Claiming pension contribution tax relief for previous years

rusticReg

19 years ago my wife became disabled, overnight out income was halved so it was a busy time. She opened a pension plan because her employers pension pays out under £2k a year because she was only working for a couple of years. The equivalent of her DLA goes into the pot. As I had to retire soon after we are not wealthy!!
Somehow a few days ago I noticed that tax relief can be claimed even by those with such a low income they do not pay tax, so she filled in the relief forms and sent them to the pension firm. 
I'm wondering if she can claim for some of the years she paid into the pension and did not get tax relief. Any amount would be good, as I doubt they would give 19 years of it!
I have tried phoning HMRC, the line has cut off after half an hour wait and another time didn't even put me in the queue, the was website does not answer my question and a reply from the HMRC to my email has said they can't give any help, try citizens advice.
Better still I'll ask here

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Sadly not, you can never back date pension contributions.

She can contribute £2,880 (net) each year and get £720 in tax relief.  Whether she pays £720 in tax or not isn't relevant.

Phoenix72

Any tax relief will be added by the pension provider but the maximum a person with no net relevant earnings can pay and get tax relief on is £2,880 which would get £720 tax relief automatically added so hopefully she hasn't been paying more than that?

dunstonh

Somehow a few days ago I noticed that tax relief can be claimed even by those with such a low income they do not pay tax, so she filled in the relief forms and sent them to the pension firm. 

her pension contributions would have been relief at source and no reclaiming of tax relief should  be necessary.

I'm wondering if she can claim for some of the years she paid into the pension and did not get tax relief.

Why do you think she hasn't been getting tax relief at source?

Marcon

rusticReg said:

19 years ago my wife became disabled, overnight out income was halved so it was a busy time. She opened a pension plan because her employers pension pays out under £2k a year because she was only working for a couple of years. The equivalent of her DLA goes into the pot. As I had to retire soon after we are not wealthy!!
Somehow a few days ago I noticed that tax relief can be claimed even by those with such a low income they do not pay tax, so she filled in the relief forms and sent them to the pension firm. 
I'm wondering if she can claim for some of the years she paid into the pension and did not get tax relief. Any amount would be good, as I doubt they would give 19 years of it!
I have tried phoning HMRC, the line has cut off after half an hour wait and another time didn't even put me in the queue, the was website does not answer my question and a reply from the HMRC to my email has said they can't give any help, try citizens advice.
Better still I'll ask here

Great....HMRC can't help with a query on tax, assuming that's what you asked them!

As others have already said, the pension provider would have claimed basic rate tax relief on her behalf (even if a non-taxpayer) and added it to her pot, so not sure what these 'relief forms' are. Could you give some more info, please? 

xylophone

Are you saying that from the time your wife became disabled she had no "relevant earnings"?

She was then and still is under age 75?

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/pensions-tax-manual/ptm044100

She opened a personal pension/stakeholder/SIPP?

If so, regardless of whether or not she actually paid any tax, the provider would have automatically claimed tax relief and added it to her pot.

Does her statement not show the tax relief added?

More to the point perhaps is that if she had no relevant earnings (or gross relevant earnings under £3,600 a year) the maximum

net contribution per tax year qualifying for tax relief was £2880. 

How much was she/is she currently contributing?

rusticReg

Thank you all. Just to clarify, my wife is 54, her income is derived from DLA and ESA plus £250 a year from the pension accrued with her previous employer. She pays no tax and I get the difference between her income and her tax allowance added to mine.
 I have enquired from the firm she uses for a personal pension and so far have had the "we will get back" email, so if she is lucky they have been crediting, but they included the form to claim the tax relief in her last lot of papers - they do seem to send a lot.
 For quite a few years I dealt with things as he problems prevented her using a phone, writing or even opening letters, so I am at fault not being more on the ball, but life has not been easy.
Time to remind everyone that life can change dramatically overnight, and to be prepared for that as we certainly had not anticipated going from two incomes to half of one within 3 years. 
The chance of her income being enough to be taxed and to be able to pay the maximum into her pension is just a dream.

Albermarle

 I have enquired from the firm she uses for a personal pension and so far have had the "we will get back" email, so if she is lucky they have been crediting, but they included the form to claim the tax relief in her last lot of papers 

As already said with a personal pension, basic rate tax relief should be added automatically to contributions by the pension provider. So what you say sounds a bit odd.

Can you say who the pension provider is ( I am wondering if it is a non mainstream one )?

