Are UK pensions taxed twice?
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{
margin-bottom:0;
}
I, like many, have a workplace pension. I pay taxes through PAYE and file a self assessment covering all other income. My understanding is that your personal pension pot is 25% tax free then you pay income tax on the remaining 75% (please correct if wrong here).
Question: Given that I already paid income tax through my salary, am I being taxed for the same money again if/when I take out my pension payments in the future? To be clear, I am not talking about taxing capital gains on pension pot investment, strictly the income from the actual money put in the pot.
income-tax united-kingdom retirement pension
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
add a comment
|
I, like many, have a workplace pension. I pay taxes through PAYE and file a self assessment covering all other income. My understanding is that your personal pension pot is 25% tax free then you pay income tax on the remaining 75% (please correct if wrong here).
Question: Given that I already paid income tax through my salary, am I being taxed for the same money again if/when I take out my pension payments in the future? To be clear, I am not talking about taxing capital gains on pension pot investment, strictly the income from the actual money put in the pot.
income-tax united-kingdom retirement pension
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
add a comment
|
I, like many, have a workplace pension. I pay taxes through PAYE and file a self assessment covering all other income. My understanding is that your personal pension pot is 25% tax free then you pay income tax on the remaining 75% (please correct if wrong here).
Question: Given that I already paid income tax through my salary, am I being taxed for the same money again if/when I take out my pension payments in the future? To be clear, I am not talking about taxing capital gains on pension pot investment, strictly the income from the actual money put in the pot.
income-tax united-kingdom retirement pension
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
I, like many, have a workplace pension. I pay taxes through PAYE and file a self assessment covering all other income. My understanding is that your personal pension pot is 25% tax free then you pay income tax on the remaining 75% (please correct if wrong here).
Question: Given that I already paid income tax through my salary, am I being taxed for the same money again if/when I take out my pension payments in the future? To be clear, I am not talking about taxing capital gains on pension pot investment, strictly the income from the actual money put in the pot.
income-tax united-kingdom retirement pension
income-tax united-kingdom retirement pension
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
edited May 28 at 12:57
ggdx
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
asked May 28 at 12:51
ggdxggdx
1535 bronze badges
1535 bronze badges
add a comment
|
add a comment
|
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Short answer: no…
When you pay into a a defined contribution pension (for example a SIPP), you get income tax relief at source. Usually this happens in one of two ways:
- Your employer makes the contribution from your pay before income tax is applied;
or - Income tax is reclaimed on your contributions after you have made them. First, the pension scheme provider routinely claims back any basic rate income tax you would have paid on the amount that you contributed; this amount usually arrives in your pension a few weeks after the contribution. Then, if you are a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer, you get the remaining tax relief through self-assessment, i.e. when you enter the total of your pension contributions on your tax return.
So no, it is not taxed twice – unless you make a mistake with your tax return.
Or unless, as Ganesh points out in comments, you exceed your Annual Allowance, in which case you can't reclaim the income tax on the excess.
And the other barrier to watch out for is the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) – breaching this can make contributions highly tax-inefficient – but that's a complex matter and a different question/answer.
So, bearing in mind these two caveats, with income tax relief on the way in and the 25% tax-free lump sum option on the way out, pensions in the United Kingdom are generally regarded as tax-efficient, providing you successfully navigate the rules.
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
add a comment
|
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "93"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"u003ecc by-sa 4.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmoney.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f109402%2fare-uk-pensions-taxed-twice%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Short answer: no…
When you pay into a a defined contribution pension (for example a SIPP), you get income tax relief at source. Usually this happens in one of two ways:
- Your employer makes the contribution from your pay before income tax is applied;
or - Income tax is reclaimed on your contributions after you have made them. First, the pension scheme provider routinely claims back any basic rate income tax you would have paid on the amount that you contributed; this amount usually arrives in your pension a few weeks after the contribution. Then, if you are a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer, you get the remaining tax relief through self-assessment, i.e. when you enter the total of your pension contributions on your tax return.
So no, it is not taxed twice – unless you make a mistake with your tax return.
