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Pensions

Pension tax relief calculator

Thanks to tax relief, paying into your pension could cost you less than you might think.

The government automatically gives you a top up in basic rate tax relief on anything you pay in. You just need to be under 75 and resident in the UK for tax purposes. For example, say you made an £8,000 pension contribution, you’d get a £2,000 top up from the government, bringing your total contribution up to £10,000.

If you pay tax at a higher rate, you can claim even more through your tax return.

Calculate your pension tax relief

Enter the amount you earn below and what total pension contribution you want to make. The calculator will show you how much you’ll need to pay in yourself, how much tax relief the government will add, and how much you could reclaim if you pay tax at a higher rate.

Scottish taxpayers make sure you tick the ‘I pay income tax in Scotland’ box, because different tax bands and rates apply to your income which will affect your results.

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£
For more details of the Scottish rate of Income Tax please see GOV.UK
This is your current annual taxable income. It will be used to calculate the amount of tax relief you are eligible to receive.
This is the gross lump sum contribution you would like to pay into your pension. It will be used to calculate the net amount you'll actually pay and the basic rate tax relief you'll receive from the government. A £60,000 annual allowance currently applies to most people, although you may be able to carry forward unused allowances to invest as much as £180,000 now. The figures are for the 2023/2024 tax year.

Why have we used these figures?

The chancellor will announce the outcome of a review of pension tax relief on 16 March 2016. It has been widely reported he is considering introducing a single savings incentive of between 25% and 33% for everyone.

It is important to note nothing has been confirmed. The chancellor could decide to change nothing or choose a different system.