What does tax code 1257L W1/M1 (emergency) mean?
W1 (week 1) or M1 (month 1) on the end makes the code “non-cumulative”: each pay period is taxed in isolation, ignoring what you earned earlier in the year. You still get the £12,570 allowance, just split evenly rather than balanced up.
England, Wales & NI, 2026/27. We compare your code with the standard 1257L.
On this code
2026/27£12,570 of tax-free pay — the standard amount for 2026/27.
- Gross salary
- £35,000
- Income Tax
- −£4,486
- National Insurance
- −£1,794
Take-home a year
£2,393 a month
£28,720
Compared with the standard 1257L code.
Verified · 2026/2721 June 2026
Effective rate —
Marginal rate — on your next £1
What it's worth in real terms
Your salary has the spending power of — in 2025 money — the pound has lost — since then. A rise of — would just keep pace.
Inflation: ONS Consumer Prices Index, latest May 2026.
How this was calculated
For the 2026/27 tax year (England, Wales & Northern Ireland) we apply your tax-free Personal Allowance, the Income Tax bands, employee National Insurance, and any student-loan repayment — each traced to a dated gov.uk/HMRC source. A pension contribution comes off before Income Tax (and before National Insurance too, for salary sacrifice). Over £100,000 the Personal Allowance tapers away, which is why the marginal rate jumps to about 60%.
The full method and every source is on our methodology page.
Built & maintained by the Pay Packet team · methodology sourced from HMRC · last reviewed 21 June 2026. About our figures →
Who has the 1257L M1 code?
Common when you start a new job without a P45, so HMRC puts you on an emergency code until it has your full details.
Is 1257L M1 the right code for you?
Usually temporary. Once HMRC updates your record it normally switches to cumulative 1257L and any over- or under-payment is corrected automatically. The annual take-home below is the same as plain 1257L.
Not your code? Decode any code on the tax code checker, or browse all tax codes. If you think yours is wrong, contact HMRC — you can reclaim overpaid tax for the last four years.