Combined take-home about £34,720 a year, £2,893 a month, from £42,000 across two jobs.
How closely do these tax codes match your estimated annual tax?
✓ Estimated PAYE matches your annual Income Tax
With a 1257L code on Job 1 and a BR code on Job 2, the estimated PAYE collected over the year matches your estimated annual Income Tax — no big bill or refund expected.
Where your money goes
- Take-home pay£34,72083%
- Income tax£5,88614%
- National Insurance£1,3943%
How it's worked out
| Job 1 salary | £30,000 |
| Job 2 salary | £12,000 |
| Combined income | £42,000 |
| Income Tax (on combined income) | −£5,886 |
| National Insurance — Job 1 | −£1,394 |
| National Insurance — Job 2 | −£0 |
| Take-home | £34,720 |
| Per month | £2,893 |
National Insurance is normally worked out separately for each employment and each pay period, so each job gets its own weekly or monthly threshold. Here you pay £1,394 — about £960 less than the £2,354 you'd pay on the same income in one job. This assumes the jobs are with separate, unrelated employers; earnings can sometimes be aggregated for NI if the jobs are with the same or associated employers.
Does two jobs mean more tax?
No. Income Tax is on your total income, so two jobs pay the same income tax as one job on the combined salary — the second job isn't taxed at a special higher rate. What changes is how it's collected: Job 1 keeps your Personal Allowance (1257L) and Job 2 is taxed at the basic rate on everything (BR). National Insurance, though, is genuinely different — each job is assessed separately, with its own pay-period threshold, so two jobs can pay less NI than the same money in one.
Frequently asked questions
Do you pay more tax if you have two jobs?
No. Income Tax is charged on your total income, so two jobs pay the same income tax as a single job on the combined salary — the second job is not taxed at a special higher rate. The only difference is how it is collected: your main job keeps your Personal Allowance (code 1257L) and the second job is usually taxed at 20% on everything (code BR).
Why is my second job taxed at 20% (BR)?
Your Personal Allowance (£12,570) is normally given to one job only — your main one, via code 1257L. The second job gets a BR (“basic rate”) code, which taxes every pound at 20% with no allowance. If your combined income reaches the higher-rate band, HMRC may instead use a D0 code (40%) on the second job.
How does National Insurance work with two jobs?
National Insurance is worked out separately for each job, and each job has its own threshold (£12,570 a year, about £242 a week). A second job that pays under the threshold pays no NI at all — so two jobs can actually pay less National Insurance than the same total earnings in a single job.
Can I split my Personal Allowance between two jobs?
Yes. If your main job does not use all your £12,570 allowance, you can ask HMRC to split it across both jobs so less tax is taken up front. This is worth doing if you are overpaying because your second job is taxed at 20% on everything while allowance goes unused on the first.
Will I get a refund or a bill at the end of the year?
It depends on whether your tax codes collected the right amount. If the BR code under-taxed a higher-rate earner, you may owe a little; if your allowance went unused, you may be due a refund. HMRC reconciles this after the tax year and usually adjusts your code. This calculator shows the likely under- or over-payment.
How are student loan repayments worked out with two jobs?
Each employer normally applies the repayment threshold to that job’s pay separately and ignores your other job, so you may have nothing deducted through payroll even when your combined earnings are over the annual threshold. There is not normally an automatic charge just for having two PAYE jobs. If you complete Self Assessment, HMRC may work out an additional repayment from all your income, crediting what payroll already took. Select your plan in the calculator to see the per-job payroll deductions and any potential Self Assessment top-up.
Related calculators & guides
Sources — official UK figures
- HMRC — Income Tax rates and allowances ↗
- HMRC — National Insurance rates ↗
- gov.uk — Scottish Income Tax rates ↗
Last reviewed June 2026 against official rates · How we calculate →
An annual estimate for the chosen tax year. It applies the correct Income Tax to your combined salary and works out National Insurance separately for each job, then shows how the standard PAYE codes (1257L on the main job, BR on the second) collect it in-year. Actual payslip deductions can differ if a job starts part-way through the year, pay varies between periods, a bonus is paid, or a code is operated on a Week 1/Month 1 basis. It assumes both are employed (PAYE) jobs with separate employers and standard codes, with no pension or other income. Your real tax code may differ — check it on GOV.UK, the HMRC app or your Personal Tax Account. Not financial advice.