Home
Tools
Guides & News About Us Contact
New - June 2026

Tapered Annual Allowance Calculator 2026/27

You are only tapered if BOTH tests are met - threshold income over £200,000 and adjusted income over £260,000. Enter your figures to see which test bites, your tapered allowance, and any carry forward.

Your income and pension input (2026/27)
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
When the tapered annual allowance applies - a grid of the two income tests A grid of threshold income (over £200,000, or £200,000 or less) against adjusted income (over £260,000, or £260,000 or less). Only the single combination where threshold income is over £200,000 AND adjusted income is over £260,000 triggers the taper. The other three combinations keep the full £60,000 allowance. ADJUSTED INCOME £260,000 or less over £260,000 THRESHOLD INCOME over £200,000 £200,000 or less Not tapered full £60,000 allowance Tapered allowance reduces, toward the £10,000 floor Not tapered full £60,000 allowance Not tapered full £60,000 allowance
You are only tapered if both tests are over the line. Miss either one and you keep the full £60,000.

The taper has two gates, not one

The The reduction of the annual allowance for high earners: once adjusted income tops £260,000, the allowance falls £1 for every £2 of excess, down to a £10,000 floor at £360,000. catches high earners, but it only applies when two separate income tests are both crossed: your threshold income is over £200,000 and your adjusted income is over £260,000. Miss either test and your The most you can pay into pensions each tax year with tax relief - £60,000 for 2026/27, covering your own, your employer's and any third-party contributions. Exceeding it triggers a tax charge. stays at the full £60,000. The threshold-income test is the one that rescues a lot of people who assume they are caught.

The two measures are not the same number. Threshold income is broadly your net income, minus the gross of your relief-at-source pension contributions, but plus any pension salary sacrifice set up on or after 9 July 2015. Adjusted income is your net income plus all pension input, including your employer's contributions. That salary-sacrifice add-back is the trap: arrangements set up on or after 9 July 2015 are added back to threshold income, so they will not pull you under the £200,000 line.

If you are tapered: how far it falls

Once both tests are crossed, your £60,000 allowance drops by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income above £260,000 (the reduction is rounded down to the nearest £1), to a floor of £10,000 - reached once adjusted income hits £360,000. Our pension annual allowance guide shows that ramp in full and works through the wider rules.

Carry forward and the £10,000 floor

You can still use Adding unused annual allowance from the previous 3 tax years to the current year's allowance. You must have been a pension scheme member in each year you carry forward from. if you are tapered: unused allowance from the previous three tax years adds to this year's allowance, used current-year-first then earliest-year-first, as long as you were a pension scheme member in those years. The subtlety the generalist pages miss: if you were tapered in one of those prior years, only the unused part of that year's tapered allowance carries forward - not a flat £60,000. If you have flexibly accessed a defined-contribution pension, the Money Purchase Annual Allowance: A reduced £10,000 annual allowance for defined-contribution pensions, triggered once you flexibly access a pension (such as taking drawdown income). It cannot be reversed or carried forward. of £10,000 may apply instead, and carry forward cannot be used against money-purchase savings. If a charge still remains after carry forward, our annual allowance charge and Scheme Pays guide explains how to pay it - and the £60,000 trap that stops most tapered earners forcing their scheme to pay.

Related: the annual allowance guide, the Pension Lump Sum Tax calculator, and the State Pension Top-up calculator.

Sources: GOV.UK - Work out your tapered annual allowance · HMRC PTM057100 · Annual allowance

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I affected by the tapered annual allowance?

Only if BOTH tests are met for the tax year: your threshold income is over £200,000 AND your adjusted income is over £260,000. If your threshold income is £200,000 or less, the taper cannot apply no matter how high your adjusted income is - so many high earners who fear the taper are not actually caught.

What is the difference between threshold income and adjusted income?

They are two different measures. Threshold income is broadly your net income less your gross relief-at-source pension contributions, but with any pension salary sacrifice set up on or after 9 July 2015 added back. Adjusted income is your net income plus all pension contributions, including your employer's. Adjusted income is almost always the higher of the two.

How much is the tapered annual allowance reduced by?

For every £2 your adjusted income exceeds £260,000, your £60,000 allowance is reduced by £1 (the reduction is rounded down to the nearest £1). The minimum tapered allowance is £10,000, which is reached once adjusted income hits £360,000.

I use salary sacrifice to get under £200,000 - am I safe?

Maybe not. Any pension salary sacrifice arrangement set up on or after 9 July 2015 is added back into your threshold income under anti-avoidance rules, so it does not help you duck under the £200,000 threshold-income test. Salary sacrifice set up before that date is not added back.

Can I still carry forward unused allowance if I am tapered?

Yes. You can carry forward unused allowance from the previous three tax years, provided you were a member of a registered pension scheme in those years. But if you were tapered in one of those years, only the unused part of that year's tapered allowance carries forward - not a flat £60,000. The current year's allowance is used first, then the earliest carry-forward year first.

Does my employer's pension contribution count?

Yes - for adjusted income. Adjusted income adds back all pension input including your employer's contributions, which is why people with generous employer schemes can be tapered even when their take-home pay looks well under the limits. Employer contributions do not count towards threshold income.