Or unless, as Ganesh points out in comments, you exceed your Annual Allowance, in which case you can't reclaim the income tax on the excess.
And the other barrier to watch out for is the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) – breaching this can make contributions highly tax-inefficient – but that's a complex matter and a different question/answer.
So, bearing in mind these two caveats, with income tax relief on the way in and the 25% tax-free lump sum option on the way out, pensions in the United Kingdom are generally regarded as tax-efficient, providing you successfully navigate the rules.
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
add a comment
|
Short answer: no…
When you pay into a a defined contribution pension (for example a SIPP), you get income tax relief at source. Usually this happens in one of two ways:
- Your employer makes the contribution from your pay before income tax is applied;
or - Income tax is reclaimed on your contributions after you have made them. First, the pension scheme provider routinely claims back any basic rate income tax you would have paid on the amount that you contributed; this amount usually arrives in your pension a few weeks after the contribution. Then, if you are a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer, you get the remaining tax relief through self-assessment, i.e. when you enter the total of your pension contributions on your tax return.
So no, it is not taxed twice – unless you make a mistake with your tax return.
Or unless, as Ganesh points out in comments, you exceed your Annual Allowance, in which case you can't reclaim the income tax on the excess.
And the other barrier to watch out for is the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) – breaching this can make contributions highly tax-inefficient – but that's a complex matter and a different question/answer.
So, bearing in mind these two caveats, with income tax relief on the way in and the 25% tax-free lump sum option on the way out, pensions in the United Kingdom are generally regarded as tax-efficient, providing you successfully navigate the rules.
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
add a comment
|
Short answer: no…
When you pay into a a defined contribution pension (for example a SIPP), you get income tax relief at source. Usually this happens in one of two ways:
- Your employer makes the contribution from your pay before income tax is applied;
or - Income tax is reclaimed on your contributions after you have made them. First, the pension scheme provider routinely claims back any basic rate income tax you would have paid on the amount that you contributed; this amount usually arrives in your pension a few weeks after the contribution. Then, if you are a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer, you get the remaining tax relief through self-assessment, i.e. when you enter the total of your pension contributions on your tax return.
So no, it is not taxed twice – unless you make a mistake with your tax return.
Or unless, as Ganesh points out in comments, you exceed your Annual Allowance, in which case you can't reclaim the income tax on the excess.
And the other barrier to watch out for is the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) – breaching this can make contributions highly tax-inefficient – but that's a complex matter and a different question/answer.
So, bearing in mind these two caveats, with income tax relief on the way in and the 25% tax-free lump sum option on the way out, pensions in the United Kingdom are generally regarded as tax-efficient, providing you successfully navigate the rules.
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
Short answer: no…
When you pay into a a defined contribution pension (for example a SIPP), you get income tax relief at source. Usually this happens in one of two ways:
- Your employer makes the contribution from your pay before income tax is applied;
or - Income tax is reclaimed on your contributions after you have made them. First, the pension scheme provider routinely claims back any basic rate income tax you would have paid on the amount that you contributed; this amount usually arrives in your pension a few weeks after the contribution. Then, if you are a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer, you get the remaining tax relief through self-assessment, i.e. when you enter the total of your pension contributions on your tax return.
So no, it is not taxed twice – unless you make a mistake with your tax return.
Or unless, as Ganesh points out in comments, you exceed your Annual Allowance, in which case you can't reclaim the income tax on the excess.
And the other barrier to watch out for is the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) – breaching this can make contributions highly tax-inefficient – but that's a complex matter and a different question/answer.
So, bearing in mind these two caveats, with income tax relief on the way in and the 25% tax-free lump sum option on the way out, pensions in the United Kingdom are generally regarded as tax-efficient, providing you successfully navigate the rules.
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
edited May 28 at 14:31
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
answered May 28 at 13:48
marktristanmarktristan
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
2,5778 silver badges21 bronze badges
add a comment
|
add a comment
|
Thanks for contributing an answer to Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmoney.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f109402%2fare-uk-pensions-taxed-twice%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
