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Tax Codes For 2018/19

Tax Codes for 2018/19 (New Tax Code 1185L)

The 2018/19 tax year starts on 6th April 2018. An increased personal allowance of £11,850 will mean that most tax codes will increase to 1185L.

What is the new tax code for 2018/19?

The new standard tax code for 2018/19 is 1185L. Your employer will apply this tax code on your first payslip after 6th April 2018 unless they are advised of a different tax code by HMRC.

What does the tax code 1185L mean?

The tax code 1185L tells your employer that you can earn £11,850 tax-free in each tax year. You will not pay any tax if your gross pay is less than £987.50 per month (or less than £228 per week)

What is the new personal allowance for 2018/19?

The standard tax-free personal allowance for 2018/18 is £11,850. This is an increase of £350 from the 2017/18 tax year, which will save you around £70 in income tax (if you are a basic rate taxpayer).

My tax code is not 1185L. What should I do?

A tax code is based on your personal circumstances and may not be 1185L for a number of reasons:
• You have more than one job
• You have underpayments being collected through your tax code.
• You receive taxable benefits from your company (e.g. medical insurance or company car)
• You are claiming employment expenses such as uniform or mileage allowance.

If your tax code is not 1185L, you will have received a Tax Coding Notice (usually around February) from HMRC explaining how your new code was calculated. If you think it might be wrong, you should contact HMRC.

Will I automatically get a tax rebate from last year?

Yes and no. If HMRC think you overpaid (or underpaid!) tax last year, they will usually send you P800 Tax Calculation at some point between July and November.

However, it is important to note that HMRC’s calculations are only as good as the information held on their system. We have come across countless instances where employers have reported incorrect pay and tax details to HMRC.

HMRC expect you to inform them of any errors on your record, so be sure to check your end of year P60’s and P45’s to ensure you have paid the right amount of tax.

Tip: 3 ways to get a rebate!

HMRC does not automatically give you all of the tax allowances which may be available to you – you have to claim them. Here are 3 little-known allowances that could result in £1000’s back in your pocket!

  1. Uniform laundry allowance – If you wear a uniform to work which contains your company logo, you can claim extra tax back to cover the laundry costs.
  2. Professional fees and subscriptions – If you pay fees to certain professional or regulatory bodies (e.g. RCN, NMC etc), you may be able to claim tax back on your annual fees.
  3. Mileage allowance – if you meet the criteria, you may be able to claim up to 45p per mile if you need to use your own car for work. The rules are quite complex so do contact us for expert advice.

Will I only start getting taxed once I earn over £11,850?

Not necessarily. Your tax-free personal allowance is spread out evenly over the year. The logic behind this is to ensure you pay a consistent amount of tax each week/month.

Therefore, you will start paying tax as soon as you earn over the weekly or monthly allowance.

For example, if you earn £1,200 in April, you will pay 20% tax on £212 of your salary (£1200 less £988 allowance). So, as you can see, despite not having earned anywhere near £11,850 yet, you will still pay tax.

If you start working part-way through the tax year, any unused allowance from previous months is carried forward.

If you stop working part-way through the year and earned less than £11,850, you will be able to claim a tax rebate of any tax paid.

I have a question about my tax code

You can contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300. Or, feel free to comment below and we’ll do our best to help!

30 thoughts on “Tax Codes for 2018/19 (New Tax Code 1185L)”

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      Hi Sarah, 1156L means your personal allowance is £11,560. This is £60 more than the standard personal allowance. The extra most likely represents a uniform cleaning allowance if you have applied for it.

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      It means that your personal allowance (ie tax-free allowance) has increased to 1200L (good thing – less tax). The letter should explain why it increased. Usually, it is due to making a claim for tax relief (ie uniform allowance, mileage etc).

  1. Reece Lancaster

    I have a tax code of 1150L, i started employed January 15th 2018 but wouldn’t have made 11,5000 come April 2018 , will this continue into next years tax then?

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      You should have received a tax coding notice explaining the change. It is usually due to having multiple jobs or having an underpayment from a previous year.

  2. why does my tax code 1156l x what does the x mean and why was this infirmation sent to my employer but addressed to me

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      Have you made a claim for a uniform rebate? It looks like you have an extra £60 tax free allowance in your tax code (which is a good thing). New tax codes are usually sent to your employer so they can update their systems and deduct the correct amount of tax.

  3. hi my tax code is 1150L which means that i can earn £11500 but i only earnt £9489 does this mean i get a tax rebate cause i didn’t earn enough and if so how much thank you

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      If you had no other income and no underpayments from previous years, you can claim a tax rebate for all of the tax paid.

  4. Hi just received my first payslip for this tax year (2018-2019)
    Tax code has changed to 500T don’t seem right to me and from what iv read.
    I only earn £570 a month!!
    Is this right?? Please help

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      Hi Charlotte, that is not a normal tax code. It is usually issued to people who have more than one job in order to split the personal allowance between the jobs. If you only have one job, I would give HMRC a call to get it corrected on 0300 200 3300.

  5. hi i had a tax code 1150L and now they change my tax code on 1185L i dont understand how much does my tax code 1185L gonna tax me and insurance can you explain it to me please

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      Hi Marek, 1185L is the new tax code for 2018/19. It means that your tax-free allowance will now increase by £350 (saving most people around £70 in tax per year).

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      It means that your personal allowance / tax-free allowance is £11,910. This is £60 more than the normal allowance (a good thing) which is probably as a result of a claim for uniform laundry allowance.

  6. Cristian Creosteanu

    Hi
    My tax code is 1157L
    Does this mean personal allowance is £11,570?

    Thank you

  7. Hello, I’ve used to have tax code 1150L but since the new tax year it was changed to 741L. I constantly earn a similar wage a bit above a tax free and always paid my tax. How could it be decreased so much?

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      A decrease will usually be as a result of an underpayment in a previous year. If you’ve not received a tax coding notice, give HMRC a call on 0300 200 3300.

  8. Hi, My tax code is 1185L and now changed 1161L what does this mean? why he changed?
    Thank you!

  9. Hi my tax code is 1185L but everyone i work with has a tax code 1191L including my partner who works at the same place as me?

    i got told its something to do with a uniform thing.. but when i go on uniform rebate it says i am owed nothing but i have never claimed for my uniform?

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      Hi, 1185L vs 1191L is a difference of £60 in your tax free allowance. It would almost certainly be due to a uniform tax refund claim. When you claim this allowance, even if you are not entitled to a refund for previous years, you can still get your tax code adjusted to account for the uniform. Try making a claim at http://www.taxrebates.co.uk/calculator/

  10. Husband started new job on 28th May. Got a notice from HMRC saying new tax Code 1185LX, I know the x means non cumulative. Does this mean he is going to be emergency taxed more than the usual 20%? Not sure what else the X would mean?

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      Technically, this is classed as an emergency tax code. Each month is treated independently from previous months. So effectively he would receive 1/12 of his personal allowance in each pay. This usually doesn’t result in an overpayment of tax, but it would depend on what else he has earned since 6th April 2018.

  11. Adrian Irigaray Zambrano

    Hello, I’ve got my tax code wrong because is BR. what does this code mean? Could I change my tax code? And how should I reclaim the Tax Refund? Cheers

    1. Sanjay Madhavji

      BR tax code means Basic Rate. It means all earnings will be taxed at 20%. This is usually correct for second jobs, but it would depend on your circumstances as to whether you would get a refund.

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