Can I reclaim tax relief on pension contr. as basic rate tax

Can I reclaim tax relief on pension contr. as basic rate tax

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CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,637 posts

195 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
I don’t think the 20% was added cos my £1000 I purchased (for a cost of £9440) was all that got added to my pension statement. But now I’m going to screw things up by saying the was with teachers pensions, so maybe it’s different somehow? Although I don’t think / can’t see why it would be. The only thing I know is what I quoted above and see pic below, which appears to say nothing happens and I will have to contact my local tax office (as I paid by lump sum not instalments)

I sent them a message so will have to wait for response which will probably take 2 weeks, I will update when I hear back.


dingg

3,989 posts

219 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
JulianPH said:
Sorry, I missed that thread!

Just had a look and Steve was spot on, but it seems like that won't work for you. It may still be worth you going back to them and pointing out the large employer NI saving they would benefit from and that you are happy to sign an agreement to not pursue them for unfair dismissal.

It might not get you anywhere, but it would be my first move at this stage.

If you have the earnings and already have any form of pension (State Pension excluded) in place there is nothing stopping you from putting this payment into your pension to avoid any tax.

If you don't, then you can request they make this payment as a gross pension contribution rather than a net personal payment.

If you would like to chat through this please give me a PM. Alternatively contact Nik on the IM sticky and he can do this and also represent your position (and the tax advantages available to them) with your employer. This should add some weight to your position.

Julian you have email 👍

Eric Mc

122,032 posts

265 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
I don’t think the 20% was added cos my £1000 I purchased (for a cost of £9440) was all that got added to my pension statement. But now I’m going to screw things up by saying the was with teachers pensions, so maybe it’s different somehow? Although I don’t think / can’t see why it would be. The only thing I know is what I quoted above and see pic below, which appears to say nothing happens and I will have to contact my local tax office (as I paid by lump sum not instalments)

I sent them a message so will have to wait for response which will probably take 2 weeks, I will update when I hear back.

What type of PAYE tax code did you have?

There are alternative ways in which tax relief can be obtained on pensions.

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,637 posts

195 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
It said tax code at the end of the year was 1100L

“Your tax code for LONDON BOROUGH OF XXXXX from 6 April 2016 to 5 April 2017 was 1100L”

JulianPH

9,917 posts

114 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
dingg said:
Julian you have email ??
Responded! smile

Eric Mc

122,032 posts

265 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
It said tax code at the end of the year was 1100L

“Your tax code for LONDON BOROUGH OF XXXXX from 6 April 2016 to 5 April 2017 was 1100L”
Standard code for that year so no pension tax relief being given through your code.

If you are convinced your pension company has failed to credit you with your rightful tax relief, that is a serious situation and you need to contact them to find out what has happened and get the situation sorted.

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,637 posts

195 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
It seems I was not wrong to consider this, as I have found a post on the exact same topic on the teachers forum, one person said the following in response to a similar query::

Forum said:
”I did a one off payment for additional pension. You pay the whole amount to teacher's pensions, then they send you a letter confirming the payment. You send a copy of that confirmation with an accompanying letter to HMRC explaining you made a gross payment to your pension and would like to claim the tax relief. They will adjust your tax code (add your gross payment to your tax code, e.g, if your tax code is 11850L and you make a £20,000 gross payment contribution, your tax code will become 11850+20,000=31850L. so you claim back the tax through your monthly pay. You won't pay in income tax until all the tax has been claimed back.”
So I intend to do likewise and see if I get anywhere. As I looked at my tax codes the following years and they remained normal ie didn’t change / take account of the above.

Eric Mc

122,032 posts

265 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
quotequote all
Normally, if you make what are called Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) to a pension, YOU must notify HMRC directly that you have done so.


JulianPH

9,917 posts

114 months

Sunday 13th October 2019
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Right, so this wasn't a contribution to a personal pension at all!

Makes sense now! smile

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,637 posts

195 months

Sunday 8th December 2019
quotequote all
Hi it’s been 1 week short of 2 months since I posted a letter to hmrc pensions about this and I’ve not had any response. Any thoughts on how long I should wait / they will take to respond? I laid it out clearly and gave all info in my letter so I thought would be fairly straightforward either way.

Eric Mc

122,032 posts

265 months

Sunday 8th December 2019
quotequote all
Only two months smile Give them a chance - it's HMRC. They're all on Brexit duty at the moment. Maybe when Boris gets Brexit done HMRC can return to their more normal tasks.

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,637 posts

195 months

Sunday 8th December 2019
quotequote all
Yeah I knew about brexit so I thought I was being patient at 2 months! I shall hang on in there

JulianPH

9,917 posts

114 months

Sunday 8th December 2019
quotequote all
Has it been concluded that you made an Additional Pension Benefits contribution into your teachers' pension scheme, rather than added a contribution to any type of personal pension?

If it the former then you need to speak to the Teachers' Pension Scheme. If it is the latter then speak to your pension provider.

You should receive tax relief at source in any event though.

Cheers


CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,637 posts

195 months

Thursday 16th July 2020
quotequote all
Well after an initial letter from hmrc saying only higher rate tax payers get relief,l so I wasn’t entitled, I wrote a second letter asking for someone to review my case in more detail (I gave all specifics).

I’m happy (for myself!) to report I was correct and owed 20% relief and got a nice cheque

It took 2 phone calls (got told wrongly I wasn’t entitled) and 3 letters (1 they claimed ‘never received’, 1 they denied I was entitled, and on 3rd they acted)

Edited by CoolHands on Friday 17th July 08:36