2026/27 second job tax guide

How much tax will I pay on a second job?

A second PAYE job does not have a special tax rate. HMRC looks at your total taxable income for Income Tax, while National Insurance is normally calculated separately for each employment.

Updated for the 2026/27 UK tax year

Income Tax is combinedYour total income across jobs determines your final Income Tax position.

NI is usually separateEach employer normally calculates employee National Insurance on that job alone.

Tax codes matterYour second job may use BR, D0 or D1 depending on your overall income.

Is a second job taxed more heavily?

Not automatically. Your final Income Tax liability depends on your total taxable income across all jobs. In practice, HMRC normally gives one job most or all of your Personal Allowance and uses another code on the second job, commonly BR, D0 or D1. That can make the second payslip look heavily taxed even when the overall annual result is correct.

How much tax do you pay on a second job?

For England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2026/27, the standard Personal Allowance is £12,570. The basic-rate band is 20%, followed by 40% higher rate and 45% additional rate. Which rate applies to your second-job earnings depends on your combined income, not simply the salary from that job on its own.

National Insurance on a second job

Employee National Insurance is normally calculated separately for each employment. For a standard category A employee in 2026/27, the main employee rate is 8%, with 2% above the Upper Earnings Limit. Because each job is assessed separately, two people with the same combined salary can pay a different amount of NI depending on how the earnings are split.

Use the NetSlip Two Jobs Calculator

Enter both salaries in the Two Jobs Tax Calculator to estimate combined take-home and see the separate NI effect. It is much more useful than simply adding two single-salary estimates together.

Related NetSlip tools & guides

Two Jobs Tax Calculator →Second Job Tax →Second Job Tax Codes →NI With Two Jobs →Student Loans With Two Jobs →Salary Sacrifice & Student Loans →£100k Tax Trap →Adjusted Net Income →

FAQs

Do I pay 20% tax on all of my second job?

Often a BR code taxes all pay from a second job at 20%, but your correct overall rate depends on total annual income and your HMRC tax codes.

Do I get another Personal Allowance for a second job?

No. The Personal Allowance belongs to you, not to each job. HMRC can allocate it between employments.

Is National Insurance combined across two jobs?

Usually no. Employee Class 1 National Insurance is normally worked out separately by each employer.