Pension tax relief can now be claimed online

HMRC has launched a new online form to make it easier for taxpayers to claim additional tax relief on their pension contributions. Claimants can login using their Government Gateway user ID and will need to supply proof of the pension contributions from the pension provider.

The service is only available to taxpayers that are not in self-assessment, i.e., taxpayers that only have PAYE income, whose marginal rate of tax is 40% or 45%. This would only be necessary where there is further tax relief to claim, such as where personal pension contributions are made or workplace pension contributions that are not under a net pay arrangement. Advisors cannot use the online service and must continue to make such claims for clients by post.

Once the form has been submitted, HMRC should respond within 28 days which is much quicker than if the claim is sent by post.