Enter your income and pension contribution to estimate tax relief under relief at source, net pay or salary sacrifice — and see the true net cost of pension saving.
Calculate reliefAdjust figures — results update instantly.
Add your gross annual income and the gross pension contribution amount you want to model.
Select relief at source, net pay arrangement or salary sacrifice to see how relief is delivered.
See basic rate relief, higher rate extra relief, any NI savings, effective net cost and monthly cost of your pension contribution.
Gross income: £60,000. Gross pension contribution: £5,000. Method: relief at source. This taxpayer is a higher-rate taxpayer (income above £50,270).
Basic rate relief: £1,000 (20% of £5,000 — provider claims automatically from HMRC). Extra higher-rate relief: £1,000 (additional 20%, claimed via Self Assessment). Total relief: £2,000.
Net cost: £5,000 − £2,000 = £3,000. Monthly net cost: £250. Every £5,000 gross pension contribution costs a 40% taxpayer just £3,000 in real terms.
In-depth guides to UK pension tax relief, annual allowance, carry forward and contribution strategies.
How to claim extra pension tax relief through Self Assessment if you're a higher-rate taxpayer.
→Reporting pension contributions on Self Assessment to claim higher and additional rate relief.
→How pension contributions can restore the personal allowance if income exceeds £100,000.
→How the annual allowance tapers from £60,000 to £10,000 for very high earners.
→The £10,000 MPAA that applies after flexibly accessing a defined contribution pension.
→The difference between what you pay and what your pension receives — gross vs net explained.
→Using unused annual allowance from previous three years to make larger pension contributions.
→Why the net pay arrangement can leave low earners worse off — and what HMRC does about it.
→What a pension contribution really costs you after tax relief is applied.
→Pension tax relief for sole traders and self-employed people via SIPP contributions.
Free tools to estimate pension relief, higher-rate savings and annual allowance for 2026/27.
Estimate your total pension relief under relief at source, net pay or salary sacrifice.
CalculatorEstimate the extra pension tax relief available to higher and additional rate taxpayers.
CalculatorSee your provider's 20% top-up and calculate any extra relief to claim via Self Assessment.
CalculatorEstimate income tax and NI savings from a pension salary sacrifice arrangement.
CalculatorCheck whether your pension contributions are within the £60,000 annual allowance for 2026/27.
CalculatorPensionTaxReliefCalculator is part of the UK Money Calculators network — free, independent tools for estimating UK tax and finances.
We determine your marginal income tax rate based on gross income and region (England/Wales/NI or Scotland). For relief at source, basic rate relief (20%) is automatic and higher-rate taxpayers reclaim extra via Self Assessment. For net pay, the full marginal rate applies automatically. For salary sacrifice, income tax and employee NI savings are both shown.
This calculator does not cover carry forward, tapered annual allowance, defined benefit pensions, or complex cross-border situations. It is a simplified estimate for standard individual contributions.