Claiming tax relief on pension contributions

By P&A Knowledge Team · 5 June 2025 ·

Posted in

Private pension contributions can attract up to 45% tax relief, if you know how to claim it. Use your £60,000 annual allowance wisely and carry forward unused relief from past years to boost your retirement savings.

You can usually claim tax relief on private pension contributions worth up to 100% of your annual earnings, subject to the overall £60,000 annual allowance. Tax relief is granted at your highest rate of income tax.

This means that if you are:

A basic rate taxpayer, you receive 20% tax relief
A higher rate taxpayer, you can claim 40% tax relief
An additional rate taxpayer, you can claim 45% tax relief

For basic rate taxpayers, the 20% tax relief is typically applied automatically through your pension provider—no further action is needed.

If you pay higher or additional rate tax, you can usually claim the extra tax relief.

An additional 20% on contributions corresponding to income taxed at 40%
An additional 25% on contributions corresponding to income taxed at 45%

The tax rates and reliefs outlined above apply to taxpayers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. If you're based in Scotland, different income tax bands apply, which can affect the amount of tax relief available.

The annual allowance for tax-relievable pension contributions is currently set at £60,000. If you haven’t used your full allowance in the previous three tax years, you may be able to carry forward unused amounts, provided you were a member of a registered pension scheme during those years.

Source:HM Treasury| 02-06-2025

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Claiming tax relief on pension contributions

By P&A Knowledge Team · 30 May 2018 ·

Posted in Pension

The annual allowance for tax relief on pensions is £40,000 for the current tax year. There is also a three year carry forward rule that allows taxpayers to carry forward unused annual allowance from the last three tax years if they have made pension savings in those years. Qualifying taxpayers can get tax relief on private pension contributions worth up to 100% of their annual earnings (subject to the overriding limits). Tax relief is paid on pension contributions at the highest rate of Income Tax paid.

This means that:

Basic rate taxpayers get 20% pension tax relief
Higher rate taxpayers can claim 40% pension tax relief
Additional rate taxpayers can claim 45% pension tax relief

The first 20% of tax relief is usually automatically applied by your employer with no further action required by a basic-rate taxpayer. Higher rate and additional rate taxpayers can claim back any further reliefs on their self-assessment tax return.

The above applies for claiming tax relief in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. There are some interesting regional differences if the taxpayer is based in Scotland. If a Scottish taxpayer is paying Income Tax at the starter rate of 19% they will get tax relief of 20% and are not required to pay back the difference. As with the rest of the UK, basic rate taxpayers in Scotland will pay 20% Income Tax and get 20% pension tax relief. There are also three higher rates, an intermediate rate of 21%, a higher rate of 41% and an additional rate of 46% where further tax relief can be claimed.

There is also a lifetime limit for tax relief on pension contributions. The limit is currently £1.03 million. If you are at or near the annual or lifetime limits, please contact us for further advice.

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