Pension Tax Accountants for High Earners and Company Directors
We handle the tax on your pension: the annual allowance charge, the tapered allowance, the relief you are owed, and the corporation tax on company contributions. A firm regulated by the ACCA, with a fixed fee agreed before we start.
We are accountants, not financial advisers. We deal with the tax, not with pension products, transfers, drawdown or investments, which are FCA-regulated advice and need an FCA-authorised adviser.
- The annual allowance charge and tapered allowance, computed and filed
- Higher and additional-rate tax relief reclaimed through Self Assessment
- Company director and employer contributions, and the tax on them
- An ACCA-regulated practice, fixed fees agreed first
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Your Annual Allowance, and What the Taper Does to It
For 2026/27 most people can pay in £60,000 a year with tax relief. Once your income is high enough the allowance is tapered away, by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income over £260,000, down to a floor of £10,000. Pay in more than the allowance and a tax charge follows on your Self Assessment return.
Unused allowance from the previous three tax years can be added on top, which is often what keeps a large one-off contribution inside the limit. The taper also depends on threshold income being over £200,000, so the two calculations have to be run together. That is where a return is won or lost.
There are two sides to a pension and only one of them is ours. What to hold, when to draw it, whether to move it: that is regulated financial advice, and you need an adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority for it. The tax on the way in, and the tax on the way out, is accountancy, and that is what we do. We are regulated by the ACCA, not the FCA, and we keep to the tax.
For most people the pension tax rules never bite. For high earners and company directors they do. The annual allowance is tapered away as income rises, the charge for going over lands on the Self Assessment return, higher-rate relief is often left unclaimed, and a company can pay into a director's pension in a way an individual cannot. Getting those right is where a pension tax accountant earns the fee.
Guides to Pension Tax
Plain explanations of the rules that decide what you can pay in, the relief you get, and the tax when it comes out, written for the people who pay the charge rather than for other accountants.
The Annual Allowance
This guide covers the £60,000 annual allowance for 2026/27, what counts as a pension input, and how the tax charge is worked out and reported.
Read the guideThe Tapered Annual Allowance
This guide covers the two income tests, how the £60,000 allowance tapers to a £10,000 floor, and who the taper actually catches.
Read the guidePension Carry Forward
This guide covers how unused allowance from the previous three tax years is used, the scheme membership condition, and the order the years are drawn on.
Read the guideThe Money Purchase Annual Allowance
This guide covers the £10,000 money purchase annual allowance for 2026/27, what flips it on, and what it restricts afterwards.
Read the guidePension Tax Relief
This guide covers the earnings limit on relief, relief at source versus net pay, and how higher and additional rate taxpayers claim the rest.
Read the guideThe Lump Sum Allowances
This guide covers the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance and the two allowances that replaced it, the LSA and the LSDBA.
Read the guidePensions and Inheritance Tax
This guide covers the current inheritance tax position for pensions and the change that brings unused funds into the estate from 6 April 2027.
Read the guideWhat We Do for High Earners and Directors
We work out the annual allowance across all your schemes, apply carry forward from the previous three years, and where the taper reduces your allowance we calculate it from your threshold and adjusted income rather than guessing. Where a charge is due we report it on your Self Assessment return and use scheme pays where it is worth it, so the tax does not come straight out of your own pocket. Where you have paid in personally and only basic-rate relief has been given at source, we reclaim the higher or additional-rate relief you are owed.
For company directors we deal with the corporation tax side of employer contributions, which are not limited by your earnings the way personal contributions are, and we make sure they are structured to be deductible.
Where the Pension Tax Gets Hard
Three things trip people up. The tapered annual allowance turns on two different income measures, threshold income and adjusted income, and a mistake in either changes the answer by tens of thousands of pounds. Carry forward has an order and conditions, and using it wrongly creates a charge that was avoidable. And the money purchase annual allowance quietly cuts your allowance to £10,000 the moment you flexibly access a pension, which catches people who have started drawing one pension while still paying into another.
None of that is investment advice. It is arithmetic and tax law, done carefully, on your own figures.
How We Quote
A fixed fee in writing before anything starts, set by what you need rather than by an hourly clock. A single higher-rate relief claim is a different price from an annual allowance charge across several schemes with carry forward and a taper calculation.
If your position is straightforward, we will tell you what you can reasonably do yourself rather than quote for it.
What We Do Not Do
We do not advise on pension products, transfers, drawdown, annuities or investments, and we do not tell you which pension to hold or whether to move one. That is FCA-regulated advice, we are not authorised to give it, and anyone who is should be on the FCA register. Our work is the tax, and we will say plainly when a question needs a regulated adviser instead of, or as well as, an accountant.
We are also not a directory. Your enquiry does not go to a panel of firms, nobody pays us to be recommended, and there are no testimonials on this site, because we will not publish any we cannot evidence. We do not run an inbound phone room either, so you will not be cold-called.
What We Are Engaged to Do
Annual Allowance Tax Returns
We compute your allowance across schemes and report any charge.
Pension Tax Relief Claims
We reclaim the higher and additional rate relief you are owed.
Director Pension Contributions
We handle the tax on company contributions for business owners.
SSAS and SIPP Tax
We handle the tax and compliance, never the investments.
Pensions and Estate Planning Tax
We handle the pension tax side of the April 2027 change.
Common questions
Are you financial advisers?
No. We are accountants, regulated by the ACCA, and we handle the tax on pensions: the annual allowance charge, the relief you are owed, and the tax on company contributions. We do not advise on pension products, transfers, drawdown, annuities or investments, which are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and need an FCA-authorised adviser. If a question needs one, we will say so.
What is the annual allowance and what happens if I go over it?
For 2026/27 the annual allowance is £60,000, and it covers everything paid into your pensions in the year, including employer contributions. If your total is more than your available allowance, the excess is added on top of your income and taxed at 20%, 40% or 45% depending on the band it falls into, reported through Self Assessment. We work out the allowance, apply carry forward, and where a charge is due we can arrange for the scheme to pay it.
How does the tapered annual allowance work?
For high earners the £60,000 allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income over £260,000, down to a minimum of £10,000, but only where threshold income is also over £200,000. Both figures have their own definitions, and getting either wrong changes the tax by a large amount. We calculate the taper from your actual figures rather than a rule of thumb.
I am a higher-rate taxpayer. Am I owed pension tax relief?
Possibly. Under relief at source your provider only adds the basic-rate 20%, so a 40% taxpayer is owed a further 20% and a 45% taxpayer a further 25%, claimed through Self Assessment. Many people never claim it. We check what relief has been given and reclaim the rest through your return. Income tax bands are different in Scotland, so the numbers differ for Scottish taxpayers.
Are unused pensions going to be caught by inheritance tax?
From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be brought into the estate for inheritance tax, a change enacted in the 2026 Finance Act with the detailed reporting rules still being finalised. It does not apply yet, and it is a significant change for anyone planning to leave a pension behind. We deal with the tax side and the coordination with the rest of an estate, and will say where a regulated adviser is also needed.
Tell Us About Your Pension Tax Position and We Will Quote
Tell us your income, whether you are a company director, and what you need: the annual allowance charge worked out, the higher-rate relief you are owed reclaimed, or the tax on company contributions handled. We come back with a fixed fee for the work and the dates that apply. If the position is straightforward, we will say so rather than quote for a full package.
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