← Calculators/Last reviewed 15 Sept 2026

Pension carry forward calculator

See how much unused pension allowance can be carried forward.

Free, no sign-up. AI never does the maths.

Carry-forward available£60,000.00

Worked example.

— Inputs

This year, income, and the three prior years.

Tax year

DC contributions this year (PIA)

Member + employer + tax relief. Leave out member contributions after age 75.

Why we ask

Member contributions paid after age 75 are not relievable and are not pension input (FA 2004 s.188(3)(a), s.233(1)(a)). Leave them out; employer contributions still count.

DB pension input amount this year

From the DB PIA calculation (16× method) — not contributions paid.

Threshold income

Net income, less relief-at-source pension, plus pay sacrificed for pension.

Why we ask

Net income less gross relief-at-source contributions, counting only those within the tax relief limit (the greater of relevant UK earnings and £3,600, less any net-pay or other relievable contributions), plus relevant sacrificed or flexible pay under arrangements made after 8 July 2015, less any taxable lump-sum death benefits. Net-pay contributions are already out of net income, so do not deduct them again.

Adjusted income

Net income plus net-pay contributions and pension input less member contributions.

Why we ask

Net income plus specified contribution-relief addbacks and pension input less member contributions, less any taxable lump-sum death benefits. Relief-at-source contributions are not added again.

Both figures also deduct relevant taxable lump-sum death benefits.

Pension input · 2025/26

Pension input · 2024/25

Pension input · 2023/24

Enter £0 for a year with no pension input. Oldest used first.

Add other income or details

Scottish taxpayer status

Scottish income-tax bands apply to Scottish taxpayers.

Relevant UK earnings

Leave blank if personal contributions are within your relief limit.

Why we ask

Employment income and self-employed or partnership trading profits (and some patent income), before tax; pension, investment and rental income are not relevant UK earnings, except furnished holiday lettings profits up to 2024-25. Relief on your own pension contributions is limited to these earnings, or to £3,600 a year if that is higher for relief-at-source contributions. Employer contributions sit outside this limit.

of which employer contributions

Employer share of the DC input, including salary sacrifice.

Why we ask

Employer contributions (incl. salary sacrifice) count toward the AA but are NOT capped by your relevant earnings.

Prior-year income (for taper)

Optional. Enter a year’s threshold income and adjusted income to test that year for the taper: its unused allowance is then measured against that year’s own tapered allowance (PTM057100). A year with only one of the two figures is not tested.

Threshold income · 2025/26

Adjusted income · 2025/26

Threshold income · 2024/25

Adjusted income · 2024/25

Threshold income · 2023/24

Adjusted income · 2023/24

Example figures. Start typing in any field — the interactive calculator opens here and keeps what you enter.

Example assumes scheme membership in all three prior years, no taper and no MPAA trigger.

Illustration — worked example

Carry-forward available

£60,000.00

2026/27 · £70,000.00 DC input · £90,000.00 earnings · prior inputs £50,000.00, £40,000.00, £30,000.00 (newest first).

Applicable annual allowance this year: £60,000.00
Total allowance available: £120,000.00
Pension input this year: £70,000.00
Headroom: £50,000.00

Example assumptions and checks

Rest of UK; threshold income £20,000.00, adjusted income £90,000.00, no employer contribution, no DB input. Current-year allowance is used first, then the oldest unused allowance. Personal tax relief also depends on relevant earnings.

Unused Annual Allowance for 2025-26 computed against the untapered standard AA. If the member was a high earner that year, the carry-forward figure may be overstated — supply adjusted + threshold income for 2025-26 to taper-compute per PTM057100.

Unused Annual Allowance for 2024-25 computed against the untapered standard AA. If the member was a high earner that year, the carry-forward figure may be overstated — supply adjusted + threshold income for 2024-25 to taper-compute per PTM057100.

Unused Annual Allowance for 2023-24 computed against the untapered standard AA. If the member was a high earner that year, the carry-forward figure may be overstated — supply adjusted + threshold income for 2023-24 to taper-compute per PTM057100.

For planning and illustration purposes only. Verify all inputs against source documents. This tool does not constitute financial or tax advice.

Print this quick illustration now. Signed-in users can add a client or file reference before saving it as a PDF. Create the compliance annex, with its working and HMRC references, in the signed-in workflow.

Unused allowance from the three prior years, consumed oldest-first — the statutory working shown line by line.

Free to use, with no sign-up. Your figures stay in this browser unless you choose to share them or send them to your workspace. Calculation methods and checks.

— Understanding the result

Pension carry-forward lets you add unused annual allowance from the three previous tax years to this year's allowance, so a larger contribution can be made without an annual allowance charge.

The current year's allowance is used first, then the oldest of the three years, then forward — and you must have been a member of a registered pension scheme in a year for its allowance to carry.

— How it's calculated

The three-year window

Unused annual allowance from the three immediately preceding tax years can be carried forward and added to the current year's allowance — current year first, then the oldest of the three, then forward. Allowance unused from a tapered year is the unused part of the TAPERED figure for that year, not the standard one.

