Pension Allowance Calculator

Work out your pension allowance

This calculator covers the annual allowance, tapered annual allowance, and carry forward from previous years. Fill in your details below — your results update automatically and are saved to your browser.

Based on HMRC rules 2019/20 – 2025/26 Carry forward included
1

Tax Year

Which tax year are you calculating for?

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. If the year has ended, use your P60. If it's ongoing, use payslip year-to-date figures.

Rules for this year

Annual Allowance

£60,000

Threshold Income

£200,000

Adjusted Income

£260,000

Min Tapered AA

£10,000

2

Employment Income

Your earnings and pension contributions from employment

£
📄 Where to find this
  • Year ended? Find your P60 (given by your employer after 5 April each year). Look for the box labelled "Total pay in year" or "Pay".
  • Year in progress? Check your latest payslip — look for "Gross pay to date", "Total gross", or "Pay to date".
  • Important: If you use salary sacrifice for your pension, your P60/payslip already shows the reduced figure (after sacrifice). That's fine — enter that figure and we'll handle salary sacrifice in the next field.
  • If you have multiple employers, add together all P60 "Total pay" figures.
£
📄 Where to find this
  • Check your payslip — look for a line called "Salary Sacrifice", "SS Pension", "Pension SS", or "Sacrificed salary".
  • Multiply the monthly amount × 12 for the annual figure, or use the year-to-date figure on a final payslip.
  • Under salary sacrifice, you give up part of your salary and your employer pays it as a pension contribution on your behalf. This amount is missing from your P60 — which is why we add it back here.
  • Not sure? Ask your employer's HR or payroll team — they'll confirm whether your scheme is salary sacrifice.
  • Leave as £0 if you don't use salary sacrifice.
£
📄 Where to find this
  • Check your payslip — look for "Employer pension", "Employer contribution", or "ER pension".
  • Or check your pension statement from your provider — "employer contributions received this year".
  • Multiply the monthly amount × 12 for the annual figure.
  • This is what your employer adds on top of your pay — separate from your own contributions and from any salary sacrifice.
  • Do not include salary sacrifice here (you've entered that above).
£
📄 Where to find this
  • Look at your payslip for a deduction line called "Pension", "Employee pension", or "Pension contribution" — not salary sacrifice.
  • Under "net pay", your contributions are deducted from gross pay before income tax is calculated (unlike salary sacrifice, you still see the full salary in your contract).
  • Multiply monthly × 12 for the annual figure.
  • Not sure whether it's net pay or salary sacrifice? If your P60 shows a lower salary than your contract, it's likely salary sacrifice. If your P60 matches your contract salary but you see a pension deduction, it's likely net pay. Ask HR if uncertain.
  • Leave as £0 if your only pension contributions are salary sacrifice or a personal SIPP.
3

Other Income

Income from self-employment, property, investments, and other sources

£
📄 Where to find this
  • Your Self Assessment tax return (SA100) or summary — look for "Profit from self-employment" or "Net profit".
  • Or your SA302 from HMRC (a tax calculation document) — available in your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk.
  • Or your business accounts — it's net profit after allowable business expenses.
  • Enter the figure before any personal pension contribution deductions.
£
📄 Where to find this
  • Your SA105 (UK property) section of your Self Assessment return.
  • Enter profit after allowable expenses: mortgage interest (at basic rate only for residential), letting agent fees, maintenance, insurance, etc.
  • If you made a loss this year, enter £0 (losses can't reduce threshold/adjusted income for this calculation).
£
📄 Where to find this
  • Dividend vouchers from companies you own shares in.
  • Your Self Assessment return — SA100 or SA102 (dividends section).
  • For company directors: total dividends declared/paid to you this tax year.
  • Include all dividends, even amounts within the £500 (2024/25) dividend allowance — these still count as income.
  • Do not include dividends from shares held inside an ISA — those are tax-free and excluded.
£
📄 Where to find this
  • Annual interest statements from banks and savings accounts.
  • Bond coupon payments, P2P lending income, and other investment income.
  • Do not include interest earned inside an ISA or NS&I Premium Bond prizes.
£
💡 What to include
  • State pension income, other pensions in payment (these count as income)
  • Trust income, royalties, foreign income
  • Taxable benefits and other HMRC-assessed income
  • Do not include: ISA income, first £30,000 of redundancy pay, gambling winnings, Premium Bond prizes.
4

