GikiCalc

How much you can still put into a pension

Both income tests, worked separately — because the taper needs both, and they are not the same figure.

Salary, self-employment, rent — before any pension is taken off

From the previous three tax years, added together

Comes off threshold income

Goes on to adjusted income — the opposite direction

You can still put in

£44,000.00

£16,000.00 already in, out of £60,000

Your allowance

£60,000

Threshold income

£110,000

Adjusted income

£126,000

How the allowance is worked out
Standard annual allowance£60,000.00
Total you can pay in£60,000.00
Already paid in−£16,000.00
Left to use£44,000.00

The link carries your figures so anyone opening it sees the same calculation. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Figures for the 2026/27 UK tax year. Rates last checked against HMRC on 31 August 2026. See every source.

How to work out your annual allowance

The tapered annual allowance is the part people get wrong, and the reason is that it depends on two different definitions of income that sound like the same thing. Threshold income is your income minus your own contributions; adjusted income is your income plus what your employer pays in. They move in opposite directions, and the allowance is only reduced when both are over their own limit. A calculator that asks for one income figure has to guess, and it guesses wrong in both directions: it will taper someone on a moderate salary whose employer contributes heavily, and it will over-taper someone paying in a lot themselves. This page asks for the two contribution figures separately for exactly that reason. It also matters for a specific piece of advice given elsewhere on this site: if you are in the 60% band and thinking of paying the excess into a pension, this is where you check that the amount actually fits.

  1. 1Enter your taxable income before any pension comes off.
  2. 2Enter your own contributions and your employer’s separately — they feed two different tests and must not be added together.
  3. 3Add any unused allowance from the previous three tax years.
  4. 4Tick the flexible access box only if you have taken taxable income from a pension pot, which triggers a separate lower limit.

FAQ

Why do you ask for my contributions and my employer’s separately?

Because they pull in opposite directions. Your own contributions reduce threshold income, which can switch the taper off entirely. Your employer’s contributions increase adjusted income, which is what the reduction is measured from. Adding them together loses the information the calculation needs, and the answer still looks plausible, which is what makes the mistake so easy to miss.

My adjusted income is over the limit — why is my allowance not reduced?

Because the taper needs both tests to be passed, not just one. If your threshold income is at or below its limit, the full allowance applies however high adjusted income is. This protects people whose employer pays a large amount into their pension without their salary being especially high.

What happens if I pay in more than my allowance?

The excess is not refused. It is added to your taxable income for the year and charged at your marginal rate through an annual allowance charge, which is why the amount matters before you make the payment rather than after.

What is not covered here?

The full statutory definitions of threshold and adjusted income include several further adjustments beyond contributions, and defined benefit schemes measure the amount going in by a formula rather than by cash paid. Nor does this page cover the lifetime position, protections, or the charge itself. At this level of income the detail belongs with an accountant; this page shows the mechanism and the shape of the answer.

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