UK Pension Carry Forward Calculator
Enter what you contributed in the last three tax years and see exactly how much unused Annual Allowance you can carry into 2024/25 — plus your maximum single-year contribution with full tax relief. Handles the £40k→£60k allowance change and oldest-first ordering. Any unused 2021/22 allowance expires after this year.
How carry forward works
The Annual Allowance caps how much can go into your pension each year with tax relief — £60,000 in 2024/25. But if you didn't use your full allowance in the previous three tax years, carry forward lets you sweep up that unused headroom and add it to this year.
| Tax year | Annual Allowance | Status in 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | £40,000 | Expires after this year |
| 2022/23 | £40,000 | Available |
| 2023/24 | £60,000 | Available |
| 2024/25 (current) | £60,000 | Used first |
So the theoretical maximum single-year contribution, with three fully-unused prior years, is £200,000 (£60k + £40k + £40k + £60k). In practice your unused amounts are smaller, but six-figure contributions are very achievable for someone who's under-pensioned and has had a good year (bonus, business sale, inheritance into earnings).
Two rules that trip people up
1. Current year first, then oldest-first
You must fully use this year's £60,000 before touching carry forward. Then you draw from the oldest year (2021/22) first, working forwards. This calculator shows exactly which year each pound of your contribution comes from.
2. The 100%-of-earnings cap on personal contributions
Carry forward lets you beat the £60k allowance — but for your own contributions, tax relief is still capped at 100% of your relevant UK earnings this year. Earn £90,000 and you can personally contribute at most £90,000 with relief, even if you have £150,000 of headroom. Employer contributions (including salary sacrifice) are not earnings-limited — so a big carry-forward play is often best routed partly through the employer.
Uses 2024/25 UK pension rules. Not tax or investment advice. Prior-year tapering, defined-benefit pension input amounts, and the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA, which removes carry forward once triggered) can all change your figures — confirm with a regulated adviser before a large contribution.
Planning a big pension year?
The £100k Trap Escape Toolkit models carry forward alongside salary sacrifice, bonus timing and the tapered allowance — so you can see the optimal way to fund a large contribution on your actual numbers. £19 one-off, 7-day refund, free 2025/26 update.
Frequently asked questions
What is pension carry forward?
Carry forward lets you use unused pension Annual Allowance from the previous three tax years, on top of the current year's allowance. So even though the standard 2024/25 Annual Allowance is £60,000, if you didn't max out your pension in 2021/22, 2022/23 or 2023/24, you can add that unused headroom to this year — potentially allowing a contribution well over £100,000 in a single year with full tax relief.
Which years can I carry forward from in 2024/25?
For the 2024/25 tax year you can carry forward unused allowance from 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24. Each year you move forward, the oldest year drops off — so any unused allowance from 2021/22 must be used in 2024/25 or it's lost forever. That makes 2021/22 the 'use it or lose it' year right now.
What was the Annual Allowance in each of those years?
2021/22: £40,000. 2022/23: £40,000. 2023/24: £60,000 (the allowance rose from £40k to £60k on 6 April 2023). Current year 2024/25: £60,000. So the theoretical maximum with three years of fully-unused carry forward is £60,000 + £40,000 + £40,000 + £60,000 = £200,000 in a single year.
Do I need to have been in a pension scheme in those years?
Yes. To carry forward from a given tax year, you must have been a member of a UK-registered pension scheme at some point during that year — but you did NOT need to have contributed. A dormant workplace pension or an untouched SIPP is enough. If you had no pension membership at all in a year, you can't carry forward from it.
What order is the allowance used in?
You always use the current year's Annual Allowance first. Only once that's fully used do you dip into carry forward, and then you take it oldest-year-first: 2021/22, then 2022/23, then 2023/24. This ordering matters because it means the oldest (soon-to-expire) allowance is consumed first — which is exactly what you want.
Is there a limit on how much tax relief I can get?
Yes — for your own (personal / relief-at-source) contributions, tax relief is capped at 100% of your relevant UK earnings in the current tax year, regardless of how much carry forward you have. So carry forward lets you exceed the £60k Annual Allowance, but not your annual salary. Employer contributions are not limited by your earnings, so salary sacrifice and employer top-ups can use carry forward beyond your salary. This is a crucial distinction for maximising a big one-off contribution.
What if my allowance was tapered in a previous year?
If you were a very high earner in a prior year, your Annual Allowance for that year may have been tapered below the standard figure (down to £4,000 minimum in 2021/22 and 2022/23, or £10,000 in 2023/24). Enter your actual tapered allowance for that year in the calculator's override field rather than the standard amount, or your carry-forward figure will be overstated.
How does carry forward interact with the taper this year?
Carry forward is applied on top of your current-year Annual Allowance — even if this year's allowance is tapered to the £10,000 minimum. So a high earner with a £10,000 tapered AA this year but £90,000 of unused carry forward could still contribute £100,000. Carry forward is the single most powerful lever for tapered high earners, which is why it pairs directly with the tapered Annual Allowance calculation.
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