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Lump sum allowances after the LTA: the LSA, LSDBA and TTFAC

The lifetime allowance is gone. Two ceilings on tax-free money took its place — and a certificate that can move the line either way.

6 min read · Last reviewed 16 Jun 2026

Since 6 April 2024 the lifetime allowance is abolished. Two separate ceilings on tax-free money replace it: the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA), £268,275 as standard, caps the tax-free cash you can take in your lifetime; the Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA), £1,073,100, caps tax-free lump sums across life and death together. A transitional certificate (TTFAC) can change how much of each you are treated as having already used.

The two allowances — standard values, 2026/27

Lump Sum Allowance (LSA): £268,275
Lump Sum & Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA): £1,073,100
Tax-free cash on crystallisation: lower of 25% or remaining LSA
Treatment of any excess: member's / beneficiary's marginal rate

Protected members keep higher figures (for example Fixed Protection 2016 gives an LSA of £312,500 and an LSDBA of £1,250,000). The standard figures live in the versioned tax-year config and are cited to FA 2024 Sch 9, PTM171000 (LSA) and PTM172000 (LSDBA).

The Lump Sum Allowance (LSA)

The LSA is the running total of tax-free cash you can take while alive — principally the pension commencement lump sum (PCLS). Each PCLS consumes the lower of 25% of the amount crystallised or whatever LSA remains; once the £268,275 is used, further “tax-free” cash is instead taxed at your marginal rate (the old 55% / 25% lifetime-allowance charges no longer exist).

LSA worked example — a £200,000 PCLS after £100,000 already used

Standard Lump Sum Allowance: £268,275
Already used: −£100,000
Remaining LSA: £168,275
PCLS requested: £200,000
Tax-free (capped at remaining LSA): £168,275
Excess — taxed at marginal rate: £31,725

Full detail and the protection variants are in The Lump Sum Allowance, explained; to run a specific PCLS, use the Lump Sum Allowance calculator.

The Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA)

The LSDBA, £1,073,100 as standard, is the wider ceiling: it counts tax-free lump sums paid in life and on death together. PCLS consumes it quietly alongside the LSA; the cases that surprise advisers are serious ill-health and death before age 75, where the whole lump sum is tested against it. Post-75 death benefits are taxed as the beneficiary’s income rather than allowance-tested.

The pre/post-75 boundary and a worked death-benefit excess are in The LSDBA and the £1,073,100 ceiling; the LSDBA calculator tests a specific event. (PTM172000, PTM173000; FA 2024 Sch 9.)

The transitional tax-free amount certificate (TTFAC)

For tax-free cash taken before 6 April 2024, the rules assume you used the maximum — a standard deduction of 25% of the lifetime allowance you crystallised. Where the actual tax-free cash was lower, a TTFAC swaps that assumption for the evidenced figure and recovers allowance; where it was higher, the certificate binds against you. On one worked history a certificate recovers £64,620 of LSA; on the mirror case it costs £35,380 — and once issued it cannot be undone.

Whether a certificate helps is an evidence question, not a default — the decision guide is Do I need a TTFAC? and both directions are worked in When a TTFAC helps — and when it hurts. The TTFAC calculator compares the default and evidenced positions side by side. (PTM174000, PTM174200.)

Common questions

What replaced the lifetime allowance?

Two allowances, from 6 April 2024: the Lump Sum Allowance (£268,275) for tax-free cash taken in life, and the Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance (£1,073,100) for tax-free lump sums across life and death. Amounts above an allowance are taxed at the recipient’s marginal rate, not by a separate charge.

What is the lump sum allowance for 2026/27?

£268,275 as standard. Members with valid lifetime-allowance protection keep a higher figure — for example £312,500 under Fixed Protection 2016.

Is the LSDBA the same as the old lifetime allowance?

No. The £1,073,100 figure matches the final standard LTA, but the LSDBA tests only tax-free lump sums (in life and on death) — not the value of pensions in payment. It is a tax-free-cash ceiling, not a total-benefits limit.

Do I need a transitional tax-free amount certificate?

It depends on whether the tax-free cash actually taken before April 2024 was less than the 25%-of-LTA default — less, and a certificate recovers allowance; more, and it costs you. It is an evidence question; see the decision guide above and check the figures in the TTFAC calculator.

Running a real client position? Each calculator above produces a branded compliance-annex PDF with the full working and the HMRC references — drop it straight into the file. For planning and illustration only; this guide does not constitute financial or tax advice.

Grounding & sources

Allowance values (£268,275 standard LSA = lsaAmount 26827500; £1,073,100 standard LSDBA = lsdbaAmount 107310000): calc-engine versioned config 2026-27.json, per FA 2024 Sch 9 / PTM171000 / PTM172000 — the same constants the LSA/LSDBA calculators and spokes render.
LSA worked example (used £100,000 → remaining £168,275 → £200,000 PCLS → tax-free £168,275, excess £31,725 at marginal rate): the engine computation shown on /calculators/lump-sum-allowance and in “The Lump Sum Allowance, explained”.
TTFAC figures (default 25%-of-LTA-used deduction vs evidenced TFC; a worked case recovers £64,620, the mirror case costs £35,380): /calculators/ttfac and the two TTFAC spokes, per PTM174000 / PTM174200.
Marginal-rate treatment of any excess (the 55%/25% LTA charges were abolished from 6 April 2024): FA 2024 Sch 9; PTM171000 / PTM172000.

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