← Calculators/Tax year 2026/27·Last reviewed
Transitional tax-free amount certificate (TTFAC) calculator
Default 25%-of-LTA deduction vs the evidence-based alternative, side by side — including the cases where a certificate makes things worse.
Free, no sign-up. Runs the same engine and versioned tax-year config as the signed-in suite — the pension and bond calculation workbench UK paraplanners use to produce compliance-annex PDFs. Your calculator figures stay in this browser unless you choose to share or rerun them in the signed-in workbench. How we verify the numbers.
— In short
A Transitional Tax-Free Amount Certificate (TTFAC) lets a member who crystallised pension benefits before 6 April 2024 replace the standard 25%-of-LTA-used deduction from their new lump-sum allowances with the tax-free cash actually taken. Where less was taken than the default assumes, it recovers allowance — but a certificate binds both ways, so it can also reduce it.
ParaplanAI calculator illustration
TTFAC
Tax year 2026/27 · Last reviewed 20 Jul 2026
The pre-2024 history, and the evidence.
Total BCE amounts across all pre-2024 events. E.g. 80% of the £1,073,100 LTA = £858,480.
Drives the LSDBA-side default (100% for pre-75 SIH/death-benefit; 25% otherwise).
Scheme-administrator statements showing the actual TFC at each event. Without evidence the certificate cannot be applied for — the default stands.
Total TFC actually paid across the pre-2024 events, per the scheme statements.
A TTFAC must be applied for BEFORE the first post-2024 relevant event — afterwards the default is locked in.
Enhanced / Primary Protection → full workflow.
The transitional rules run from 2024/25.
This quick check aggregates the pre-2024 history into one line. Per-event evidence, mixed event kinds and scheme-specific PCLS belong in the full TTFAC workflow.
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 — the branded compliance annex, with the full working and HMRC references on every page, comes from the signed-in workflow.
Keep the working
Save this as a branded compliance annex PDF.
A free account saves this calculation to a client record and renders the annex — 3 a month, no card.
— How it's calculated
The transitional default
Members who crystallised benefits before 6 April 2024 have their new Lump Sum Allowance reduced by a default of 25% of the Lifetime Allowance percentage they used. That default assumes maximum tax-free cash was taken at every event — which is frequently untrue: defined-benefit members, members who took scheme pension without PCLS, and anyone who commuted less than the maximum all took less.
PTM174100 (standard transitional deduction) · FA 2024 Sch 9 Part 6 para 125
The certificate substitutes evidence
A Transitional Tax-Free Amount Certificate, applied for with scheme evidence of the tax-free amounts actually paid, substitutes the evidenced figure for the default — often recovering tens of thousands of pounds of allowance. The application must be made before the first post-April-2024 relevant crystallisation; after that the default is locked in.
PTM174300 (certificates: application + evidence) · FA 2024 Sch 9 Part 6 para 127
When a certificate hurts
The certificate binds both ways. Where the member actually took MORE tax-free cash than the 25% default assumes — scheme-specific protected PCLS is the classic case — the evidenced deduction is larger than the default, and a certificate would reduce the remaining allowance. The engine compares both paths and flags this before you apply. On the LSDBA side, pre-75 serious ill-health and death-benefit events default to 100% of the LTA used, not 25%.
PTM174200 (LSDBA-side defaults)
— How to work out whether a transitional tax-free amount certificate helps
Step 1
Find the default deduction
Calculate the standard transitional deduction: 25% of the Lifetime Allowance percentage used across the pre-6-April-2024 events.
Step 2
Gather the evidence
Collect scheme-administrator statements showing the tax-free amounts actually paid at each pre-2024 event.
Step 3
Compute the evidenced deduction
Total the actual tax-free cash taken — this is the figure a certificate substitutes for the default.
Step 4
Compare the two paths
A smaller evidenced figure than the default means a certificate recovers allowance; a larger one means a certificate would reduce it.
Step 5
Check the deadline
A certificate must be applied for before the first post-April-2024 relevant crystallisation event; afterwards the default is locked in.
— Worked example
- Default LSA deduction (25% × LTA used)
- £214,620
- LSA remaining on the default
- £53,655
- Evidenced LSA deduction (actual TFC)
- £150,000
- LSA remaining with a TTFAC
- £118,275
- Uplift — allowance the certificate recovers
- £64,620
Computed live by the same engine the tool above runs. This example shows the evidenced path leaving more allowance than the default; it is not a recommendation to apply. Evidence of a higher actual TFC can flip the sign, and a certificate can bind even when it leaves less allowance.
— Frequently asked questions
What is a transitional tax-free amount certificate?
A TTFAC substitutes the tax-free amounts a member actually took before 6 April 2024 for the standard 25%-of-LTA-used default, when working out the new Lump Sum Allowance and Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance. It is applied for with scheme evidence.
Do I need a TTFAC?
A certificate is generally only worth it where the member took less tax-free cash than the 25% default assumes — defined-benefit members, members who took scheme pension without a lump sum, and anyone who commuted less than the maximum. This calculator compares the default and evidenced paths side by side.
When does a TTFAC make things worse?
The certificate binds both ways. Where the member actually took more tax-free cash than the 25% default assumes — scheme-specific protected PCLS is the classic case — the evidenced deduction is larger than the default, and a certificate would reduce the remaining allowance. The engine flags this before you apply.
What is the deadline to apply for a TTFAC?
The application must be made before the first post-April-2024 relevant benefit crystallisation event. After that event the default transitional deduction is locked in and cannot be replaced.
What evidence does a TTFAC need?
Scheme-administrator statements showing the actual tax-free amounts paid at each pre-2024 event. Without that evidence a certificate cannot be applied for, and the default deduction stands.
— Related
- Lump sum allowances: the complete guide
- TTFAC: when the certificate recovers £64,620 — and when it costs £35,380
- LSA calculator — spend the recovered allowance
- LSDBA calculator — the death-benefit-side allowance
- Full TTFAC workflow — per-event evidence and mixed histories
- How every figure is verified against the HMRC corpus
— When you're ready
Put this calculation in the client file.
ParaplanAI is the paraplanner's calculation workbench: the same engine as this free tool, plus document extraction, full multi-event workflows, and a branded compliance annex PDF with the step-by-step working and its HMRC references — the file a compliance officer signs.