What does the tax code
1246L mean?

A tax code can fall for two quite different reasons, and telling them apart determines what you should do about it.

Something was added to the deduction side. A benefit, an income estimate, a debt being collected.

Something was taken away from the addition side. A relief you used to have, withdrawn.

Both make the number go down. Only one of them means HMRC now thinks you owe more tax on something. The other means it thinks you are entitled to less relief, which is a different argument with different evidence.

1246L Tax Code

An ordinary L-suffix code giving £12,460 of tax-free pay for 2026/27, £110 below the standard allowance. The L means normal allowance rules apply. The gap can represent a deduction HMRC has added, or the net effect of a relief that was withdrawn alongside a smaller deduction remaining.

The arithmetic that distinguishes them

Withdrawal alone cannot take you below the standard allowance. This is the test.

If you were on 1263L because of a £60 flat rate expense and HMRC removes it, your code becomes 1257L. Removing an addition returns you to the baseline, it does not push you underneath it. So a code below 1257L always involves a deduction somewhere, even if a withdrawal happened at the same time.

The last two rows produce an identical code from completely different events. Only the coding notice separates them, and the response you need differs: one is about proving an entitlement, the other about disputing a charge.

Reliefs that lapse without anyone deciding

Withdrawals are not always deliberate acts of HMRC. Several reliefs simply stop qualifying.

Working from home. Relief is for employees required to work from home, not those who may. A great many arrangements that qualified during a period of enforced homeworking became a matter of choice afterwards, and choice does not qualify however settled it has become.

A subscription your employer took over. Once the employer pays it, you no longer bear the cost, so there is nothing to relieve.

A flat rate expense after a job change. The relief attaches to doing a particular kind of work. Moving into a role with no uniform, tools or unreimbursed costs ends the entitlement.

Mileage relief when a policy changed. Relief covers the shortfall between what your employer pays and the approved rates. If your employer raises its rate to the approved level, the shortfall disappears.

A claim that was only ever made for one year. Some claims are made for a specific year rather than being built into a code indefinitely.

Worked example: 1246L on a £28,000 salary

1. Gross salary: £28,000
2. Subtract the 1246L allowance: £28,000 minus £12,460 = £15,540 of taxable income
3. All within the basic rate band, taxed at 20%
4. Income tax for the year: £3,108
5. Monthly tax-free pay: £12,460 divided by 12 = £1,038.33

On the standard 1257L code the same salary produces £15,430 taxable and £3,086 of tax. The gap costs £22 across the year, or £1.83 a month. Income tax only, National Insurance excluded, and an estimate to confirm with HMRC.

If a relief was withdrawn as well, the total change from where you were could be considerably larger than £22, because you have lost the relief and gained the deduction. Comparing this year's code with last year's tells you the size of the swing.

Claiming a relief for the first time

If the gap in your code turns out to be a deduction and you also discover you have never claimed a relief you were entitled to, that second discovery is usually worth more than the first.

Reliefs are not applied automatically. HMRC does not know enough about what you do day to day to award a flat rate expense, and your employer does not claim on your behalf. Somebody has to ask, and a great many eligible people never do.

The claim is made to HMRC directly. There is no charge for making it, and no need for an intermediary. Be cautious of any service offering to handle it for a percentage of the refund, because the same claim is free and the fees are substantial: our guide to reclaiming overpaid tax sets out what those firms publish as their rates.

Two things make a first claim go smoothly.

Claim the earlier years at the same time. The general time limit is four years from the end of the tax year concerned, so as at August 2026 you can reach back to 2022/23, and that year closes on 5 April 2027. Handling all the open years in one go avoids covering the same ground twice, and the oldest year drops off every 6 April.

Be specific about the conditions. For a flat rate expense, that means confirming you bear the cost, it is required for the job, and your employer neither provides nor reimburses it. For a subscription, that the body is on HMRC's approved list and membership is relevant to your duties.

Once accepted, the relief goes into your code and carries forward each year without further action.

Challenging a withdrawal

The evidence is different from challenging a deduction, and knowing which you are doing saves a wasted call.

For a deduction, you are arguing that something HMRC believes you received is wrong: the benefit ended, the estimate is too high, the debt was already paid. The evidence is a P11D, a bank statement, a letter.

For a withdrawal, you are arguing that you remain entitled: the cost is still being borne by you, the requirement still applies, your employer still does not reimburse it. The evidence is a receipt, an employment contract, a written statement of your working arrangements.

The second is harder, because entitlement questions turn on conditions rather than amounts. It is also more valuable, because a relief restored is worth every year it applies rather than one.

A final point on timing. Where a relief was withdrawn part way through a year, the cumulative mechanism means the correction lands in one payslip rather than being spread, so the month it happened will look worse than the months either side. That is the mechanism working correctly, not the withdrawal being applied twice, and it is worth checking a payslip from two months later before concluding something has gone wrong.

What to do

Sign in to your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account and open "Check your Income Tax". Compare the current breakdown against last year's, line by line rather than by total. A line that has vanished is a withdrawal. A line that has appeared is a deduction. A line that changed value is neither, exactly, and usually means a revised estimate.

Then decide which argument you are making before contacting HMRC on 0300 200 3300, and bring the evidence that fits it.

Our 1263L page covers the flat rate expense system, 1265L covers how several reliefs stack into a single net figure, and our guide to checking your tax code covers where each figure appears.

If a relief was wrongly withdrawn for earlier years, or was never claimed at all, those years can generally be claimed within four years. Our guide to reclaiming overpaid tax covers it, and 2022/23 closes on 5 April 2027.

Our free tax code checker gives an estimate of your correct code, not advice.

People also ask

What does tax code 1246L mean?

1246L means your tax-free Personal Allowance for 2026/27 is £12,460, which is £110 below the standard £12,570. The L suffix means ordinary allowance rules apply. The gap can be a deduction HMRC has added, or the combined effect of a relief being withdrawn and a smaller deduction remaining in place.

Can my tax code go below 1257L just because a relief was removed?

No. Removing an addition returns you to the standard allowance and a 1257L code, it cannot push you below it. So any code under 1257L involves a deduction somewhere, even if a relief was withdrawn at the same time. That arithmetic is the quickest way to tell what has actually happened.

Why did my working from home relief stop?

Because the relief is for employees who are required to work from home, not those who are able to. Where a hybrid policy permits home working as a choice, the test generally is not met. Many arrangements that qualified during a period of enforced home working stopped qualifying once attending an office became optional again.

How do I challenge a relief being taken away?

Argue entitlement rather than amount. You need to show the condition is still met: that you still bear the cost, that it is still required for the job, and that your employer does not reimburse it. Useful evidence includes receipts, your employment contract and a written statement of your working arrangements, which is different from the evidence used to dispute a deduction.

How can I tell whether something was added or removed?

Compare this year's coding notice against last year's line by line rather than by total. A line that has vanished is a withdrawal of relief. A line that has appeared is a new deduction. A line whose value changed is usually a revised estimate. The totals alone cannot distinguish these, because different events produce identical codes.

Related tax codes: 1248L tax code | 1249L tax code | 1265L tax code | 1263L tax code | 1257L tax code

HMRC: Claim tax relief for your job expenses