Carry Forward Pension Calculator
Instantly calculate how much unused pension annual allowance you can carry forward from the last three tax years, and check whether an annual allowance charge applies. Free, accurate UK tool.
Calculate Your Available Allowance
Enter this year’s planned pension contribution, the current annual allowance, and your unused allowance from the previous three tax years to see how much you can pay in tax-efficiently, and whether any excess would trigger a charge.
Allowance Details
Enter your pension figures in GBP (£) to calculate carry forward
Allowance Evaluation
Calculated available allowance and any charge due
Annual Allowance History
The standard UK pension annual allowance by tax year. Use these figures if you need to check how much unused allowance you had available in a previous year.
| Tax Year | Standard Annual Allowance | Money Purchase Annual Allowance |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | £60,000 | £10,000 |
| 2023/24 | £60,000 | £10,000 |
| 2022/23 | £40,000 | £4,000 |
| 2021/22 | £40,000 | £4,000 |
Carry Forward FAQ
Everything you need to know about pension carry forward, the annual allowance, and avoiding an unexpected tax charge.
Carry forward lets you use any unused pension annual allowance from the previous three tax years, in addition to this year’s allowance, provided you were a member of a registered pension scheme in those years. This can let you pay in more than the standard annual allowance in a single tax year without triggering a tax charge.
The annual allowance is the maximum amount you can pay into your pensions each tax year and still receive tax relief. For the current tax year it is £60,000, or 100% of your UK relevant earnings if lower. It may be reduced if you have a high income (tapered annual allowance) or have already flexibly accessed a pension (money purchase annual allowance).
You must use the current tax year’s annual allowance first. Only once that is used up do you draw on unused allowance from previous years, starting with the earliest year first, since that allowance is the next to expire from the three-year carry forward window.
If your total pension contributions exceed your annual allowance plus any carried forward amounts, the excess is added to your taxable income for the year and may be subject to an annual allowance charge at your marginal rate of income tax.