UK Pension Carry Forward Calculator

Add your gross salary plus any other taxable income (rental income, dividends, interest, freelance earnings) for the current tax year. Enter the total pension contributions paid so far — including employee and employer contributions. The tool calculates your adjusted income, threshold income and the taper check.

Repeat for each of the three tax years before the current one. You need salary, other income and total pension contributions for each year. If you cannot remember exact figures, use your P60 forms or pension annual statements as a guide. Your payroll department or pension provider can also confirm historical contributions.

The chart shows each tax year split into used allowance (your contributions) and unused allowance (the headroom remaining). Years where contributions were low relative to the allowance show more carry-forward potential. Note that any year where the tapered allowance applied will show a lower total allowance than £60,000.

The total available allowance is the current year's remaining headroom plus the carry-forward from each of the three previous years (oldest first). The tool shows the maximum contribution you could make this year within the rules, subject to it not exceeding your current-year earnings.

Type in the pension contribution you are considering making as a one-off payment or as additional regular contributions before the end of the tax year. The calculator checks whether this fits within the total available allowance and warns you if it would trigger an annual allowance charge.

The tool estimates the tax relief on your planned contribution at your marginal rate — 20% basic rate, 40% higher rate or 45% additional rate — based on your total income for the current year. Higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers typically need to claim the extra relief above basic rate through their self-assessment tax return.

Use this result to prepare for a conversation with your pension provider or a financial adviser. Large one-off contributions benefit from professional guidance, particularly if carry-forward interacts with defined benefit accrual, salary sacrifice arrangements or protected pension ages.

The taper reduces the annual allowance for high earners in two stages. First, check threshold income: if your income before pension contributions is £200,000 or below, no taper applies regardless of your adjusted income. If threshold income exceeds £200,000, check adjusted income: if it exceeds £260,000, the allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 above £260,000, down to a minimum of £10,000.

Adjusted income includes salary, bonuses, rental and investment income, and employer pension contributions. Employee pension contributions made via salary sacrifice also count toward adjusted income. The interaction can be complex for people receiving irregular bonuses or variable pay.

Once you have flexibly accessed a defined contribution pension — for example by taking an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum, entering pension drawdown or taking an annuity with a short guarantee — your Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) applies. This limits future DC contributions to just £10,000 per year and cannot be increased by carry-forward.

The MPAA does not apply if you have only taken your 25% tax-free cash without entering drawdown, or if you are only accruing in a defined benefit scheme. If you have flexibly accessed any DC pension, check whether the MPAA applies before planning a large top-up contribution.

If you are a member of a defined benefit (final salary) pension scheme, your annual allowance usage is calculated as 16 times the increase in your annual pension accrual during the year, plus any additional cash lump sum accrual. This is called the pension input amount, and it is provided by your scheme administrator on your annual pension savings statement.

DB pension savings statements are issued by schemes when contributions are likely to exceed the annual allowance threshold. If you are a member of a DB scheme and also have a DC pension, both must be included in the total annual allowance usage calculation.