What Does 1257L Mean?
1257L is the most common tax code in the UK. The number 1257 represents your tax-free Personal Allowance — £12,570 a year — divided by 10. The letter L indicates you're entitled to the standard Personal Allowance with no special adjustments.
In practice, 1257L means: the first £12,570 you earn each tax year is tax-free, and everything above that is taxed at the normal bands (20% basic rate, 40% higher rate, 45% additional rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — different bands apply in Scotland).
Who Gets 1257L?
Most employees with one job, no company benefits pushing them over the allowance, no untaxed income, and no previous under- or overpayments to correct. It's the default, "nothing unusual going on" code.
1257L vs 1257L M1/W1 — What's the Difference?
Plain 1257L is applied cumulatively — your allowance builds up evenly across the tax year, and each payslip accounts for tax already paid so far. 1257L M1 or 1257L W1 (see our emergency tax code guide) applies the same allowance but recalculates each pay period in isolation — usually a temporary state while HMRC catches up on your details.
When Would 1257L Change?
- Company benefits (car, medical insurance) reduce your allowance, or push you onto a K code if large enough.
- Income above £100,000 tapers your Personal Allowance by £1 for every £2 earned over that threshold, reducing it to £0 by £125,140.
- Marriage Allowance transfers shift the code slightly (e.g. to 1131L or 1383L depending on direction).
- Blind Person's Allowance or other specific reliefs adjust the number.
Related Calculators
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