Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has been raised in each of the last five years as a result of the pensions annual allowance tax charge from (a) defined contribution and (b) defined benefit scheme members.

We do not hold the information requested. Annual Allowance (AA) tax charges can be reported via Accounting for Tax (AfT) returns which are completed by the scheme administrator, and via Self-Assessment (SA). Neither AfT nor SA returns require information on the type of pension scheme that the charge relates to. In addition to this, the AA applies to an individual’s pension accrual across all pensions held, which could cover both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes.

However, HMRC publish data on the number and value of AA charges reported to us through AfT and SA, as well as the value of contributions exceeding the allowance. The AfT and SA columns are not mutually exclusive, the same case could appear in both columns. Individuals are required to report AA breaches through SA returns even if their scheme pays the charge and reports the breach through AfT returns. However, in practice individuals may be reported through AfT and not report themselves through SA, or vice versa, in error. The data for the last five available tax years is below: