UK pension tax relief calculator
What a pension contribution costs you after tax relief: what your provider adds, what you claim back at the higher and additional rates, and the net cost.
Paying in £8,000.00 a year on £55,000.00 of earnings, the pension receives
£10,000.00
It costs you £7,054.00 once you have claimed back what you can: relief of £2,946.00, 29.5% of what the pension receives. These are an example's figures: replace them with yours.
- Added by your provider
- £2,000.00
- Relief at source: the basic 20% claimed from the government and put in your pot, so you pay the rest.
- You claim back
- £946.00
- On your Self Assessment tax return, for income taxed above the basic rate. You only get it if you claim.
- Net cost to you
- £7,054.00
- What you pay in, £8,000.00, less what you claim back.
Income Tax bands are England, Wales and Northern Ireland's for 2026 to 2027. Scotland's differ and are not used.
The same amount taken from your pay before tax
With a net pay arrangement or salary sacrifice the money goes to the pension from your pay before Income Tax is worked out. Compared side by side, Income Tax only:
| Relief at source | From pay before tax | |
|---|---|---|
| Goes into the pension | £10,000.00 | £10,000.00 |
| Income Tax relief | £2,946.00 | £2,946.00 |
| Net cost to you | £7,054.00 | £7,054.00 |
National Insurance is not in either column. GOV.UK says salary sacrifice can mean you and your employer pay less tax and National Insurance, and gives no rate on that page, so the right-hand column is the Income Tax saving only.
The bands are those for 2026 to 2027. Relief at source adds the basic rate to what you pay; for income taxed above it, you claim the difference on Self Assessment, at the highest rate first. Not modelled: Scotland's tax bands, the Personal Allowance taper, carry forward of unused allowance, the tapered annual allowance beyond the note above, the money purchase annual allowance, employer contributions and National Insurance. The link carries your figures after the #, so you can save or share it. Your figures are not sent to us.
How the relief is worked out
- Your provider claims the basic 20% on what you pay, up to 80% of your earnings (or £2,880 with none), and adds it to your pot. What you pay is 80% of what the pension receives.
- You claim more on Self Assessment for income taxed above the basic rate: 20% up to the amount of income taxed at 40%, 25% up to the amount taxed at 45%. The calculator applies what the pension receives to your highest slice of income first.
- The net cost is what you pay in, less what you claim back.
- The right-hand column takes the pension amount out of your pay before tax and compares the Income Tax on your pay with and without it.
The rates the page uses
The 2026 to 2027 Income Tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and what you claim at each. Scotland has different bands, and the calculator does not use them.
| Band | Taxable income | Rate | Extra relief you claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% | None |
| Basic rate | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% | None: your provider adds 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% | 20% |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 45% | 25% |
The Personal Allowance taper. The allowance goes down as adjusted net income rises above £100,000. The calculator does not model it. If your earnings are above that income, the page says so, and the amount you claim back can be understated.
The bands held. HMRC has said the Personal Allowance and the basic rate limit are held at their current levels from 6 April 2028 to 5 April 2031, and the higher rate threshold until 5 April 2031. The figures use the 2026 to 2027 bands throughout.
What is not modelled.Scotland's bands, the Personal Allowance taper, carry forward of unused annual allowance, the tapered annual allowance beyond a note, the money purchase annual allowance, employer contributions and National Insurance. Each can change your answer. This is a planning aid and not financial advice: a regulated adviser or HMRC can help with your own case.
Questions people ask
- How much tax relief do I get on pension contributions?
- You can get tax relief on private pension contributions worth up to 100% of your annual earnings, GOV.UK says. In a relief at source scheme your provider claims the basic 20% from the government and adds it to your pot, so £80 you pay becomes £100 in the pension. If you pay Income Tax above 20%, you claim the rest yourself on a Self Assessment tax return: 20% up to the amount of income you paid 40% tax on, and 25% up to the amount you paid 45% tax on. That applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- What is the difference between relief at source and net pay?
- There are two kinds of scheme where you get relief automatically. In a net pay arrangement your employer takes the workplace pension contribution out of your pay before deducting Income Tax. In relief at source, your provider claims relief at the basic rate and adds it to your pot; that is in all personal and stakeholder pensions and some workplace pensions. The calculator's headline figures are for relief at source; the table under them shows the same amount taken from pay before tax. Ask your scheme which kind it is.
- Do I have to claim the higher rate relief myself?
- In relief at source, yes: you need to claim if you pay Income Tax at a rate above 20% and your provider claims the first 20% for you. You claim on your Self Assessment tax return, or if you do not file one, by following GOV.UK's guidance on how to claim. Nothing is claimed for you above the basic rate, so the calculator's "you claim back" line is money you have to ask for. In a net pay arrangement the relief at your own rate is given in your pay.
- What is the limit on tax relief?
- Relief is limited to 100% of your annual earnings. GOV.UK says it is up to you to make sure you are not getting tax relief on contributions worth more than that, and HMRC can ask you to pay back anything over the limit. In relief at source your provider claims on what you pay up to 80% of your earnings in the year, or £2,880 if you have no earnings in the year. GOV.UK's page gives that figure only for no earnings; between none and the earnings where 80% reaches it, the calculator uses the higher of the two.
- What is the annual allowance?
- The annual allowance is the most you can save in your pension pots in a tax year before you have to pay tax: £60,000 in the current tax year. It counts the total paid into a defined contribution scheme by you or anyone else, such as your employer, so the calculator, which counts only what you pay and the basic rate relief, can understate what counts towards it. If you use all of your allowance, you might be able to carry over what you did not use from the previous 3 tax years. Carry forward is not modelled. The allowance can also be lower if you have flexibly accessed your pension, for example by taking cash from a flexi-access drawdown fund: the money purchase annual allowance, £10,000 a year. That is not modelled either.
- Is the annual allowance lower for a high income?
- Yes. You have a reduced (tapered) annual allowance in the current tax year if your threshold income is over £200,000 and your adjusted income is over £260,000. For every £2 your adjusted income goes over £260,000 the allowance reduces by £1, to no less than £10,000. The calculator does not work that out: it flags earnings above £260,000 and leaves the rest to HMRC's guidance, linked below.
- What about salary sacrifice?
- With salary sacrifice you give up part of your salary and your employer pays it straight into your pension. GOV.UK says that in some cases this means you and your employer pay less tax and National Insurance. The calculator shows the Income Tax saving on the amount taken from pay before tax, and does not model National Insurance, because GOV.UK gives no rate on that page. Your payslip and your employer's scheme rules show what your own saving is.
- Does this work in Scotland?
- No. Scotland has its own Income Tax bands, and GOV.UK lists different amounts to claim there. The calculator uses the bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and does not model Scotland's.
Sources: GOV.UK, tax relief on private pension contributions, the annual allowance, HMRC's guidance on the reduced (tapered) annual allowance, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, HMRC's policy paper on maintaining the thresholds and what you, your employer and the government pay into a workplace pension.