Two Jobs Take-Home Pay & BR Tax Code: 2025/26 Guide and Calculator
Working a second job is one of the fastest ways to boost your monthly income — but the tax rules are different from your main job, and many people are surprised by how much is deducted.
In the 2025/26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026), your second job is usually placed on the BR tax code, which means 20% basic-rate tax is taken from every pound you earn there, with no personal allowance applied. On top of that, National Insurance and student loan repayments are calculated separately for each job. This guide explains exactly how two jobs take-home pay works with a BR tax code in 2025/26 — including a full worked example — so you can see what actually lands in your bank account each month.
What the BR Tax Code Means for Your Second Job
BR stands for basic rate. When an employer is told to use the BR tax code, they deduct 20% income tax from your entire pay in that job: every pound is taxable, and none of your tax-free personal allowance is applied to it. That is why it is the most common code on a second job. Your main employment normally uses up your full allowance first, so HMRC instructs your second employer to tax everything at the basic rate.
For most people this is correct. You only get one personal allowance of £12,570 in a tax year, and it cannot be used twice. If your main job already earns more than £12,570, the code 1257L on that job uses the allowance in full, leaving nothing for the second job — hence BR.
Depending on your total income you may see other codes instead: D0 means all income from that job is taxed at the higher rate of 40% (used when your combined income is above £50,270), and D1 means 45%. If you have just started a job and HMRC has not processed your details yet, you may be put on the emergency codes 1257L W1 or 1257L M1 until your record is sorted out. And if you live in Scotland, BR still means the 20% basic rate, but the other Scottish rates and bands are different from the rest of the UK.
Income Tax Rules When You Have Two Jobs
Although each employer runs PAYE separately, income tax is a single annual tax on your combined income. Your taxable income is the total from every job minus your one personal allowance of £12,570. In 2025/26 the basic rate of 20% applies up to £37,700, the higher rate of 40% runs from £37,701 to £125,140, and income above £125,140 is taxed at 45%. If your total income exceeds £100,000, your personal allowance starts to be withdrawn too.
The practical point is that HMRC normally allocates your full £12,570 allowance to the job that pays you the most and issues BR to the others. When you start a second job, complete the starter checklist accurately and tick that you already have another job, so your new employer applies the right code from the first payslip. At the end of the tax year HMRC compares the tax deducted across all your jobs with what you actually owe; if they do not match, you will normally receive a P800 letter showing a refund or a bill. So a BR code can make you overpay tax during the year, but it cannot make you pay more tax than you owe in total.
National Insurance: Each Job Is Assessed Separately
National Insurance (Class 1) is the part that trips most second-jobbers up, because — unlike income tax — it is calculated per employment, not on your combined income. In 2025/26 the primary threshold is £242 a week (£1,048 a month, £12,570 a year). You pay no employee National Insurance on earnings up to that threshold in each job, then 8% on earnings between the threshold and the upper earnings limit of £50,270, and 2% above that.
Each employer applies these thresholds to your pay from their job alone. A practical consequence: a £12,000-a-year second job pays no National Insurance at all, because £12,000 is below the £12,570 annual threshold — even if your main job pays £35,000. It also means two part-time jobs of £12,000 each pay no NI between them, while a single job paying £24,000 would pay NI on £11,430. Unlike income tax, National Insurance is never reconciled across jobs at the end of the year, so these per-job rules decide what you keep.
Student Loan Repayments Are Threshold-Tested Per Job
Student loan deductions follow the same per-job pattern. Each employer looks at your pay from their employment in isolation, compares it with your plan’s threshold for that pay period, and deducts 9% of anything above it (or 6% for a postgraduate loan). This means you can repay from your second job even if your main job is below the threshold — or from both jobs at once if each one exceeds the threshold separately.
2025/26 student loan repayment thresholds (rate applies to income above the threshold):
| Plan | Annual threshold | Monthly threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,065 | £2,172 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £28,470 | £2,372 | 9% |
| Plan 4 | £32,745 | £2,729 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £31,585 | £2,632 | 9% |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | £1,750 | 6% |
Plan 5’s threshold was frozen at £31,585 for 2025/26; the first Plan 5 repayments begin from April 2026 at the reduced £25,000 threshold.
In the worked example below, a £12,000 second job is below every threshold, so no student loan is taken from it, while the £35,000 main job triggers Plan 2 repayments.
Worked Example: £35,000 Main Job + £12,000 Second Job (BR)
Meet Alex: main job £35,000 a year on 1257L, second job £12,000 a year on BR, paid monthly in 2025/26. Here is how the take-home pay works out.
| Item (monthly) | Main job £35,000 (1257L) | Second job £12,000 (BR) | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £2,916.67 | £1,000.00 | £3,916.67 |
| Income tax | £373.83 | £200.00 | £573.83 |
| National Insurance | £149.53 | £0.00 | £149.53 |
| Student loan (Plan 2) | £48.98 | £0.00 | £48.98 |
| Take-home (before loan) | £2,393.30 | £800.00 | £3,193.30 |
| Take-home (after Plan 2 loan) | £2,344.33 | £800.00 | £3,144.33 |
Annual figures: income tax £6,886, National Insurance £1,794.40, student loan £587.70, take-home £37,731.90. PAYE rounds each pay period, so monthly amounts can differ by a few pence.
The second job’s £1,000 monthly gross is fully taxable at 20% because BR gives it no allowance, but it attracts no National Insurance (below the £1,048 monthly threshold) and no student loan (below every plan threshold). The main job pays tax, NI and the student loan as normal. Combined, Alex takes home £3,144.33 a month after a Plan 2 student loan — £3,193.30 without one.
Should You Ask HMRC to Split Your 1257L Allowance?
When does the BR code actually cost you money? Only when your main job does not use the full allowance. For example: a main job of £10,000 on 1257L pays no tax, but a second job of £12,000 on BR would have £2,400 deducted. The correct liability on £22,000 of combined income is £1,886, so you overpay £514 during the year. HMRC will refund the difference after 5 April through a P800, but you can avoid waiting by asking HMRC to split your allowance instead — for example 800L on job 1 and 457L on job 2.
If your main job already earns more than £12,570 (like Alex’s £35,000), splitting the allowance does not reduce your total tax — the combined deductions still equal your correct annual bill. It only moves tax between payslips, which can be useful if you want each payslip to reflect your true position.
To request a split: sign in to your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app, check your employment details, and ask HMRC to change how your personal allowance is shared between your jobs (you can also call the income tax helpline). HMRC issues new tax codes — for example 1200L for the main job and 57L for the second — and your employers update their payroll. Remember that you still only get one £12,570 allowance in total, and if your income varies a lot, a split can make monthly deductions less accurate, so review it whenever your pay changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the BR tax code mean on my second job?
BR stands for basic rate. It tells your second employer to deduct 20% income tax from every pound you earn in that job, with no personal allowance applied. Your main job normally uses your full £12,570 allowance through code 1257L, so all of your second-job income is taxed at the basic rate.
Do I pay more tax overall if I have two jobs?
No. Income tax is based on your combined income for the whole tax year and you only get one personal allowance. If PAYE takes too much or too little across your jobs, HMRC normally reconciles the position after 5 April and sends you a P800 showing a refund or a bill. A BR code can cause overpayments during the year, but not more tax than you owe in total.
Do I pay National Insurance on both jobs?
Yes, but each job is assessed separately. You pay 8% Class 1 National Insurance on earnings above the 2025/26 primary threshold of £242 a week in each job. A second job paying £12,000 a year is below the £12,570 annual threshold, so no National Insurance is due on it, even if your main job pays £35,000.
Will I make student loan repayments from both jobs?
Possibly. Each employer applies your plan’s threshold to the pay from that job only. In 2025/26, for example, Plan 2 repayments start on earnings above £28,470 a year, so if each job exceeds the threshold separately, you repay 9% of the excess from each. A second job below the threshold triggers no deduction from that job.
Can I change my tax code for a second job?
Yes. Contact HMRC through your Personal Tax Account, the HMRC app or the income tax helpline and ask to split your personal allowance between your jobs. HMRC will issue new codes, for example 1200L for your main job and 57L for the second. Splitting changes which payslip shows the tax, but it does not change the total tax you owe for the year.