How much tax relief do I get on pension contributions?

Relief at your marginal rate: a contribution removes tax from the top of your income. Under relief at source you pay 80% and the provider claims the basic 20%; a higher-rate taxpayer then reclaims a further 20% through self assessment or a tax-code change. £8,000 into a SIPP by someone earning £60,000 costs £4,800 once both parts are claimed, and £6,400 if the reclaim is never made.

What is the difference between relief at source and net pay?

Relief at source (SIPPs, personal pensions, most auto-enrolment schemes) tops up your net payment by 20% automatically and leaves any higher-rate relief for you to claim. Net pay (many occupational schemes) takes the contribution from pay before tax, so full relief arrives in the payslip. Salary sacrifice is a third route that also saves National Insurance.

Can a non-earner get pension tax relief?

Yes. Anyone under 75 can put £2,880 a year into a pension and receive £720 of relief at source, making £3,600 gross, even with no earnings and no tax to relieve. Earners can contribute up to 100% of earnings, subject to the £60,000 annual allowance.

Pension tax relief calculator: what a contribution really costs

Relief at source or net pay, the 20% the provider claims for you, the higher- or additional-rate relief you have to claim yourself, and the true cost of any contribution, including the 60% zone where the taxman pays most of it. Your figures never leave your browser.

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Worked example

Computed when this page was built by the same engine that runs the calculator above, so the figures below and the live tool can never disagree. Change any input above to see your own.

Inputs
Taxable income	£60,000
Gross contribution	£8,000
Method	Relief at source
Tax residence	England, Wales or N. Ireland

Results
You pay in	£6,400
Provider claims (20%)	£1,600
Yours to reclaim via self assessment	£1,600
True net cost	£4,800
Effective relief	40%

The next question

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Read the guides

The pension annual allowance taper, explained →
How the £60,000 pension annual allowance shrinks for high earners: adjusted income over £260,000, threshold income over £200,000, the £1-for-£2 taper down to £10,000, with worked examples.
The 60% tax trap: earning between £100,000 and £125,140 →
Why every pound between £100,000 and £125,140 is effectively taxed at 60% (62% with NI), how the personal allowance taper creates it, and why pension contributions in this zone get the best relief in the UK tax system.
Salary sacrifice, properly explained →
How giving up pay for a pension contribution saves both income tax and National Insurance, the employer's saving and whether it is passed on, the 60% zone where a contribution costs 38p in the pound, the side effects, and the £2,000 cap announced for 2029.
Sole trader or limited company: the tax, and everything the tax ignores →
Why the company route now loses at modest profits on 2026/27 rates and wins again higher up, what a director actually pays on salary and dividends, the Employment Allowance trap for one-person companies, and the non-tax reasons that often decide it.
ISA or pension? Where long-term money should go, and the Lifetime ISA's place →
The same gross pay by two routes (pension with relief and a tax-free quarter, or ISA after tax and NI) compared on your rate now and in retirement, why the pension usually wins on tax and the ISA on access, and where the Lifetime ISA's 25% bonus fits.

Two mechanisms, one true relief

The relief is always the income tax the contribution removes at your marginal rate. What differs is the plumbing. Under relief at source you pay 80% of the gross amount and the provider claims 20% from HMRC whatever your rate, so a basic-rate taxpayer is done, and a higher-rate taxpayer is only half done: the other 20 points sit with HMRC until you claim them through self assessment or ask for a tax-code adjustment. Under net pay the contribution leaves your salary before tax and the full relief arrives in the payslip. The unclaimed higher-rate relief under relief at source is one of the largest sums of unclaimed money in UK personal finance; this calculator shows exactly how much yours is.

Where relief is worth most

Between £100,000 and £125,140 a contribution also restores personal allowance, so its true relief is about 60%. Above £60,000 of child benefit income, or near the £100,000 childcare cliff, a contribution can be worth more than it costs: the child benefit and childcare cliff calculators price those. Salary sacrifice saves National Insurance on top and has its own calculator; the carry-forward calculator handles contributions above the annual allowance.

Education, not advice. Relief depends on your scheme’s method and your total income for the year; Scottish rates differ; the annual allowance tapers above £260,000 of adjusted income. For a personal recommendation speak to an FCA-regulated financial adviser; free impartial guidance is available from MoneyHelper.

Sources

HMRC, Tax on your private pension contributions: tax relief.
HMRC, Annual allowance.
Income tax bands: HMRC Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances; Scottish rates from gov.uk.