UK Pension Carry Forward Calculator
Allocate a pension input across your current allowance and verified unused allowances from the prior three tax years. See which year is used and how much input remains uncovered.
Rule year: 2026/27 · GBP · Sources checked
Pension input covered by entered allowances
No money purchase annual allowance or alternative-allowance case. Prior-year membership and genuine unused amounts must be established; current allowance can be tapered. Include employer/employee and other relevant pension inputs. No DB valuation, charge amount, scheme-pays election or earnings-based personal tax-relief limit is inferred.
Current year, then oldest unused allowance
Enter genuine unused amounts after earlier carry-forward use, taper and eligibility. This is annual-allowance allocation, not personal contribution tax-relief eligibility or an annual-allowance charge calculation.
| Tax year | Available before input | Allocated | Unused |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | £60,000.00 | £60,000.00 | £0.00 |
| 2023/24 | £10,000.00 | £10,000.00 | £0.00 |
| 2024/25 | £20,000.00 | £20,000.00 | £0.00 |
| 2025/26 | £30,000.00 | £10,000.00 | £20,000.00 |
For informational purposes only. This estimate is not financial advice, a tax return, a payroll calculation or a lender decision. See the supported circumstances and exclusions below.
How this calculator works
Annual-allowance carry-forward can cover pension input exceeding the current-year allowance when eligible unused amounts remain from the previous three years. Current-year allowance is used first; eligible prior years are used oldest first. Enter the amounts already checked for scheme membership, taper and earlier use. The allocation table avoids treating all prior years as automatically unused or confusing pension input with a personally deductible contribution.
Formula and rules
Allocate total input to current allowance, then unused 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 amounts. Uncovered input = max(0, total input − sum of entered eligible allowances).
Assumptions and limitations
No money purchase annual allowance or alternative-allowance case. Prior-year membership and genuine unused amounts must be established; current allowance can be tapered. Include employer/employee and other relevant pension inputs. No DB valuation, charge amount, scheme-pays election or earnings-based personal tax-relief limit is inferred.
Worked example
A £100,000 input with £60,000 current allowance and £10,000/£20,000/£30,000 unused prior allowances uses £60,000 current, £10,000 oldest, £20,000 middle and £10,000 latest. No input is uncovered; £20,000 remains unused.
- Pension input covered by entered allowances
- £100,000.00
- Input above available allowances
- £0.00
- Total allowance available before input
- £120,000.00
- Unused available allowance after allocation
- £20,000.00
Official sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 2026-10-07. Rates are held in versioned rule modules. Versioned rules, official source review and year-specific calculation tests.
- HMRC: pension carry-forward calculation ↗
Current allowance then oldest eligible unused prior allowance; check scheme membership, earlier usage, taper and MPAA restrictions.
- GOV.UK: pension annual allowance ↗
£60,000 standard allowance; taper requires threshold income above £200,000 and adjusted income above £260,000.
Common questions
Can I just enter £60,000 for all previous years?
Only if those are verified eligible unused amounts after actual inputs, taper and any earlier carry-forward use. Membership requirements also apply.
Can I carry unused MPAA forward?
No. This scope excludes MPAA/alternative-allowance cases; follow the separate official rules rather than entering their amounts as ordinary carry-forward.
Is this my personal contribution tax-relief limit?
No. Annual allowance covers scheme input, including employers. Personal tax relief also depends on relevant earnings and other conditions.