Tax codes one by one
D0 tax code
The second-income code for people whose main salary already reaches the higher rate band.
D0 takes more over the year
£1,600.00
| BR | D0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax-free amount | none | none |
| Tax, first month | £133.20 | £266.40 |
| Tax over the year | £1,600.00 | £3,200.00 |
| Take-home after tax | £6,400 | £4,800 |
Same pay every month, HMRC’s cumulative method, Income Tax only (no National Insurance).
D0 is a flat-rate code for a second job or pension. The employer gives no tax-free pay and charges every pound at the higher rate of 40%, as GOV.UK sets out in its table of letters. HMRC uses it when the income that carries your Personal Allowance already takes you past the end of the basic rate band, which for 2026 to 2027 is £50,270 of total income in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In that situation, any extra pound you earn elsewhere is taxed at 40%, so a second job paying £8,000 a year owes £3,200.00, not the £1,600.00 that BR would take. Seen on a payslip, D0 looks harsh, but it usually matches the tax that is really due and avoids a bill after the year ends. It is wrong if the main salary falls below the higher rate threshold, or if the D0 job is now your only work. Wales uses CD0 at the same 40%; Scotland has no D0 at that rate, because SD0 means the intermediate rate of 21%.
Tax on a second job with BR, D0 or D1
With BR, over the year
£1,600.00
| BR (20%) | £1,600.00 |
| D0 (40%) | £3,200.00 |
| D1 (45%) | £3,600.00 |
| With 0T | £1,600.00 |
Rules read on HMRC’s texts by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Reading D0 on a payslip
D and a digit form a prefix code: no allowance, one rate. HMRC's PAYE specification numbers the rates in ascending order and defines D0 as the first rate above the basic rate, D1 as the one after it. For 2026 to 2027 that ladder is 20, 40, 45%, so D0 lands on 40%. Pay of £1,000 in a month loses £400.00; pay of £2,500 loses £1,000.00. There is no allowance to spread across the months, so the cumulative and month 1 versions produce the same figure when the pay is steady.
The employer guidance lists D0 next to BR as a code for a second job or pension, and payroll software treats them in the same way: the code tells the software which single rate to use, and nothing else.
One detail matters when the pay goes up and down. Run cumulatively, D0 compares the tax due on all pay since 6 April with the tax already deducted, and the difference can be negative: a month with lower pay, or a correction of an earlier overpayment, then shows a refund on the payslip. Run on a week 1 or month 1 basis, each pay stands alone and nothing from earlier periods is ever given back.
Why HMRC picks D0 rather than BR
Income Tax is charged on your total income, not job by job. If your main job pays £62,000, its pay already runs past £50,270, the point where the basic rate band ends. Every pound from a second source sits on top of that and is taxed at 40%. Using BR on that second source would take only 20%, leaving the rest to be collected later.
| Main job, yearly | Second job, yearly | Tax on second job with BR | With D0 | Gap BR leaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £55,000 | £6,000 | £1,200.00 | £2,400.00 | £1,200.00 |
| £62,000 | £8,000 | £1,600.00 | £3,200.00 | £1,600.00 |
| £70,000 | £12,000 | £2,400.00 | £4,800.00 | £2,400.00 |
| £90,000 | £15,000 | £3,000.00 | £6,000.00 | £3,000.00 |
The last column is what you would owe after the year ends if BR had been used. HMRC usually collects such an underpayment through your tax code over the following tax year, which means a lower allowance on your main job later on. D0 avoids that by taking the right amount as you go.
Codes for two jobs
Expected codes
1257L + D0
| Tax due for the year | £15,432.00 |
| Second job with 1257L by mistake | £0.00 |
| Second job with its expected code | £3,200.00 |
When D0 should be challenged
D0 rests on HMRC's estimate of your main pay. Two changes can make it wrong. A pay cut, reduced hours or unpaid leave may bring your total income back under £50,270; the second job should then be on BR, at least in part. And if the main job ends, the D0 job may become your only income and should receive the Personal Allowance.
In each case, update the estimated pay or the end date of the job in your HMRC online account. When a code needs to change, HMRC updates it and tells you and the employer within 15 working days. While you wait, keep the payslips: a D0 that ran for months on a job that should have been on BR can produce an overpayment that comes back once the code is changed.
D0 in Wales and Scotland
A Welsh taxpayer sees CD0, which applies the Welsh higher rate of 40%. A Scottish taxpayer never sees D0 with the meaning above: in Scotland the codes start one step lower, so SD0 charges the intermediate rate of 21% and SD1 the higher rate of 42%. The Scottish codes page lists all of them. Above D0 comes D1, at 45%, for people whose main pay already reaches the additional rate.