PAYE11075 - coding: codes: how they are used and calculated: suffix codes: the suffix

There are five suffixes that can be included in a code, they are L, P, T, V and Y.

The aim of the suffix is to make recoding work easier. Any of the main personal allowances may be changed in the Budget. A change in an allowance will mean that a huge number of codes will need amending.

By including a suffix within the code we can identify, to the employer, codes which contain a specific personal allowance. We can then tell the employer to increase all codes containing that suffix by a standard amount.

For example, the L suffix is used for codes that include the Personal allowance. If in the Budget, this allowance was increased by £200, we would then tell the employer to raise all codes with the L suffix by 20.

Four of the suffixes each relate to a specific Personal allowance

• L - PA, or minimum PAA or PAE and no ESTINC is present
• P - maximum PAA
• V - maximum PAA and MAA, and HPAR is standard for a basic rate taxpayer
• Y - maximum PAE

The T suffix is used in cases where we do not want the employer to raise a code by the standard amount. They are codes we have to review before we tell the employer to make any changes.

The computer will always allocate the suffix in line with the rules above. However, in some cases you may want the computer to ignore these rules and allocate another suffix. To do this, one of two signals can be set on the taxpayer record

• TSFX - to get suffix T. You may need to do this if the taxpayer asks for suffix T
• SFX - at a sub-source, to get a chosen suffix L, P, V or Y, which the computer would not otherwise choose