Tax Refund Calculator

Pension tax relief calculator

If you pay into a personal pension or SIPP and earn enough to pay the higher rate, your provider only claims part of your relief. The rest sits waiting until you ask for it, and most people never do. This works out what you are owed, or tells you plainly that you are owed nothing.

Your contributions

How you pay in matters more than anything else here, so that question comes first.

Fill in your figures, then press Calculate relief.

Why higher-rate payers have to ask

With a personal pension or SIPP, relief is given "at source". You pay in £80, your provider reclaims £20 from HMRC, and £100 lands in your pot. That happens whatever rate you pay.

  • A basic-rate taxpayer is done: 20% was all the relief due.
  • A higher-rate taxpayer is entitled to 40%, so another 20% is still owed, and HMRC will not send it unprompted.
  • An additional-rate taxpayer is entitled to 45%, so 25% is outstanding.

The extra is only due on the part of your contribution that actually displaces higher-rate income. Contribute £10,000 when only £1,000 of your income sits above the threshold, and the extra relief is on that £1,000, not the whole £10,000. The calculator handles this; a flat "20% of your contribution" sum does not.

The trap: when there is nothing to claim

Plenty of people are told they are owed hundreds of pounds when they are owed nothing at all. It depends entirely on how your contributions leave your pay.

  • Relief at source (personal pensions, SIPPs, some workplace schemes): money leaves your bank after tax, the provider adds 20%, and higher-rate payers claim the rest. This is the only case with something to claim.
  • Net pay arrangement (many workplace schemes): the contribution comes out of your gross pay, so you never paid tax on it. Full relief already given. Nothing to claim.
  • Salary sacrifice: you gave up the salary rather than paying in, so you paid neither income tax nor National Insurance on it. Nothing to claim, and you did better than either of the others.

If you are not sure which you have, check a payslip. If your pension contribution is deducted before the tax figure, it is net pay or salary sacrifice. If it comes out of your take-home pay, it is relief at source.

How to claim it

There are two routes, and which one you use depends on how you file.

  • If you complete a Self Assessment return, put the gross contributions in the pension section. The relief comes through your calculation automatically.
  • If you do not file a return, you can claim through HMRC directly, online or in writing. Give them the gross figures and the tax years.

You have four years. Relief can be backdated four tax years, so a first claim often covers several years at once. Work out each year separately using the tax year selector above, because allowances and contributions differ year to year. Claiming is free and you never need to pay anyone a percentage to do it.

What this estimate leaves out

  • It assumes you are within the annual allowance, currently £60,000 including any employer contributions. Pay in more than that and a charge applies instead of relief.
  • It ignores allowance tapering, which cuts the annual allowance for very high earners, and any unused allowance carried forward from earlier years.
  • It assumes your contributions do not exceed your earnings, which is the other cap on relief.
  • It covers income tax relief only, not the National Insurance saving that salary sacrifice also gives.

This is an estimate, not tax advice. See the terms page for the full disclaimer.

Other calculators

Taking money out of a pension rather than paying in? The pension lump sum tax calculator covers emergency tax on withdrawals. Overpaid through PAYE? Use the main tax refund calculator. Working under CIS? Try the CIS tax rebate calculator.