1246L gives you £12,460 of tax-free pay in 2026/27. That's £110 less than the standard 1257L code, which carries the full £12,570 Personal Allowance. As with every code, HMRC drops the last digit of the allowance and adds a letter, so £12,460 becomes 1246L.
It's a small adjustment. A basic-rate taxpayer pays £22 more Income Tax a year on a 1246L code, which is £1.83 a month. A higher-rate taxpayer pays £44 more, or £3.67 a month. National Insurance doesn't change, because it doesn't depend on your tax code.
On £30,000, tax on 1257L is £3,486. On 1246L it's £3,508, which is £22 more.
On £55,000, tax on 1257L is £9,432. On 1246L it's £9,476, which is £44 more. The extra is double because the £110 sits in the 40% band.
GOV.UK explains that HMRC starts with your Personal Allowance and takes off income you haven't paid tax on, such as untaxed interest or part-time earnings, and other deductions like company benefits or the High Income Child Benefit Charge. A £110 reduction usually traces back to one of those. It could be a small company benefit, a bit of untaxed interest, or similar.
HMRC normally writes to you to explain how it worked out an individual code when it changes. If you've moved from 1257L to 1246L and haven't had a letter, check your online tax account to see what's been included.
The same pattern holds for every L code. The number is your yearly allowance with the last digit dropped, and the further it sits below 1257, the more tax you pay. This table shows the effect of codes people search for most, compared with the standard allowance.
| Code | Tax-free allowance | Against 1257L | Income tax at 20% | Income tax at 40% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 625L | £6,250 | −£6,320 | £1,264 more | £2,528 more |
| 879L | £8,790 | −£3,780 | £756 more | £1,512 more |
| 1179L | £11,790 | −£780 | £156 more | £312 more |
| 1246L | £12,460 | −£110 | £22 more | £44 more |
| 1247L | £12,470 | −£100 | £20 more | £40 more |
| 1250L | £12,500 | −£70 | £14 more | £28 more |
| 1257L | £12,570 | Standard | No change | No change |
| 1263L | £12,630 | +£60 | £12 less | £24 less |
| 1265L | £12,650 | +£80 | £16 less | £32 less |
| 1288L | £12,880 | +£310 | £62 less | £124 less |
Tax difference is the allowance gap multiplied by your tax rate, per year. Assumes the whole gap falls in that band. Salary Checker UK calculation using the 2026/27 Personal Allowance of £12,570.
Codes below 1257L make your tax go up, codes above it bring it down. The gaps at the top of the table are big. 625L has an allowance of £6,250, so a basic-rate taxpayer pays £1,264 a year more than on 1257L. Those larger drops usually point to something worth checking, such as a sizeable benefit or tax HMRC is collecting from a past year.
An S in front (S1246L) means Scottish rates apply. The allowance is the same, but the bands are different, so the cost of the £110 gap differs slightly. A C means Welsh rates. If your code ends in W1, M1 or X it's an emergency code, and the explanation on our 1257L page applies equally to 1246L.
Look at your payslip or your latest Tax Code Notice. You can also sign in to GOV.UK's Income Tax checker, which shows your code and what's been taken off your allowance. If a company benefit you no longer get is still in your code, tell HMRC. If you've paid too much tax, GOV.UK says you can claim it back.
For other codes, the tax code checker breaks down any letters and numbers. Our guide to UK tax codes covers K codes, Marriage Allowance and more.
Quick answers about this code and the ones around it.
It gives you £12,460 of tax-free income in 2026/27. That's £110 below the standard Personal Allowance of £12,570. The L means the code includes the standard allowance with an adjustment already applied.
No. It's close to the standard code. A basic-rate taxpayer pays £22 a year more than on 1257L, and a higher-rate taxpayer pays £44 more.
Usually because HMRC has taken a small amount off your allowance. GOV.UK lists untaxed income, company benefits and the High Income Child Benefit Charge as the main reasons. HMRC normally writes to explain a change.
If you've paid too much tax, GOV.UK says you can get a refund. Check what's included in your code first, then update your details or contact HMRC.
The allowance differs by £10, so it's worth £2 a year at the basic rate and £4 a year at the higher rate. In practice you'd never notice it in your pay.
A Scottish code would show as S1246L. The allowance is the same £12,460, but Scottish income tax bands apply, so the exact cost of the £110 gap can differ a little.
Code structure comes from GOV.UK. The cost of each code is the allowance gap multiplied by the 2026/27 tax rate.
Figures assume England, Wales or Northern Ireland rates and that the whole allowance gap falls in the stated tax band. Compiled by Salary Checker UK, last updated 28 October 2026. This is general information, not financial advice.