Pension tax relief calculator (UK)

Most people claim it through a Self Assessment tax return, in the pension contributions section — HMRC then adjusts your tax bill or issues a refund. If you don't otherwise need to file a return, you can instead write or call HMRC to have your tax code adjusted so the relief is given through your payslip over the rest of the year. Either way, it isn't automatic — you have to actively claim it.

It depends on the arrangement. Salary sacrifice and "net pay" workplace schemes both take your contribution out of gross pay before tax is calculated at all, so you get full relief at your marginal rate automatically — there's nothing extra to claim, and this calculator doesn't apply. "Relief at source" workplace schemes work exactly like a personal pension: contributions come from net pay, and higher/additional-rate taxpayers still need to claim the extra relief themselves.

Yes — the annual allowance caps how much can go into your pension with tax relief each year (£60,000 for most people in 2026/27, tapered down for very high earners, though you may be able to carry forward unused allowance from the previous three years). You also can't get relief on contributions above 100% of your UK earnings in a tax year. This calculator doesn't check either limit — it assumes your contribution is within them.

Yes, with Scotland's own income tax bands (six bands instead of rUK's three) — select Scotland above and the calculation uses the correct Scottish rates. Every UK taxpayer gets the same automatic 20% top-up regardless of region, since relief at source is administered at the rUK basic rate — anyone paying Scottish tax above 20% (intermediate rate and up) can claim the difference via Self Assessment, same as rUK. Scottish starter-rate (19%) taxpayers are a quirky exception: HMRC doesn't claw back the extra 1%, so they keep the full 20% relief despite only paying 19% tax — a deliberate concession funded by the Scottish Government, confirmed by LITRG.