What is the pension annual allowance for 2026/27?

£60,000 as standard. It can taper for high earners. Flexibly accessing defined-contribution benefits normally triggers the money purchase annual allowance for money-purchase inputs and changes how other pension inputs are tested — the exact gates and limits are in the table above.

Where do these figures come from?

Every figure is read from the engine's versioned 2026/27 tax-year configuration (2026-27-v1.14, verified against official sources on 2026-07-13) — the same constants ParaplanAI's calculators compute against. The table cannot drift from a calculated result, and it refreshes automatically when the new tax year's config is published.

Can I use these rates on my own site?

Yes — there is a free embeddable rates card that stays current with the tax year, and a machine-readable JSON version of every year. Both are linked on this page and carry a simple attribution.

Do you have the figures for earlier tax years?

Yes — every year back to 2020/21 has its own page, and the history tables track the annual allowance, MPAA, taper gates and lifetime allowance across years.

— Quick reference

UK pension & tax rates 2026/27

Name: UK pension and tax rates and allowances 2026/27
Creator: ParaplanAI

Every figure a paraplanner reaches for — the annual allowance and its taper, the MPAA, the lump sum allowances, the income-tax bands both sides of the border, NI, savings, dividends, the child-benefit charge and the childcare cliff. Always the current year; never hand-typed.

Every figure is read from the engine’s versioned 2026/27 configuration (2026-27-v1.14, verified against official sources on 2026-07-13) — the same constants the calculators compute against, so this reference cannot drift from a calculated result.

Also available as an embeddable card and machine-readable JSON.

Pension annual allowance

Standard annual allowance: £60,000
Taper — threshold income gate: £200,000
Taper — adjusted income gate: £260,000
Taper — reduction: £1 for every £2of adjusted income over £260,000
Tapered allowance floor: £10,000
Money purchase annual allowance (MPAA): £10,000
Relief without earnings — basic amount: £3,600gross, for members with no relevant UK earnings
DB revaluation — prior-September CPI: 3.8%applied to the DB opening value (FA 2004 s.235)

PTM055100 · PTM057100 · PTM056510 · FA 2004 s.190 & s.235 · PTM053301 · Apply it: Annual allowance · Tapered AA · MPAA · Carry forward · DB input amount

Lump sum allowances

Lump Sum Allowance (LSA): £268,275
Lump Sum & Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA): £1,073,100
LSA / LSDBA — Fixed Protection 2012: £450,000 / £1,800,000
LSA / LSDBA — Fixed Protection 2014: £375,000 / £1,500,000
LSA / LSDBA — Fixed Protection 2016: £312,500 / £1,250,000

Enhanced and primary protection carry their own transitional ceilings — the LSA and LSDBA calculators apply them per certificate.

FA 2024 Sch 9 · PTM171000 · PTM172000 · PTM176400 · Apply it: LSA · LSDBA · TTFAC calculator

Income tax — England, Wales & Northern Ireland

Personal allowance: £12,570
Personal allowance — withdrawn from: £100,000£1 for every £2 of adjusted net income; nil at £125,140
Basic rate — 20%: first £37,700of taxable income
Higher rate — 40%: £37,700 to £125,140
Additional rate — 45%: over £125,140

Finance Act 2026 s.3 (2026/27 default rates) · ITA 2007 s.10 & s.35 (rates, bands, personal-allowance withdrawal) · Apply it: Income tax · £100k tax trap · Adjusted net income

Income tax — Scotland (non-savings)

Personal allowance — 0%: first £12,570UK-wide; the bands below assume it in full
Starter rate — 19%: £12,571 to £16,537of income
Scottish basic rate — 20%: £16,538 to £29,526of income
Intermediate rate — 21%: £29,527 to £43,662of income
Higher rate — 42%: £43,663 to £75,000of income
Advanced rate — 45%: £75,001 to £125,140of income
Top rate — 48%: £125,141 and aboveof income

Bands are shown as gross-income boundaries on gov.scot's published basis, assuming the full £12,570 personal allowance — where the allowance is reduced (adjusted net income over £100,000) or increased, every boundary shifts by the same amount. The engine works in taxable income; the taxable band widths behind these boundaries are published in the JSON dataset for this year.

