With April 6th and the new financial year looming there will be millions of people throughout the country who are going to receive their new tax code. You may find yourself wondering how you can check you are on the correct tax code and to be on the safe side it is probably best to do so! Being provided with an incorrect tax code could see you paying too much or too little tax and this could lead you to being hit with a larger tax bill in 2013 which may come as a huge shock to you. If you have changed jobs recently or taken on a second income then this may apply to you particularly.

What do the end letters mean?
Often a tax code is a series of numbers accompanied by a letter so you may be wondering what they mean.
L Code – for the majority of people.
L means that you are under 65 and are entitled to the standard basic personal allowance. For 2012/13 this personal allowance will be £8,105. This personal allowance will be divided by 10 and then the first three digits (810) will be added in front of L and this will make up your tax code. If you earn over this amount then your wage will be calculated on an annual period and take will be split throughout the year accordingly.
K Code – Untaxed income.
Instead of L you may find yourself with the K tax code. This is used when untaxed additional income exceeds your personal allowance. If for example you have use of a company home or company vehicle then the taxman will calculate the amount of money that this would benefit you by and then this will be taken off your personal allowance. If the amount of financial benefit you receive exceeds your personal allowance then you will be pushed in to having a K code all year round. For example if you earn £10,000 of additional finances from having a company car then your tax code would become 189K meaning you need to pay income tax on all of your earnings plus £1,895 that your additional income exceeds the personal allowance by.
T Code – For the rich people.
If you are a high tax earner then it becomes a little bit more difficult to work out your tax. For every £2 that you earn over £100,000 you will lose £1 of your personal allowance. If you was to earn £110,000 then your tax code would be 310T meaning you have £3,105 of your personal allowance left and assuming that you have no company benefits or other untaxed benefits. If your income exceeds £116,210 then you will have no personal allowance and your tax code will be 0T.
P or Y Code – For pensioners.
If you are aged between 65 and 74 with a low or middle income then you will placed on to a P code. This will allow you to have an income of £10,500 for 2012/13 before you pay any tax.
If you are aged 75 or over then this allowance increases to £10,660 and your tax code will end with a Y.
For every £2 you earn over £25,400 you will lose £1 of your personal allowance until it reaches the current basis rate of £8,105 meaning that providing your income does not exceed £100,000 that you will be able to keep your allowance.
If you are working more than one job or have more than one income then you will be asked by the taxman to state which of your jobs is your highest earner. Your personal allowance and tax codes for each job will then be worked out accordingly with any other income being taxed without an allowance on a BR code, D0 or D1 code depending on your earnings.
If HMRC does not have enough information on you then you will be issued with an emergency tax code. If you are starting a job for the first time or you have begun a new job midway through the financial year without a P45 from your previous employer then this may happen to you. The emergency tax code for 2012/13 is 810L which is the same as the basic personal allowance.
If you have queries or concerns about your tax code then be sure to contact HMRC as soon as possible to have it corrected or any queries addressed. Have your tax reference and your national insurance number to hand to speed up the process, details of which can be found on your pay slip.
For more information about this topic visit the following UK websites
http://familymoneysaving.co.uk/
http://peazyshop.co.uk
http://familystuff.org.uk/
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/