Tax when you get a pension
How your tax is paid
The way tax is paid depends on the kind of pension you get, and whether you have any other income.
If you get the State Pension and a private pension
Your private pension provider will usually take off any tax you owe before they pay you. This includes any tax you owe on your State Pension.
If you get payments from more than one provider (for example, from a workplace pension and a personal pension), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will ask one of your providers to take the tax off your State Pension.
At the end of the tax year you鈥檒l get a P60 from your pension provider showing how much tax you鈥檝e paid.
If the State Pension is your only income聽
If you go over your Personal Allowance and you have tax to pay, HMRC will send you a Simple Assessment tax bill. This will tell you how much you owe and how to pay it.
After your first year of getting the State Pension, you鈥檒l pay tax based on 52 weeks of payments each year.
If your income is below your Personal Allowance, you usually will not need to pay tax.
If you鈥檙e working and getting a pension
Your employer will usually take any tax you owe off your earnings, including any tax you owe on your pension.
If you鈥檙e self-employed you must fill in a Self Assessment tax return at the end of the tax year. You must declare your overall income, including the State Pension and money from private pensions, for example your workplace pension.
If you have other income
You must let HMRC know about any income you receive that is not from an employer or a pension. You might have to fill in a Self Assessment tax return to report this.
If you owe any tax on investment income, HMRC will send you a calculation telling you how much you owe and how to pay it.
Tax codes
If your income only comes from one source you鈥檒l usually have one tax code.
You can have several tax codes if you have income from more than one source.
You can get your tax code corrected if you think it鈥檚 wrong.