Two Jobs Tax Calculator (UK, 2026/27)
Got a second job? Your tax-free Personal Allowance normally goes on your main job (1257L) and the second job is taxed on BR at 20% from the first pound. Enter both salaries to see each payslip, your combined take-home, and whether you'll owe or get back tax when HMRC checks the year. Results update instantly. No sign-up.
Your tax codes are on your payslips or in your HMRC account. Codes such as 1257L, BR, D0, D1, 0T, NT and S or C prefixes are read by the same engine as our take-home pay calculator (K codes aren't supported). NI category A on both jobs; no pension or student loan.
- Total gross pay£0
- Income Tax by payroll£0
- National Insurance (both jobs)£0
- Take-home pay (year)£0
- Income Tax due for the year£0
- End-of-year check£0
Each job's payslip, for the year
| Item | Main job | Second job | Total |
|---|
End-of-year reconciliation
Each payroll only sees its own job. After the tax year HMRC adds up your income, works out the tax due with one Personal Allowance, and compares it with what was taken.
| Income Tax | Year |
|---|
Owed or refunded, as the second job grows
The end-of-year difference for your main job and codes, at different second-job pay. Above zero = tax still to pay; below zero = refund.
Quick answer
With £30,000 from a main job on 1257L and £10,000 from a second job on BR, take-home pay is about £33,120 a year (£2,760 a month) in 2026/27, after £5,486 Income Tax and £1,394 National Insurance. The codes collect about the right tax for the year. England, Wales or Northern Ireland rates, whole-year figures, NI category A on each job. Rules from GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026.
Tax codes with two jobs
You get one Personal Allowance (£12,570 in 2026/27), however many jobs you have. HMRC normally gives it to your main job, with code 1257L, which GOV.UK says “is the tax code currently used for most people who have one job or pension.” Your other job then usually gets BR: “All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate (usually used if you've got more than one job or pension).” D0 and D1 do the same at the higher and additional rates, and Scotland uses SBR, SD0 and so on.
If your main job pays less than the allowance, HMRC can split the unused part onto your second job's code. Enter the codes from your payslips to see what your payrolls will actually do.
National Insurance on two jobs
Class 1 National Insurance is deducted by each employer from the pay it gives you, using the weekly or monthly thresholds (£242 a week / £1,048 a month for the 8% rate in 2026/27). So each job has its own threshold: two small jobs can each pay no NI, while the same total from one job would. Unlike Income Tax, it is not added up and reconciled at the end of the year in the same way.
GOV.UK's “Defer your National Insurance” page says there is “a limit on the amount of Class 1 National Insurance employees with more than one job have to pay”, and that if you earn £967 or more a week in one job and £242 or more in another you may apply to defer, paying 2% instead of the standard rate in one job. This calculator charges each job the standard rates and does not apply that annual limit or deferment.
The end-of-year check
Each payroll only sees its own pay, so BR can take too little tax (when your combined pay reaches 40%) or too much (when your main job doesn't use all its allowance). GOV.UK's tax codes guide says that after the end of the tax year HMRC get your income details from employers, then “check how much tax you've paid” and “send you a letter if you've not paid the right amount”. If you've underpaid, HMRC may “adjust your tax code to collect the tax over one or more tax years”; if you've overpaid, you get a refund.
The calculator works out the tax due on your combined pay with one allowance (tapered over £100,000 with 1257L, or your main job's own figure for codes like 1100L) and shows the difference.
What this calculator does not cover
- The NI annual maximum and deferment for people with more than one job.
- Student loan repayments and pensions in each job; K codes; more than two jobs.
- Payroll's pay-period-by-pay-period (cumulative) workings: everything is a whole-year figure.
- Self-employment or other income alongside the jobs.
The formula
- tax₁: main job on its code (1257L: 20% / 40% / 45% above £12,570)
- tax₂: second job on its code (BR: 20% of all of it)
- NI₁, NI₂: 8% of each job's pay from £12,570 to £50,270 and 2% above, worked out separately
- End-of-year difference = tax due on pay₁ + pay₂ with one allowance − (tax₁ + tax₂)
See the formula with your own numbers
These update live from the calculator inputs above.
Frequently asked questions
How is a second job taxed in the UK?
Your Personal Allowance usually goes on your main job (tax code 1257L) and the second job gets code BR, so all of its pay is taxed at 20%. GOV.UK describes BR as usually used if you've got more than one job or pension. D0 (40%) or D1 (45%) may be used if your combined pay reaches those rates.
Do I pay National Insurance on both jobs?
Each employer deducts Class 1 National Insurance from the pay it gives you, using the weekly or monthly thresholds, so each job is assessed separately. GOV.UK says there is a limit on the Class 1 NI that employees with more than one job have to pay, and you may be able to defer NI if you earn £967 a week in one job and £242 in another.
Will I owe tax at the end of the year with two jobs?
You might. If your combined pay goes over £50,270 but the second job is on BR, too little tax is taken. GOV.UK says HMRC check how much tax you've paid after the tax year, send a letter if it's wrong, and may adjust your tax code to collect what you owe over one or more years.
What if my main job pays less than £12,570?
Then part of your allowance is unused while your second job is taxed on BR from the first pound, so you pay too much. HMRC can split your allowance between the jobs through your tax codes, and refund any overpayment.
How much do I take home from £30,000 and a £10,000 second job?
In England, Wales or Northern Ireland in 2026/27, with 1257L and BR: the main job pays £3,486 Income Tax and £1,394.40 NI, the second job £2,000 tax and no NI (it's under the threshold), leaving about £33,120 a year. The tax due on £40,000 is £5,486, so nothing more is owed.
Method & sources
- Calculation: each job through
thCompute(the engine behind our take-home pay calculator) with its own tax code; tax due for the year from the same engine'sincomeTaxon the combined pay with one allowance. - Tax codes 1257L, BR, D0, D1 and S/C prefixes; what HMRC do after the year: GOV.UK — gov.uk/tax-codes and what your tax code means.
- NI with more than one job, the annual limit and deferment: GOV.UK — defer your National Insurance and National Insurance: how much you pay. NI per job on each employer's pay is our reading of these pages and the per-pay-period rates; GOV.UK does not state it in one sentence.
- Income Tax rates, bands and Personal Allowance 2026 to 2027: GOV.UK — gov.uk/income-tax-rates.
- Employee National Insurance rates 2026 to 2027: GOV.UK — gov.uk/national-insurance-rates-letters; yearly thresholds and student loan thresholds: HMRC — rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027.
- Scottish Income Tax 2026 to 2027: GOV.UK — gov.uk/scottish-income-tax.
- All sources checked 18 October 2026. Verification: automated tests, run before every update, check the results against hand-worked examples and confirm every tax and National Insurance figure comes from the same tested engine as our take-home pay calculator.
- Reviewed: .
Educational estimate only, not personal tax advice. Your payslips depend on the codes HMRC issue, your pay dates and each payroll. Rules can change; confirm with GOV.UK or HMRC.
Run your own numbers
Enter the pay and tax codes from both jobs to see what you take home and what HMRC's year-end check may find.
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