If you’ve taken money from your pension and think you’ve paid too much tax, you might be able to claim a refund. The process depends on the type of pension payment, how much you took, and when you want to claim the refund.
Taking a One-Off Payment
If the value of all your final salary pensions is £30,000 or less, you can withdraw all the money as lump sum (also called a trivial commutation) which is usually taxed at 20%. In most cases, this is correct, but sometimes too much tax is taken. If you think you’ve overpaid, you can reclaim it using form P53. This form asks for full information on your other income which HMRC will use to calculate whether you are due a repayment, and if so, how much. There are different arrangements for other pension schemes.
Taking a payment under pension flexibility
If you’ve taken money using the pension flexibility rules, it’s often taxed using an emergency tax code, which can mean too much tax being taken (deducted). If you think you’ve overpaid, you can make a claim for repayment from HMRC. How you do this depends on how much you’ve taken from your pension pot.
If you’ve taken all the money from your pension pot
When you withdraw the full amount from a pension pot, you should receive a P45 from your pension provider. This form shows the payment and tax that has been deducted.
If you pay tax through PAYE and are not in Self-Assessment, you can claim any overpaid tax during the tax year: If you have no other income or only receive the State Pension, use form P50Z. If you have other PAYE income (such as a part-time job or other pension income), use form P53Z.
Both these forms ask for full information on your other income for the tax year, which HMRC will use to calculate any repayment that may be due.
For example, if you took £20,000 from a pension and nothing remains in that pot, you can claim a tax refund on that amount, even if you have another pension you haven’t touched. If you don’t claim during the year, HMRC will review your records at the end of the tax year.
If you’ve overpaid tax or underpaid by £50 or more, they’ll send you a P800 tax calculation. This should automatically refund what you’re owed. However, mistakes do happen, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your situation and follow up if something seems wrong.
If you are within Self Assessment
If HMRC have issued you with a Self Assessment tax return, you’ll usually need to wait until the end of the tax year to sort everything out through your return.
If you’ve taken only part of your pension pot
If you only withdraw part of the money from your pension, your provider won’t give you a P45. That’s because the pension pot is still active. They’ll report the payment and tax to HMRC, who may then send an updated tax code to your provider to use for any future payments
In most cases, you can’t claim a refund during the tax year unless you’re only making a single withdrawal for that year. Instead, HMRC will check everything at the end of the tax year as part of their reconciliation process and send you a P800 if a refund is due.
If your withdrawal was a one-off payment and you don’t plan to take more during the same tax year, you can reclaim overpaid tax sooner using form P55. There have been delays in HMRC processing refunds during the year, but from 6 April 2025, HMRC has introduced changes to help reduce overtaxing and speed up refunds.
As with full withdrawals, if you don’t make a claim during the tax year, HMRC should still check your records after the year ends. If you’ve overpaid or underpaid by enough, they’ll send you a P800 calculation. Again, these checks aren’t always perfect so it’s helpful to keep a record of what’s happening and know what you need to do.
If you’re in Self Assessment, you must still include the pension withdrawal and any claim in your tax return at the end of the year, even if you reclaimed some tax earlier
Where to Find the Tax Forms
All forms are available on the HMRC website. You can find them by searching for the form number.
You can also log into your Personal Tax Account to manage your tax. If you need help, you can contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300.