Incorrect income tax calculations - pension contributions

alexrose04

Hi all. Have quite a confusing question, hoping someone with more knowledge than me could help/point me in the right direction. I have recently applied for an income tax refund for overpayment in the year 2021/2022. However the calculation provided by the government website seems incorrect to me. The amount quoted as refund is £202 - which would be the amount I was due if I did NOT opt in to pension contributions. However as I did opt in to pension contributions (and they were taken from my wages every month) I should be due back around £405 - using the income calculator on this website. Now looking through my previous tax years it seems that my tax has been calculated as if I’m not making pension contributions but I have been for the past six years. Does anyone have any idea how I could rectify this/if I’m wrong about this?

molerat

Are the pension contributions taken from your gross pay before tax or from your taxed net pay ?  The information gained from a tax calculator is only as good as what is input.

comeandgo

Are you in the 40% tax bracket?  

Dazed_and_C0nfused

alexrose04 said:

Hi all. Have quite a confusing question, hoping someone with more knowledge than me could help/point me in the right direction. I have recently applied for an income tax refund for overpayment in the year 2021/2022. However the calculation provided by the government website seems incorrect to me. The amount quoted as refund is £202 - which would be the amount I was due if I did NOT opt in to pension contributions. However as I did opt in to pension contributions (and they were taken from my wages every month) I should be due back around £405 - using the income calculator on this website. Now looking through my previous tax years it seems that my tax has been calculated as if I’m not making pension contributions but I have been for the past six years. Does anyone have any idea how I could rectify this/if I’m wrong about this?

Firstly I wouldn't trust the calculator on this website.  

There are four different methods of contributing to a pension, 3 very common ones, and I don't think it caters for all permutations.

Have you received a P800 tax calculation from HMRC showing the refund?

Also, what method did you use to get the money into your pension?  The three normal options are,
Net pay

Relief at source (RAS)

Salary sacrifice

And how much did you contribute in 2021:22?  If it was under RAS you need to say what the gross amount was.

And roughly how much into the higher rate band were you in 2021:22?