Claiming tax relief on one-off pension contribution

mitre10

Hi All,
Have recently started a PAYE job & fortunate enough to be in the higher rate tax bracket - say £65K.
The company scheme is that I put in 5% and that is matched. The pension provider then claims 20% relief at source from HMRC.
As I understand it, I will have to complete a self-assessment return to HMRC to claim back the additional 20% relief for the contributions above I have paid 40% tax on - is that correct?

Also, the company is unwilling to look at salary sacrifice, so if I put in a lump sum of £7,500 to the private pension from my net/take-home pay, can I claim back the full 40% on that on the self-assessment too?
If so, how does this relief get paid - is it direct to the pension provider, or via a tax refund (cheque) to me, or by adjusting my tax code going forward?

Apologies for the probably very simple questions, I do intend to speak to an IFA but would like some idea of options and outcomes beforehand.

Thanks for any advice

Dazed_and_C0nfused

mitre10 said:

Hi All,
Have recently started a PAYE job & fortunate enough to be in the higher rate tax bracket - say £65K.
The company scheme is that I put in 5% and that is matched. The pension provider then claims 20% relief at source from HMRC.
As I understand it, I will have to complete a self-assessment return to HMRC to claim back the additional 20% relief for the contributions above I have paid 40% tax on - is that correct?

Also, the company is unwilling to look at salary sacrifice, so if I put in a lump sum of £7,500 to the private pension from my net/take-home pay, can I claim back the full 40% on that on the self-assessment too?
If so, how does this relief get paid - is it direct to the pension provider, or via a tax refund (cheque) to me, or by adjusting my tax code going forward?

Apologies for the probably very simple questions, I do intend to speak to an IFA but would like some idea of options and outcomes beforehand.

Thanks for any advice

No.  Self Assessment isn't necessary just to claim higher rate pension tax relief.

Any tax saving above the basic rate the pension company adds comes back to you, either as a refund or reduction in any tax you owe.  It is never added to your pension fund.

HMRC never give tax relief for pension contributions in the tax code of a different tax year to the tax year the contribution was paid in.  So if you only tell them about the contributions after the tax year has ended you would get a refund, not a tax code adjustment.