Pension Contribution Calculator
Find out how much tax relief you actually get on a pension contribution, what it really costs you after relief, and whether you’re close to your Annual Allowance — including the tapered allowance for high earners.
Start here
How to use this calculator
Enter your salary and how much you (and your employer) are paying into your pension this year, and see the real cost after tax relief plus your Annual Allowance position.
Enter your salary and contribution
Use the amount that actually leaves your pocket — basic-rate relief is added automatically for you.
Check your real cost
Higher and additional-rate taxpayers get extra relief on top, which you normally have to claim back through Self Assessment.
Watch the Annual Allowance
If your income is high, your allowance can be reduced (tapered) — this calculator flags it automatically.
Why it matters
How pension tax relief actually works
When you pay into a personal or workplace pension under “relief at source,” your pension provider automatically claims 20% basic-rate tax relief from HMRC and adds it to your pot — so a £4,000 payment becomes £5,000 in your pension straight away. If you pay tax at 40% or 45% (or a higher Scottish rate), you’re entitled to further relief on top of that automatic 20%, but for most people this isn’t given automatically — you normally need to claim it through your Self Assessment tax return or by contacting HMRC directly.
In Scotland, the starter rate (19%) is actually below the 20% basic rate, but HMRC does not claw back any relief for starter-rate taxpayers — you keep the full 20% top-up regardless.
The limit
The Annual Allowance and the taper
Most people can pay up to £60,000 a year into pensions (across all schemes combined, including your contribution, your employer’s, and the basic-rate top-up) without a tax charge. If your “threshold income” is above £200,000 and your “adjusted income” is above £260,000, this allowance is gradually reduced — tapered — by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income above £260,000, down to a minimum of £10,000 once adjusted income reaches £360,000. If you’ve already started drawing flexibly from a pension, a separate £10,000 Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) may apply instead.
Questions
Common questions
Do I need to do anything to get the extra higher-rate relief?
Usually yes. The 20% basic-rate top-up is added automatically by your pension provider, but any relief above that (for higher, additional, or higher Scottish rate taxpayers) generally has to be claimed through Self Assessment, or by writing/calling HMRC if you don’t otherwise file a return.
What counts towards my Annual Allowance?
Everything going into your pension in the tax year: your own contributions (grossed up with basic-rate relief), your employer’s contributions, and any contributions made on your behalf by someone else. It’s the total across all your pension schemes combined, not per scheme.
What happens if I go over my Annual Allowance?
You may face an Annual Allowance tax charge on the excess, effectively clawing back the tax relief you received on the amount over the limit. You may be able to carry forward unused allowance from the previous three tax years to cover it — this calculator does not include carry-forward, so treat an “over allowance” result as a signal to check your full position with a pensions adviser or accountant.
Does salary sacrifice affect these numbers?
This calculator assumes a normal net or relief-at-source contribution. If you use salary sacrifice instead, the mechanics are different — the amount never counts as your income at all, so there’s no relief to claim back separately. Use our dedicated Salary Sacrifice Calculator for that scenario.
Why is my Scottish relief different from England’s?
Scotland has its own income tax bands and rates, set by the Scottish Parliament, with six bands instead of three. Your marginal rate — and therefore how much extra relief you can claim above the automatic 20% — depends on which Scottish band your income falls into.
Where these figures come from. Income tax bands are taken from gov.uk for the 2026/27 tax year. Annual Allowance and taper rules are taken from gov.uk and MoneyHelper. All figures were checked on 23 September 2026.
Annual allowance on your private pension (gov.uk) · Tapered annual allowance (MoneyHelper)
How we calculate · Editorial policy. This is general information, not financial advice.