Can you check your wife's account on the website, or from the annual statements she should receive. It should be obvious that tax relief is being added ( or not ) ?

xylophone

The chance of her income being enough to be taxed and to be able to pay the maximum into her pension is just a dream.

Suppose a person aged under 75 whose only income is her wage from a part time job of £12,570 a year.  This is equal to her tax free 

personal allowance  so she pays no tax.

Nevertheless she may pay up to £10,056 into a pension scheme providing relief at source (SIPP/ other Personal 

Pension/Stakeholder) and the provider will claim relief up to  £2,514 and add it to her pot.

Your wife became disabled in her thirties and has not been able to pursue gainful employment since.

She has a tiny (ill health?) pension.  Pension income does not qualify as relevant earnings (see HMRC link in my previous).

Her only other income is her DLA and ESA, neither of which appear to count as "relevant earnings".

This means that for around nineteen years she has been limited to a net contribution to her personal  pension of up to £2880 a 

year to which the provider should have been claiming and adding up to £720 a year to her pot.

If the tax relief has not been added to the personal pension then something is wrong.

Does she have on line access to the pension? Annual Statements?  No tax relief is shown?

I don't think that she can have a Retirement Annuity Contract ( for which TR had to be claimed direct from HMRC by the 

annuitant) because  as far as I know this type of policy would not have been available nineteen years ago when she opened the 

pension plan.

She pays no tax and I get the difference between her income and her tax allowance added to mine.

I don't follow the above. Could you explain?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

xylophone said:

The chance of her income being enough to be taxed and to be able to pay the maximum into her pension is just a dream.

Suppose a person aged under 75 whose only income is her wage from a part time job of £12,570 a year.  This is equal to her tax free 

personal allowance  so she pays no tax.

Nevertheless she may pay up to £10,056 into a pension scheme providing relief at source (SIPP/ other Personal 

Pension/Stakeholder) and the provider will claim relief up to  £2,514 and add it to her pot.

Your wife became disabled in her thirties and has not been able to pursue gainful employment since.

She has a tiny (ill health?) pension.  Pension income does not qualify as relevant earnings (see HMRC link in my previous).

Her only other income is her DLA and ESA, neither of which appear to count as "relevant earnings".

This means that for around nineteen years she has been limited to a net contribution to her personal  pension of up to £2880 a 

year to which the provider should have been claiming and adding up to £720 a year to her pot.

If the tax relief has not been added to the personal pension then something is wrong.

Does she have on line access to the pension? Annual Statements?  No tax relief is shown?

I don't think that she can have a Retirement Annuity Contract ( for which TR had to be claimed direct from HMRC by the 

annuitant) because  as far as I know this type of policy would not have been available nineteen years ago when she opened the 

pension plan.

She pays no tax and I get the difference between her income and her tax allowance added to mine.

I don't follow the above. Could you explain?

I suspect the op may mean his wife has applied for Marriage Allowance and he doesn't really understand how this works.

Or it could be something totally different 🤔

Marcon

xylophone said:

The chance of her income being enough to be taxed and to be able to pay the maximum into her pension is just a dream.

Suppose a person aged under 75 whose only income is her wage from a part time job of £12,570 a year.  This is equal to her tax free 

personal allowance  so she pays no tax.

Nevertheless she may pay up to £10,056 into a pension scheme providing relief at source (SIPP/ other Personal 

Pension/Stakeholder) and the provider will claim relief up to  £2,514 and add it to her pot.

Your wife became disabled in her thirties and has not been able to pursue gainful employment since.

She has a tiny (ill health?) pension.  Pension income does not qualify as relevant earnings (see HMRC link in my previous).

Her only other income is her DLA and ESA, neither of which appear to count as "relevant earnings".

This means that for around nineteen years she has been limited to a net contribution to her personal  pension of up to £2880 a 

year to which the provider should have been claiming and adding up to £720 a year to her pot.

If the tax relief has not been added to the personal pension then something is wrong.

Does she have on line access to the pension? Annual Statements?  No tax relief is shown?

I don't think that she can have a Retirement Annuity Contract ( for which TR had to be claimed direct from HMRC by the 

annuitant) because  as far as I know this type of policy would not have been available nineteen years ago when she opened the 

pension plan.

She pays no tax and I get the difference between her income and her tax allowance added to mine.

I don't follow the above. Could you explain?

You're drowning him in detail... This is an ordinary person with little or no grasp of pensions who'll give up as soon as they see a list of questions like this.

OP - if you can tell us who the pension provider is, someone should be able to reassure you (or post a picture of the 'tax reclaim' form - you can do so using the little icon above which look likes a tiny mountain range).