries helpline on 0300 200 3300.
Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 4pm.
