The person said that they planned to retire at the end of April and would become a “non taxpayer”. Their question was whether it would be better to adjust their salary for the coming 2026/2027 tax year now to “claim back the tax”.
The department responded to first ask them to clarify if they would have a “continuing UK source of income” once they had retired. The person said that their income would only be from pensions and that their total income would be “below the personal allowance”.
In line with the personal allowance, you can have an income of up to £12,570 each tax year and you don’t have to pay income tax on this. HMRC shared this guidance for the taxpayer: “So once you retire and you’ve got your P45, you can contact the helpline and we can take the details over the phone.
“We’ll use the P45 info and instruct your pension provider to refund any overpaid tax through your pension payments.” Another factor to bear in mind if you are planning for your retirement is your state pension.
Changes to the state pension
You can claim the state pension when you reach the age of 66. However, this is changing soon, as the access age will increase from April 2026. It will move up in stages to reach 67 by April 2028.
The full new state pension currently pays £230.25 a week, or £11,973 a year. The triple lock policy will increase payments by 4.8 percent from April, increasing the full new amount to £241.30 a week, or £12,547.60 a year, just below the personal allowance threshold.
You can check how much state pension you are on track using a tool on the Government website. If you have paid the wrong amount of tax by the end of the tax year, which finished April 5, HMRC will usually contact you about the amount.
The tax authority will send you either a tax calculation letter, also known as a P800, or a simple assessment letter. You will only be contacted in these two ways if you are employed or are receiving a pension.
The letters are sent out between June and March of the following tax year. If you are registered for self assessment, HMRC will automatically adjust your bill and you will not be sent a letter.
If you think you are due an amount but are not sent a letter, there is a tool you can use on the Government website to find out if you can claim a refund.