Personal Pension & DB Schemes

SIPPs, personal pensions, and defined benefit scheme inputs

£
📄 Where to find this
  • Check your SIPP or personal pension provider's annual statement — look for "contributions from member" or "your contributions".
  • Enter the amount you actually paid out of your bank account — not including the 20% basic rate relief that HMRC adds automatically.
  • Example: You paid £8,000 into your SIPP. Your provider claimed £2,000 relief, so £10,000 went into the pension. Enter £8,000 here.
  • This applies to: SIPPs, personal pensions, stakeholder pensions, and some group personal pensions where you pay contributions directly.
  • Do not include employer or salary sacrifice contributions here — those go in Step 2.
£
📄 Where to find this
  • Your DB scheme must send you a Pension Savings Statement if your pension input amount exceeds the annual allowance for the year. This will state the exact "pension input amount".
  • If you haven't received one, contact your pension scheme administrator directly and ask: "What is my pension input amount for [tax year]?"
  • DB schemes include: NHS pension, teachers' pension, civil service pension (AFPS/LGPS/PCSPS), local government pension, final salary and career average (CARE) schemes.
  • If you have multiple DB schemes, add all their pension input amounts together.
  • The DB pension input amount is calculated as: (closing pension value × 16 + lump sum) minus (opening value × 16 + lump sum) minus inflation adjustment. Your scheme does this calculation for you.
  • Leave as £0 if you have no defined benefit pension.
💡 What counts as "flexible access"?
  • Flexi-access drawdown: You've moved pension funds into drawdown and taken any income from it (even £1).
  • UFPLS (Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum): You've taken a lump sum directly from an uncrystallised pension pot.
  • When you first did this, your provider should have given you a "flexible access statement" — keep this safe.
  • Does not apply if you only took your 25% tax-free lump sum (pension commencement lump sum) and put the rest into an annuity or capped drawdown.
5

Carry Forward from Previous Years

Use unused allowance from the past 3 tax years to boost this year's limit

How carry forward works

If you didn't use your full annual allowance in a previous year, you can carry that unused amount forward to add to this year's allowance. The rules are:

  • You must have been a member of a registered pension scheme in the year you want to carry forward from (even if you made no contributions).
  • You must use the current year's allowance first, then any carry forward (oldest year first).
  • You can only carry forward up to 3 previous years.
  • Carry forward cannot create more allowance than you need to cover your pension input amount.

Disclaimer: This calculator is for guidance only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. It is based on HMRC rules as understood at March 2026. Tax rules change frequently — always verify your position with a qualified financial adviser, tax accountant, or check directly with HMRC, particularly if you have complex pension arrangements or are close to any thresholds. The annual allowance charge calculation is an estimate only.

Your Results

Live — updates as you type

Income Analysis

Threshold income £0
Adjusted income £0

Annual Allowance

Standard allowance £60,000
Your annual allowance £60,000

Carry Forward

Complete Step 5 to see carry forward

Total carry forward £0
Total available allowance £60,000

Your Pension Input This Year

DC contributions (all sources) £0
DB scheme input £0
Total pension input £0
Enter your details above to see your outcome

Next Year Prediction

Calculating…

£

All other contributions are assumed identical. Carry forward reflects this year's unused allowance.

Predicted Allowance

Standard allowance £60,000
Your allowance £60,000
Carry forward available £0
Total available £60,000

Enter contributions above to see predicted outcome

Prediction assumes identical contributions and pension membership. Tax rules for future years may differ.