Zipptax

Pension Relief

Thousands of UK professionals are owed £1,000s in unclaimed tax relief. If you earn over £50,270 and contribute to a workplace pension, you may be missing out! ZippTax makes it easy to get it back.

All-inclusive, fixed fee – no surprises
Expert accountants handle everything
Stress-free filing, guaranteed on time
£1000-£3000

Average pension claim value

Calculate your pension tax relief

Find out how much you could save

Calculate your pension tax relief

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This calculator isn't personal advice and doesn't confirm if you're eligible or how much you can pay into a pension. Results are a guide based on 2025/26 tax rules and don't cover every situation. Tax rules can change and the relief you receive will depend on your circumstances. Any contributions over your annual allowance could trigger a tax charge. Remember, your annual allowance may be reduced if you're a high earner or have taken flexible pension benefits.

Results based on 2025/26 tax rules. Tax rules can change.

What are relief at source pensions (RAS)?

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An automatic 20% tax relief

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Higher tax payers are owed an extra 20-25%

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You must claim it yourself or lose it

Pension tax relief is a government incentive to encourage people to save for retirement. In short, you don’t pay tax on the money that you pay into a pension. However many taxpayers don’t understand the tax system and miss out on valuable tax reliefs.

The amount of tax relief you get is based on your income tax band:

  • Basic rate taxpayers (income between £12,571 and £50,270) get 20% tax relief
  • Higher rate taxpayers (income between £50,271 and £125,140) get 40% tax relief
  • Additional rate taxpayers (income greater than £125,140) get 45% tax relief

Relief at source, NET pay and other things to note

  1. 1
    Net Pay / Salary Sacrifice

    Salary sacrifice schemes are similar to Net pay from a tax perspective, as the individual’s gross salary is reduced by the amount of pension contributions, and therefore tax is calculated on a lower amount and there is no additional tax relief that needs to be claimed from HMRC.

  2. 2
    Relief at Source

    All private personal pensions and SIPPs operate RAS, so if the taxpayer contributes themselves outside of their employer payroll, it’s guaranteed to be a RAS scheme and they should be claiming tax relief from HMRC.

  3. 3
    Claim Process

    If you are a higher rate taxpayer, you need to claim higher rate tax relief either via your self-assessment tax return or by writing to HMRC each year.

    If you file a tax return then you just need to fill in the section on pension contributions. State exactly how much you have paid into your pension that tax year but be careful to state the gross contribution. Claims can be made for the past 4 tax years.

  4. 4
    Tapered Annual Allowance

    The tapered annual allowance is a reduction in the annual allowance for very high earners. If you are affected, your annual allowance is lowered by £1 for every £2 your adjusted income is over £260,000.

    If you earn £360,000 or more, you will have the maximum reduction of £50,000 – leaving you with a £10,000 annual allowance.

Common questions

Reclaim your pension tax top-up

ZippTax is the easiest way to reclaim your pension tax top-up, without forms, accountants, or self-assessment.

Secure, 100% online process

Takes just minutes

Reclaims up to 4 previous tax years

Average refund: £1,000-£3,000+

We work directly with HMRC so you don't have to.