HMRC repaid £50,353,656.76 to savers overtaxed on flexible pension withdrawals between 1 April and 30 June 2026, according to figures published in its pension schemes newsletter 183 on 30 July. The department processed 12,612 repayment claim forms over the quarter, an average of just under £4,000 each.
The pension tax refund 2026 numbers, in summary:
- A total of £50.35m repaid on flexibly accessed pension payments, covering the first quarter of the 2026 to 2027 tax year.
- 12,612 claim forms processed in the quarter: 10,200 P55, 2,001 P53Z and 411 P50Z.
- An average of about £3,993 per form, calculated from HMRC’s published totals.
- Roughly £1.65m more than the same quarter of 2025, even though 155 fewer forms were processed.
- In early August, HMRC indicated it was still working through claims received on 22 May.
Why savers are overtaxed in the first place
When someone draws money from a defined contribution pension for the first time, the provider often holds no current tax code for them.
HMRC’s own PAYE manual sets out what happens next: the scheme operates the emergency code on a month 1 basis against that first payment.
On a month 1 basis, only a twelfth of the personal allowance and a twelfth of each rate band are available. The effect is to tax the payment as though eleven more of the same size were still to come.
Part of a single withdrawal can therefore be charged at 40% or above, at income levels the saver’s earnings for the year may never approach.
Up to 25% of a pension pot can normally be taken free of tax, subject to the Lump Sum Allowance of £268,275, with the balance taxed at the saver’s marginal rate. Defined contribution savings can generally be accessed from age 55.
That threshold is due to rise to 57 on 6 April 2028, a change set out in HMRC’s Pensions Tax Manual and one that may affect anyone weighing a first withdrawal.
What the pension tax refund 2026 figures show
The bulk of the claims came from savers who had dipped into a pot rather than emptied it. P55 forms accounted for roughly four in five of the forms HMRC handled over the three months, with P53Z and P50Z claims making up the remainder.
One caveat sits behind every headline on this story: HMRC reports the number of forms processed, not the number of individuals repaid. The quarterly total is a count of claims cleared, so it should not be read as a headcount of savers.
Compared with the same three months of 2025, when HMRC repaid £48,701,927 across 12,767 forms, the amount handed back rose by about £1.65m while the number of forms fell slightly.
The typical claim has therefore grown, from roughly £3,815 a form to just under £3,993.
Adam Cole, retirement specialist at Quilter, said savers were being “left out of pocket while they wait for HMRC to return their own money”, and called the delay avoidable. Quilter put the year-on-year rise at around £2m; HMRC’s own published totals for the two quarters give a figure closer to £1.65m.
How long a claim is taking
Processing times have become the sharper end of the story. HMRC replied to a customer query on 7 August 2026, in an exchange reported by AOL and Brit Brief.
It said it was then working through claims received on 22 May 2026, with a reply expected by 27 September — a gap of about four months.
A reply is not necessarily a payment. The dates reflect a single exchange rather than a published service standard, and savers can check current timings themselves using HMRC’s online tool for expected reply dates.
Claiming is not the only route. Where no claim is made, HMRC reviews PAYE records after the tax year ends and may issue a P800 calculation, though that can mean waiting considerably longer for money that is already owed.
What to do if you think you have overpaid
If you have taken a lump sum from a pension this tax year, it is worth checking the tax deducted rather than assuming it was right.
- Check the payslip or statement from your pension provider, and compare the tax deducted against the rate you would normally expect to pay.
- Work out which form fits. P55 covers a partial withdrawal with no further payments planned this tax year, P53Z a pot accessed in full or a serious ill-health lump sum, and P50Z an emptied pot where you have stopped working. There is more detail on what form P55 covers and who needs one.
- Claim through HMRC’s online service on GOV.UK, or print the form and post it. Anything you are owed is paid out by Faster Payments, to an account in your own name or a nominee’s.
- Use estimated figures where you do not yet have final ones, and keep your paperwork. HMRC checks the position again after the tax year ends and will contact you if the amount differs.
- Treat unexpected refund messages with caution. HMRC does not send notifications of a tax rebate by text message, and a genuine email about one comes from an address ending hmrc.gov.uk. If in doubt, sign in to your HMRC account directly rather than following a link.
Tax Rebate Services publishes free tax forms guides to the P55, P53Z and P50Z forms, whichever of the three turns out to fit your circumstances.
Written by:
Tax Rebate Services Editorial Team
Reviewed by:
Tony Shanks
,
qualified Taxation Technician (ATT)
Last updated:
This article provides general information and is correct as at the date shown. It isn't personalised tax advice — for help with your own circumstances, speak to a qualified adviser or HMRC.
