![\"Person](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-1989936349-1-6817751.jpg\" "\\"Person")
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Pensioners may receive Simple Assessment letters if they’ve gone above their personal allowance (Image: GETTY)<\/p>\n
Pensioners<\/a> may receive an unexpected HMRC letter<\/a> after April this year. Not properly responding to this letter could result in penalties, visits from debt enforcement agents, or even court action.<\/p>\n The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates 600,000 pensioners will be liable to pay income tax<\/a> in the 2026\/2027 tax year, which starts on April 6. This is also when the full new state pension<\/a> will increase to \u00a312,547.60 per year, just \u00a322 short of the personal allowance at \u00a312,570.<\/p>\n The personal allowance threshold, which allows people to earn up to this amount each year without having to pay income tax,<\/a> has been frozen for years while the state pension has steadily increased under the triple lock<\/a>. This could see the state pension surpassing the personal allowance next year.<\/a><\/p>\n While Rachel Reeves<\/a> has assured that people who only have the state pension as income won\u2019t face tax bills next year, people with any income from private pensions or savings likely will have to pay income tax.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Pension tax expert urges ‘important’ account review as new levy comes in <\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: I’m an investment expert – here’s 5 methods to slash your tax bill in retirement <\/a><\/p>\n For pensioners, this tax bill usually can\u2019t be collected from the source like it is when you\u2019re receiving working wages. Instead, HMRC<\/a> will send out a Simple Assessment letter<\/a> which may seemingly arrive out of the blue for anyone that is unaware of how their income measures up to their personal allowance.<\/p>\n This letter will detail how much you owe HMRC, how to pay your tab and the deadline by which you\u2019ll need to pay. If you think something\u2019s off in the calculations, you have 60 days to contact HMRC and dispute it.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t pay the bill in time it\u2019s vital to talk to HMRC as soon as possible to set up a payment plan to pay in instalments. The department will ensure this plan is affordable for you but if you cannot agree on a payment plan you will need to pay the amount in full.<\/p>\n