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Max. personal contribution into personal pension

YellowSock
YellowSock Posts: 34 Forumite
If someone gets a taxable salary of lets say £10,000 (as later shown after the end of the tax year on his/her P60) can he/she transfer £10,000 into his/her pension?

My (possibly wrong) understanding so far was yes he/she can. But I heard recently that only £10,000 * 80% = £8,000 can be transferred.

It would be great if someone could clarify this - it has quite an impact on me.

Thank you!

Comments

  • Dazed_and_confused
    Dazed_and_confused Posts: 6,458 Forumite
    Uniform Washer
    edited 14 February 2018 at 6:48PM
    What do you mean by into this pension?

    If you are talking about a personal pension or SIPP then the maximum contribution you can make would be £8,000.

    The pension company then claims basic rate (20%) tax relief on your behalf from HMRC and adds this to the pension fund so you end up with £10,000 in the pension but you have only paid £8,000
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 120,233 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    But I heard recently that only £10,000 * 80% = £8,000 can be transferred.

    Pension contributions are treated as gross. Just as your income is.

    Wherever you read that either showed it incorrectly as net or you misunderstood.

    If you earn £10k gross then you can pay £10k gross into the pension.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 45,755 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    If you earn £10k gross then you can pay £10k gross into the pension.

    If the person with relevant earnings of £10,000 in a tax year is contributing to a SIPP/personal pension/stakeholder, then he can make a net payment of up to £8000 to the provider and the provider will claim tax relief up to £2000 making the gross contribution up to £10,000.
  • Thank you all for your reply. Sorry for the truncated title - I have shortened it now.

    Yes I was talking about a SIPP.

    So it's really only £8000. This means I have done it wrong in the last 2 years as I was transferring in the gross amount as per P60. Will this now incur a tax penalty or can my pension provider still correct this?
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 45,755 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Contact your SIPP provider and explain what has happened.
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