Part-Time Tax Calculator UK 2026

Part-Time Income Tax Calculator

Enter your part-time annual salary to see your tax, National Insurance and take-home pay for 2026/27 (England, Wales & Northern Ireland rates).

How Part-Time Tax Works in the UK (2026/27)

The UK tax system treats part-time and full-time workers identically. There is no special part-time rate. What matters is your total annual earnings and whether HMRC has allocated your personal allowance to this employment.

If This Is Your Only Job

You receive the full £12,570 personal allowance through your tax code (typically 1257L). You only pay income tax on earnings above this threshold. Many part-time workers earning below £12,570 pay no income tax at all. National Insurance contributions start at the same £12,570 threshold, charged at 8% up to £50,270.

If You Have Two or More Jobs

HMRC usually allocates your entire personal allowance to your main employment (the one that pays most). Your second job then receives a BR (Basic Rate) tax code, meaning every pound is taxed at 20%. National Insurance, however, is calculated per employment — so if your part-time job pays less than £12,570, you owe no NI on it even though you pay income tax on every pound.

You can ask HMRC to split your personal allowance between two jobs, which sometimes reduces overpayment. For example, if your main job pays £10,000 and your part-time job pays £8,000, splitting the allowance means neither job is taxed from the first pound — you only pay 20% on the £5,430 above the combined allowance.

Income Tax Bands for Part-Time Workers (2026/27)

The table below shows the income tax bands that apply to all workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland regardless of working hours.

Scottish taxpayers have different rates and bands (19%–48% across six bands). If your tax code starts with 'S', use our main Tax Calculator which applies Scottish rates.

Common Part-Time Tax Questions

Part-time workers are often unsure whether they owe tax, especially when working multiple jobs or earning near the personal allowance threshold.

Do I pay tax if I earn under £12,570? No, provided this is your only source of income. The £12,570 personal allowance means you can earn up to this amount tax-free. You also owe no National Insurance below this threshold.

Why is my second job taxed so heavily? Your second job almost certainly has a BR tax code, which taxes every pound at 20% with no personal allowance. This is because HMRC assumes you are already using your full allowance against your main job. If you think your allowance has been applied incorrectly, check your tax codes on your personal tax account at GOV.UK or call HMRC.

Will I get a tax refund? If you started work partway through the tax year or left a job, you may have overpaid tax. HMRC usually issues automatic refunds after the tax year ends (after 5 April), but you can also claim in-year through your personal tax account. Use our Tax Calculator to check what you should have paid.

Do I pay NI on a second job? NI is calculated per employment. If your part-time job pays less than £242 per week (£12,570/year), you owe no NI on it — even if your combined earnings from both jobs are well above the threshold. However, if both jobs pay above the threshold, you pay NI on each one independently.

National Insurance on Part-Time Earnings

National Insurance contributions (NICs) work differently from income tax and can catch part-time workers off guard, particularly those with more than one job.

The primary threshold. For 2026/27, you start paying Class 1 employee NICs once your earnings from a single employment exceed £242 per week (£12,570 per year). Below this threshold you owe nothing. Between £242 and £967 per week (£50,270 per year), the rate is 8%. Above £967 per week the rate drops to 2%.

NI is calculated per job, not combined. Unlike income tax, where all your earnings are pooled, NI is assessed on each employment independently. If you earn £10,000 from your main job and £8,000 from a part-time job, neither employment crosses the £12,570 threshold, so you pay no NI on either — even though your combined income is £18,000. Conversely, if both jobs pay above the threshold, you pay NI on each one separately.

Lower earnings limit. There is a separate lower earnings limit of £123 per week (£6,396 per year). If you earn between this level and the primary threshold, you do not pay NI but you still build up entitlement to the State Pension and contributory benefits. Earning below the lower earnings limit means no NI record for that year unless you pay voluntary Class 3 contributions (£17.45 per week in 2026/27).

Student Loan Repayments on Part-Time Income

If you have an outstanding student loan, repayments are deducted through PAYE once your earnings exceed the relevant threshold. Part-time workers on lower salaries often fall below these limits and repay nothing.

Repayment thresholds (2026/27). Plan 1 starts at £24,990 per year, Plan 2 at £27,295, Plan 4 (Scotland) at £31,395, Plan 5 at £25,000, and Postgraduate Loans at £21,000. If your annual part-time salary falls below your plan’s threshold, no repayment is taken.

Repayment rate. For Plans 1 through 5, the rate is 9% of earnings above the threshold. For Postgraduate Loans, it is 6%. If you hold both an undergraduate and a postgraduate loan simultaneously, both rates apply to earnings above their respective thresholds — a combined marginal rate of 15% on the overlap.

Multiple jobs and student loans. Student loan repayments are calculated per employment by your employer, based on the salary from that single job. If neither job individually exceeds the threshold, no repayments are taken in-year. However, when HMRC reconciles your records after the tax year ends, your combined earnings are assessed and you may receive a balancing bill. If your part-time work is your only job and pays below the threshold, you will not repay anything during the year.

How to Check and Fix Your Tax Code

An incorrect tax code is the most common reason part-time workers overpay or underpay tax. Checking it takes minutes and could save you hundreds of pounds.

Find your tax code. Your tax code appears on your payslip and your P45 or P60. For 2026/27 the standard code is 1257L, which gives you the full £12,570 personal allowance. A BR code means every pound is taxed at 20% with no personal allowance — this is the default for second jobs.

Use your HMRC personal tax account. Sign in at GOV.UK to view and update your tax codes for each employment. You can request that your personal allowance be split between two jobs, which is useful if both are part-time and neither pays above £12,570. You can also see whether HMRC has applied any adjustments (such as for company benefits or underpayments from a previous year) that might reduce your allowance.

Claiming a refund. If you started work partway through the tax year or left a job, you may have overpaid tax because your employer calculated deductions as if you would earn at that rate all year. HMRC usually issues automatic refunds after 5 April, but you can claim sooner through your personal tax account. If you are on a BR code but this is your only job, call HMRC to correct it to 1257L — any overpaid tax will be refunded through your next payslip.

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