How to Claim Higher-Rate Pension Tax Relief on Relief-at-Source Contributions (2026/27)

This guide is general information, not advice.

This guide is for anyone who pays into a personal pension, a SIPP or a relief-at-source workplace scheme and pays Income Tax above 20%. Your provider adds 20% basic-rate relief to your pot automatically, and that is where the automatic part stops. The rest has to be claimed from HMRC, and it is not paid into the pension: it comes back to you as lower tax.

By the end you will know which claim route applies to you, what evidence to gather, how much extra relief to expect, and why the same contribution may cut a Child Benefit charge or restore Personal Allowance. For how the three relief methods differ, see salary sacrifice vs relief at source; this page is only the claim.

Before you start

• Confirm your scheme is relief at source. GOV.UK says relief at source applies in all personal and stakeholder pensions and some workplace pensions (GOV.UK). If your employer takes contributions out of your pay before Income Tax (a net pay scheme), or you use salary sacrifice, full relief is already given and there is nothing to claim.
• Your net contributions for each tax year — the amount that left your bank account, not the grossed-up figure in your pot.
• Proof from your provider: a letter or statement showing your full name, the contributions paid and the tax year they relate to (GOV.UK claim guidance).
• Your National Insurance number, the pension type, the provider’s name and your payroll or reference number.
• Your P60 or payslips, to see how much of your income was taxed above 20%.
• Your Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login details.

Step-by-step

1. Work out the gross contribution. Divide what you paid by 0.8. HMRC’s manual gives the basic case: to fund £100, you pay £80 and the scheme recovers £20 from HMRC (PTM044220).
2. Check you pay tax above 20%. For 2026/27 outside Scotland, higher rate (40%) applies to taxable income over £37,700, which with the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance means income over £50,270. Additional rate (45%) applies on income over £125,140. In Scotland the intermediate rate (21%) starts on taxable income over £16,956, the higher rate (42%) over £31,092, the advanced rate (45%) over £62,430 and the top rate (48%) over £125,140. Those are the limits in the Scottish Rate Resolution 2026-27, which sets them on income above the Personal Allowance, and HMRC’s employer rates table shows the same.
3. Work out the extra relief. GOV.UK sets it out (GOV.UK):
   • England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 20% on contributions up to the amount of income you paid 40% tax on, and 25% up to the amount you paid 45% tax on.
   • Scotland: 1% against income taxed at 21%, 22% against 42%, 25% against 45% and 28% against 48%.
4. If you file Self Assessment, claim on the return. GOV.UK says you must claim through your tax return, for the current tax year and any previous years, rather than through the online form. PTM044220 describes this as completing the relevant section of the return. Follow the return’s own wording on whether the box wants the amount you paid or the gross amount.
5. If you do not file Self Assessment, use the online service. Go to Claim tax relief on your private pension payments and select Claim now. You sign in (or create sign-in details), and you can save and come back later. It asks for the details in Before you start and for proof for each tax year you claim. GOV.UK says to use the service if you are claiming relief through your tax code for the current tax year. It is open to intermediate-rate and higher-rate taxpayers who pay into a personal or workplace pension.
6. Claim by post if you cannot use the service. GOV.UK says you must write if you cannot claim online or are an agent acting for a client, including everything in the what you’ll need list. HMRC’s manual also says a claim can be made to your tax office by telephone or letter.
7. Update the claim when your contributions change. You can change an online claim after you submit it, for example to add another pension. GOV.UK warns that a change replaces your previous claim for that tax year, so re-enter every pension, and each tax year has to be changed separately.

Deadlines and what happens next

• How HMRC gives the relief. Section 192(4) of the Finance Act 2004 says that, on a claim, your basic rate limit and higher rate limit for the year are increased by the amount of the contribution; section 192(4A) does the same for the Scottish rate limits (legislation.gov.uk). More of your income is taxed at the lower rate. On a Self Assessment return that shows up in your tax bill; through the online service it is given through your tax code.
• Response time. After an online or postal claim, GOV.UK says HMRC will review it and contact you within 28 working days.
• Backdating. GOV.UK says Self Assessment filers claim for the current tax year and any previous years through the return, but none of the pages used here states a time limit for earlier years, so check with HMRC before relying on an old year.
• Ongoing contributions. An online claim covers one tax year. If you keep paying in, check your next coding notice and claim again when the amount changes.

Common mistakes

• Claiming on the gross figure in the online form. The service asks for the net amount of contributions for each tax year.
• Claiming relief on a net pay or salary sacrifice scheme. GOV.UK’s claim guidance excludes net pay schemes, where the employer takes contributions before tax, because full relief has already been given.
• Expecting extra relief on the whole contribution. The extra 20% only covers contributions up to the amount of income taxed at 40%. GOV.UK’s example gives extra relief on £10,000 of a £12,000 contribution and none on the remaining £2,000.
• Using the online form when you file a return. GOV.UK says Self Assessment filers must claim through the return.
• Forgetting adjusted net income. GOV.UK tells you to take the grossed-up contribution off adjusted net income: £1.25 for every £1 you paid (GOV.UK). That affects the High Income Child Benefit Charge (adjusted net income above £60,000) and the Personal Allowance reduction (adjusted net income over £100,000).

Worked example

Bands are the 2026/27 rUK figures above; the relief rates are from GOV.UK and the adjusted net income rule from GOV.UK adjusted net income.

Salary £70,000, no other income, pays £8,000 into a SIPP.

Step	Figure
Net paid	£8,000
Gross contribution (£8,000 ÷ 0.8)	£10,000
Basic-rate relief claimed by the provider	£2,000
Income taxed at 40% (£70,000 − £50,270)	£19,730
Extra relief: 20% × £10,000 (all within the £19,730)	£2,000
Total relief	£4,000
Real cost to you	£6,000

Extending the basic rate band by £10,000 moves £10,000 of income from 40% to 20%, saving £2,000. It is the same answer reached through the band.

Adjusted net income falls from £70,000 to £60,000. With Child Benefit in the household, the HICBC is 1% of the benefit for every £200 above £60,000, so without the contribution the charge would be half the Child Benefit; with it, adjusted net income is not above £60,000 and there is no charge.

Same contribution, salary £55,000. Only £4,730 of income is taxed at 40% (£55,000 − £50,270). The extra relief is 20% × £4,730 = £946, not £2,000. The rest of the £10,000 gross contribution has already had its 20%.

Scotland. A Scottish taxpayer with taxable income in the intermediate band (21%) can claim a further 1%. With income taxed at 42% the extra is 22%, so total relief on that slice is 42%.

Related reading

• Pension tax relief guide
• Salary sacrifice vs relief at source
• How to use pension carry forward