Scotland Act 2016 s.13; rates set by the Scottish Parliament (gov.scot). ITA 2007 s.35 (personal allowance). Savings, dividends, the personal allowance and its withdrawal are UK-wide. · Apply it: Income tax (Scotland toggle) · £100k tax trap (Scotland toggle)

Savings & dividends

Personal savings allowance (basic / higher / additional): £1,000 / £500 / £0
Starting rate for savings: 0% on up to £5,000eroded £1-for-£1 by non-savings taxable income
Dividend allowance: £500
Dividend rates (ordinary / upper / additional): 10.75% / 35.75% / 39.35%

The PSA and the starting rate for savings are the two allowances recalculated inside top-slicing relief for gains from 6 April 2021 (IPTM3820).

Finance Act 2026 ss.3–4 (2026/27 savings rates; dividend ordinary and upper rates) · ITA 2007 s.12 & ss.12A–12B (starting rate, PSA) · ITA 2007 s.13A (dividend nil rate) · Apply it: Income tax · Top-slicing relief · Chargeable event gain

National Insurance (Class 1)

Employee — primary threshold: £12,570
Employee — upper earnings limit: £50,270
Employee — main / upper rate: 8% / 2%
Employer — secondary threshold: £5,000
Employer — rate: 15%

SSCBA 1992 s.8 (employee) & s.9 (employer) · Apply it: Salary sacrifice

Child Benefit & the High Income Charge

Child Benefit (weekly, first / additional child): £27.05 / £17.90
HICBC — starts at adjusted net income: £60,000
HICBC — clawback: 1% per £200of adjusted net income over £60,000; full charge at £80,000

ITEPA 2003 s.681B–681H · SSCBA 1992 s.141 · Apply it: HICBC · Adjusted net income

Childcare support & the £100k eligibility limit

Tax-Free Childcare — annual cap (per child / disabled child): £2,000 / £4,000
Eligibility cliff — adjusted net income: £100,000if either parent expects ANI above this, the household does not qualify for Tax-Free Childcare or England’s working-parent entitlement

Tax-Free Childcare is a top-up on eligible spend, up to the cap. Funded-hours eligibility and value vary by age, UK nation, provider and entitlement period; England’s universal 15 hours for 3- and 4-year-olds are separate.

Childcare Payments Act 2014 s.1 & Childcare Act 2016 (funded hours) · Apply it: £100k tax trap

Trusts

Trust rate: 45%
Trust dividend rate: 39.35%

ITA 2007 s.9 & s.479 · Apply it: Chargeable event gain

Capital gains & ISA

CGT annual exempt amount: £3,000
CGT rates (basic / higher): 18% / 24%
ISA annual subscription limit: £20,000

ParaplanAI does not compute CGT — these figures sit in the reference for the wrapper comparison.

TCGA 1992 s.1K & s.1H · ITTOIA 2005 s.694 (ISA regulations) · Apply it: Pension vs ISA

Need the number, not just the rate?

The free calculators apply every figure on this page — carry-forward, the taper, the MPAA, top-slicing with the post-2021 PSA recalculation — and show the full working, ready for the client file.

Open the free calculators

Questions

What is the pension annual allowance for 2026/27?: £60,000 as standard. It can taper for high earners. Flexibly accessing defined-contribution benefits normally triggers the money purchase annual allowance for money-purchase inputs and changes how other pension inputs are tested — the exact gates and limits are in the table above.
Where do these figures come from?: Every figure is read from the engine's versioned 2026/27 tax-year configuration (2026-27-v1.14, verified against official sources on 2026-07-13) — the same constants ParaplanAI's calculators compute against. The table cannot drift from a calculated result, and it refreshes automatically when the new tax year's config is published.
Can I use these rates on my own site?: Yes — there is a free embeddable rates card that stays current with the tax year, and a machine-readable JSON version of every year. Both are linked on this page and carry a simple attribution.
Do you have the figures for earlier tax years?: Yes — every year back to 2020/21 has its own page, and the history tables track the annual allowance, MPAA, taper gates and lifetime allowance across years.

For planning and illustration purposes only. Verify all inputs against source documents. This reference does not constitute financial or tax advice. Figures from configuration 2026-27-v1.14, verified against official sources 2026-07-13.