![\"Business](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/business-and-finance-concept-hmrc-letter-6784977.jpg\" "\\"Business")
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More state pensioners will owe tax on their State Pension from April (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
More than half of State pensioners across the UK have been hit with \u00a34,500 tax bills from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – and more will owe tax from April.<\/p>\n
Financial experts have warned that more state pensioners will owe tax<\/a> on their State Pension<\/a> from April as new payment rates<\/a> take effect, but many don\u2019t even realise they could be taxed. According to consumer finance specialist Royal London, four in 10 UK adults (41%) are unaware the State Pension is taxable as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP<\/a>) pays it without tax being taken off. You pay income tax<\/a> on your State Pension when your total annual income exceeds your tax-free Personal Allowance<\/a>, which is still frozen at \u00a312,570.<\/p>\n As such, pensioners who have no other income – such as from private pensions and earnings – would not normally earn enough to go over the Personal Allowance threshold. But many pensioners do have other income, from savings or still being in work, for example, and this, along with State Pension payments<\/a>, will be subject to tax.<\/p>\n Read More: Older state pensioners can cut TV Licence bill to \u00a30 in 16 minutes <\/a><\/p>\n Read More: State pensioners can get 12 freebies and discounts worth \u00a314,139 in March <\/a><\/p>\n Royal London said almost seven in 10 (68%) of retirees who aren\u2019t working paid tax on their pension income last year, with payments amounting to more than \u00a34,500 on average. But two thirds (66%) of those who paid tax didn\u2019t know how much they paid, or couldn\u2019t remember.<\/p>\n With just a month to go until the new tax year begins, Royal London has warned it\u2019s \u201cmore important than ever\u201d that people understand what tax they may have to pay, as the State Pension will rise by 4.8% in April, meaning new state pensioners on the full rate will be just \u00a322 away from the Personal Allowance threshold, receiving \u00a312,547.60 in a single tax year.<\/p>\n While Chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/a> has confirmed pensioners with no other income won\u2019t have to pay tax on their State Pension alone if the triple lock<\/a> takes the State Pension above the \u00a312,570 threshold – which it is expected to from April 2027 – this won\u2019t apply to those who have additional income.<\/p>\n Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist, Royal London, said: \u201cThe fact that approximately 4 in 10 adults do not know the State Pension is taxable is not surprising as it\u2019s paid without tax being taken off.<\/p>\n “However, from April, the full new State Pension will be less than \u00a330 below the personal allowance, so it\u2019s more important than ever that people understand what tax they may have to pay.<\/p>\n \u201cOur research shows that almost 7 in 10 \u2013 68% \u2013 of those who are retired and not working paid tax on their pension income, with the average amount of tax paid standing at over \u00a34,500. However, two thirds of those who\u2019d paid tax didn’t know how much they’d paid or couldn’t remember.<\/p>\n *** Ensure our latest personal finance headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate<\/a> or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***<\/p>\n Royal London said some pensioners who built up a larger State Pension under the old system, thanks to the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS), will already be paying tax, even if they have no other income in retirement.<\/p>\n