What percentage do you get taxed on a second job?
John Thompson
Published Mar 23, 2026
Your Second Job Implications As a rough calculation for second job tax rates (not claiming the tax free threshold), approximately 21% of your gross income will be withheld. This may not always be enough to cover your tax bill for the year.
How much tax do I pay on secondary income?
Income from an SB tax code is taxed at 10.5%, for an S code the rate is 17.5%, for an SH code the tax is at 30% and for ST 33%. So in practise the income from a person’s second job should be taxed at the correct rate. In reality the system works and calculates the tax correctly about 90% of the time.
Do you claim tax-free threshold on second job?
If you have more than one employer, you generally only claim the tax-free threshold from one. Claiming the tax-free threshold reduces the amount of tax withheld from your income.
What is second job tax code?
Your second job should have a BR, D0 or D1 tax code, depending on whether or not it’s taxed at the basic, higher or additional rate. You can find your tax code on your payslips. You can tell HMRC about starting a second job using the new starter checklist from your new employer.
How much tax is secondary tax?
If you have more than one source of income, you pay secondary tax….Up to 31 March 2021.
| Secondary tax code | Secondary tax rate |
|---|---|
| S | 17.5% |
| SH | 30% |
| ST | 33% |
Do you get tax back on second job?
No, you don’t pay extra tax for having a second job. You will pay the same amount of tax on your income whether you have one single job or multiple jobs. So if you earn $1000 a week from a single employer, or from multiple employers, the tax you need to pay will be the same.
The second job always gets taxed higher. You have to remember this income at tax time is added to your first job income. Tax is applied at your marginal rate, typically 35%.
If the income is to be between $48,000 and $70,000 a SH tax code is used and if income from all sources are going to be above $70,000 then an ST income tax code is used. Income from an SB tax code is taxed at 10.5%, for an S code the rate is 17.5%, for an SH code the tax is at 30% and for ST 33%.
How does a second job affect tax?
Your personal allowance will be allocated to your main income and your second job will usually be taxed at the basic rate of 20%. The tax codes that appear on your payslips will usually be 1257L on your primary income and BR (basic rate), D0 or D1 on your second job. This will help HMRC allocate the right tax code.
How much tax should I pay on a second job?
If your total annual income will be less than $18,200, you can claim the tax-free threshold from both jobs. Keep in mind that if you earn more than $18,200, you’ll likely receive a tax bill at the end of the year.
How does HMRC work out your second income?
How HMRC works out tax The tax system sees one job as your main income, and this is where you get your £11,850 personal allowance – the amount you earn before you pay any tax. Your second income will be added on top, so there won’t be a personal allowance.
Do you get a personal allowance for second income?
Your second income will be added on top, so there won’t be a personal allowance. Though it looks like you get taxed more on this money, if you added that income to your earnings at your other job you’d pay exactly the same amount of tax overall. This will depend on how much you’re paid for each position.
Do you have to declare a second job?
If you have a second job you are required to choose which job you claim the tax-free threshold from and let that employer know by selecting ‘No’ at Question 8 on your Tax File Number Declaration form.
