Tax on Your
Police Pension
How income tax works on a police pension once it is in payment: the 2026/27 rates and bands (including Scotland), how PAYE and tax codes work, what happens when the State Pension starts, which payments are tax-free, and the mistakes that cost retired officers money. Figures from GOV.UK and HMRC, read on 1 October 2026.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 1 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Yes. A police pension is taxable income, taxed through PAYE by your pension payer using a tax code from HMRC. In 2026/27 your first £12,570 of total income is usually tax-free, then 20%, 40% and 45% apply (Scotland has its own bands). The commuted lump sum is tax-free within the lump sum allowance, and HMRC says police injury award payments can be tax-free; ill-health and survivor pensions are taxable.
Is a police pension taxable? What is taxed and what is not
A police pension in payment is income. The Home Office's 1987 scheme guide put it simply: pensions are treated as earned income for tax purposes, and tax is deducted before each instalment is paid. The same is true of 2006 and 2015 scheme pensions. There is no special income tax rate for police pensions, and no age at which a pension stops being taxable. What varies is the type of payment.
| Payment | Taxable? | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary (age) police pension, any scheme | Yes, as income through PAYE | LPPA: your annual pension "counts as part of your earnings"; Hampshire: "Your annual pension is taxable income" |
| Ill-health pension (lower or upper tier) | Yes | HMRC EIM75080: a pension paid under a registered pension scheme on ill-health grounds "will be taxable" |
| Injury award (injury pension and gratuity) under the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations | Can be tax-free | HMRC EIM75900: payments from injury benefits schemes "such as those for police and firefighters, can be paid tax-free"; any ill-health or other pension from the registered scheme stays taxable |
| Commuted retirement lump sum | Tax-free within limits | GOV.UK: usually up to 25%, capped by the £268,275 lump sum allowance; any excess is taxed as income |
| Survivor's pension (spouse, partner, child) | Yes, as the survivor's income | LPPA: survivors' pensions are taxed; HMRC EIM75080: the injury exemption does not extend to beneficiaries |
| State Pension | Yes, but paid without tax deducted | GOV.UK: the private pension provider usually takes off tax you owe on the State Pension too |
| Arrears (for example after a McCloud recalculation) | Taxable for the years they relate to | GOV.UK: ask the provider for a breakdown by tax year and ask HMRC to recalculate |
Income tax is charged on your total taxable income for the tax year (6 April to 5 April), not on each source separately. So the tax on your police pension depends on what else you have: the State Pension, another pension, earnings, rent, savings interest. National Insurance is a different matter: GOV.UK describes Class 1 contributions as deducted from pay by an employer, and Hampshire's description of a pension payslip lists only tax and membership subscriptions as deductions.
Income tax rates and bands for 2026/27
The 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Where you live decides which rates apply: GOV.UK says you pay Scottish Income Tax if you live in Scotland, and Welsh rates if you live in Wales. For 2026/27 the Welsh rates are the same as the table for England and Northern Ireland.
| Band | England, Wales and Northern Ireland | Rate | Scotland | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Starter | £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% | ||
| Basic | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% | £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% |
| Intermediate | £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% | ||
| Higher | £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% | £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% |
| Advanced | £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% | ||
| Additional / Top | Over £125,140 | 45% | Over £125,140 | 48% |
- Personal Allowance. £12,570 for most people. It goes down by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, and is zero at £125,140 or above. This is the same in Scotland.
- Savings and dividends. Taxed at UK rates wherever you live, with their own allowances. Interest on lump sum savings can push you over those allowances.
- Where you live, not where you served. An officer who served in an English force and retires to Scotland pays Scottish rates on the pension. Tell HMRC if you move, because the code prefix (S or C) changes.
How PAYE works on a police pension
You do not normally pay tax on a police pension yourself. The pension payer deducts it each month, like an employer, using the tax code HMRC sends.
- One code for each payer. GOV.UK says "you'll get a tax code for each employment or pension you have". If you have a police pension and another pension, or a pension and a job, each has its own code. HMRC decides how your allowance is split between them; codes such as BR are "usually used if you've got more than one job or pension".
- The State Pension is paid gross. The DWP does not deduct tax. GOV.UK says your private pension provider "will usually take off any tax you owe before they pay you. This includes any tax you owe on your State Pension", and that where you have more than one provider HMRC asks one of them to do it. In practice HMRC takes the State Pension off the allowance in your police pension code.
- Cumulative basis. A normal code works cumulatively: each month's tax takes account of income and tax so far in the year, so mistakes earlier in the year correct themselves when the right code arrives. Emergency codes (ending M1, W1, X, or shown as NONCUM) tax each payment on its own.
- The payer cannot choose the code. Hampshire says it is "not allowed to change the tax code of your pension until we receive this notification from HMRC". Code questions go to HMRC.
- K codes are capped. If your untaxed income (for example the State Pension plus other income) is more than your allowance, you get a K code. GOV.UK says payers "cannot take more than half of your pre-tax wages or pension" using a K code.
- The P60. After each tax year the payer gives you a P60 showing the pension paid and tax deducted. GOV.UK says it shows tax paid for that source only.