PTM055100 (carry forward) · FA 2004 s.228A

Membership is the gate

Carry-forward only arises from a year in which the individual was a member of a registered pension scheme — any scheme, with or without contributions. A year with no membership at all contributes nothing, however long ago the scheme was joined.

PTM055100 (conditions)

The MPAA does not wipe carry-forward

A common error: treating a money-purchase annual allowance trigger as erasing the carry-forward pot. It does not. Carry-forward survives — it simply can never be added to the MPAA itself. It remains available for the default chargeable-amount test and for the defined-benefit alternative allowance.

PTM055100 · PTM056510 (MPAA interaction)

Carry-forward does not lift the earnings limit

This is the trap that turns a clean carry-forward figure into an unrelievable contribution. Carry-forward enlarges the annual allowance only. Tax relief on the member's own contributions is separately capped at the greater of 100% of their relevant UK earnings for the year of payment and the £3,600 gross basic amount — a cap prior-year headroom cannot touch. A member with £45,000 of earnings and £150,000 of carry-forward can personally contribute £45,000 with relief, not £195,000. Employer contributions are outside the earnings limit, which is why a large carry-forward position is usually funded from the employer side.

PTM044100 · FA 2004 s.190 (annual limit for relief)

An intervening year’s own breach is absorbed first

Carry-forward is not three independent balances. Where an intervening year in the window had a breach of its own — that year's pension input exceeding that year's applicable allowance — unused allowance from older years is set against it first, oldest year first, before any of it can reach the current year. Reading each prior year in isolation therefore overstates what is actually available. The engine runs that set-off ledger sequentially across the years supplied.

PTM055100 · FA 2004 s.228A(5)(b), (6), (7)

— How to calculate pension carry-forward

Step 1
Confirm scheme membership
You must have been a member of a registered pension scheme in each prior year you want to carry unused allowance from — with or without contributions in that year.
Step 2
Find each prior year’s unused allowance
For each of the three preceding tax years, take the unused part of that year’s annual allowance — the tapered figure if the year was tapered, not the standard one.
Step 3
Use the current year first
Set this year’s pension input against this year’s annual allowance before drawing on any carry-forward.
Step 4
Consume the oldest year first
Apply unused allowance from the oldest of the three prior years next, then work forward to the most recent — the statutory order in PTM055100.
Step 5
Read the result
Any pension input still uncovered is the chargeable excess; allowance left in the most recent years remains available to carry into future years.
Step 6
Check the contribution is relievable
Carry-forward enlarges the annual allowance only. Relief on the member’s own contributions is still capped at the greater of 100% of their relevant UK earnings for the year and £3,600 gross, whatever the carry-forward figure says.

— Worked example

£100,000 contribution in 2026/27 · unused AA: £20,000 (2023/24), £15,000 (2024/25), £10,000 (2025/26)

Current-year allowance consumed first: £60,000
CF consumed from 2023/24 (oldest first): £20,000
CF consumed from 2024/25: £15,000
CF consumed from 2025/26: £5,000
Chargeable excess: £0

Computed live by the same engine the tool above runs. The £40,000 over the in-year allowance consumes the oldest year's headroom first — the statutory order in PTM055100 — leaving the newest year's allowance available next year.

— Frequently asked questions

How does pension carry-forward work?

You add unused annual allowance from the three immediately preceding tax years to the current year. This year’s allowance is used first, then the oldest of the three prior years, then forward — so a contribution larger than one year’s allowance can still avoid a charge.

How many years can you carry forward?

The three immediately preceding tax years. Allowance unused more than three years ago is lost; allowance left unused in a recent year continues to roll forward within its own three-year window.

Do you need to have been a pension scheme member to carry forward?

Yes. Carry-forward only arises from a year in which you were a member of a registered pension scheme — any scheme, with or without contributions. A year with no membership at all contributes nothing, however long ago a scheme was joined.

Does the MPAA stop you carrying forward?

No. The money purchase annual allowance does not erase the carry-forward pot. Carry-forward survives — it simply can never be added to the MPAA itself — and remains available for the default chargeable-amount test and the defined-benefit alternative allowance.

How does a tapered year affect carry-forward?

A tapered year generates carry-forward from its tapered allowance, not the standard one. A member tapered to the floor who made no contributions carries forward only the floor amount. Prior-year taper is a frequent source of overstated carry-forward.

Can carry-forward let a member contribute more than they earn?

No. Carry-forward enlarges the annual allowance; it does not touch the separate limit on tax relief, which is the greater of 100% of the member’s relevant UK earnings for the year of payment and £3,600 gross. A member with £45,000 of relevant earnings and £150,000 of carry-forward can personally contribute £45,000 with relief, not £195,000. Employer contributions sit outside the earnings limit while still counting towards the annual allowance, so a large carry-forward position is usually funded from the employer side.

Pension carry forward calculator