For the first months of a new pension, including the P45 from your force and the emergency code, see your first year in payment.
Tax codes you may see on a police pension
The numbers in a code show the tax-free income from that payer, with the last digit replaced by a letter. The letters tell the payer how to apply it. GOV.UK's meanings, and when a retired officer is likely to meet them:
| Code | What GOV.UK says it means | When a retired officer might see it |
|---|---|---|
| 1257L | The code "currently used for most people who have one job or pension" | Police pension is your only taxable income and you get the standard allowance |
| A lower number, e.g. 200L | Your allowance less income not taxed elsewhere | Common once the State Pension starts: HMRC takes it off the allowance on your police pension |
| K code | Income or deductions higher than your allowance that are not already taxed; payers cannot take more than half your pre-tax pension | State Pension plus other untaxed income, or tax owed from an earlier year |
| BR | All income from this job or pension taxed at the basic rate | A second pension or a job, where the allowance is used against another income |
| D0 / D1 | All income from this source at the higher or additional rate | A second income when your total is in the higher band |
| 0T | Allowance used up, or the payer does not have the details to give you a code | New pension set up without a P45 (Hampshire uses 0T month 1 at set-up) |
| Ending M1, W1, X or NONCUM | Emergency code: each payment taxed on its own | First payments of a new pension |
| S or C prefix | Scottish or Welsh rates | You live in Scotland (S) or Wales (C) |
| M / N suffix | Marriage Allowance received (M) or transferred (N) | You or your spouse or civil partner claimed Marriage Allowance |
| NT | No tax on this income | Rare for a police pension; ask HMRC why |
Your code is on your pension payslip, in your HMRC online account and on the HMRC app. The online account also shows the income HMRC has used to build it. If the State Pension figure, a second pension or a job is missing or wrong, update it there. GOV.UK says HMRC will tell you and the payer the new code within 15 working days, and a monthly payer should use it on the next or following payment.
Worked examples using 2026/27 figures
A. Police pension only, before State Pension age. A retired officer aged 60 in England has a police pension of £22,000 a year and no other income. Taxable income is £22,000 - £12,570 = £9,430, taxed at 20%: about £1,886 a year, or £157.17 a month on a 1257L code.
B. The same officer once the full State Pension starts. A full year of the full new State Pension at £241.30 a week is about £12,548. Total income becomes about £34,548, and tax is about £4,396 a year: £2,510 more than before. The State Pension arrives with no tax deducted, so HMRC collects all of that through the police pension: the State Pension uses all but about £22 of the £12,570 allowance, leaving almost the whole police pension taxed at 20%. Many officers were contracted out before 2016 and get less than the full rate; check your forecast.
C. The same pension, living in Scotland. On £22,000 a Scottish taxpayer pays 19% on £12,571 to £16,537 and 20% from £16,538 to £22,000: about £1,846 a year, against £1,886 in England.
D. Pension plus a civilian job. With the £22,000 pension on 1257L and a £18,000 job on BR, the pension payer deducts about £1,886 and the employer £3,600. Total £5,486, which equals the tax on combined income of £40,000 (£5,486). If HMRC had put the allowance on the wrong source, or put both on 1257L, too little or too much would be deducted until it is corrected.
E. The £100,000 taper. A senior retired officer with total income of £110,000 loses £1 of allowance for every £2 over £100,000, leaving an allowance of £7,570. Outside Scotland, each extra £1 of income between £100,000 and £125,140 therefore costs 40p in tax plus 20p from the lost allowance: an effective 60%.
All figures use GOV.UK 2026/27 bands, ignore savings and dividend income, and round to the nearest pound. They show the method; HMRC's calculation for your actual income is what counts.
Tax is worked out on your gross pension. The pension calculator estimates your gross police pension by scheme, and the pension increase calculator shows what a given April increase does to it. Both show figures before tax: apply the bands above to see the tax.
Tax on the commuted lump sum
The lump sum you take by commuting part of your pension is normally tax-free. GOV.UK says you can usually take up to 25% of a pension as a tax-free lump sum, that the most you can take is £268,275 (the lump sum allowance, across all your pensions), and that "the tax-free lump sum does not affect your Personal Allowance". Anything above your remaining lump sum allowance is taxed as income. LPPA says it checks how much of your allowance you have used before paying.
For most officers the police lump sum is well under the allowance, but large lump sums, earlier lump sums from other pensions and the 1987 scheme's commutation rules can make the arithmetic less simple. Our tax-free cash and lump sum allowance guide covers it in depth, and the commutation calculator models how much pension you give up.
Note the trade-off for tax purposes: the lump sum is tax-free, but each £1 of pension you keep instead would have been taxed at your marginal rate for life. That is one factor in the commutation decision, not the only one, and it is a decision to make with your figures and, where the sums are large, an FCA-authorised adviser.
Injury awards and ill-health pensions
This is where retired officers most often get conflicting answers, so here is exactly what HMRC says.
- Ill-health pensions are taxable. HMRC's Employment Income Manual (EIM75080) says the work-related disability exemption "does not apply to any pension or annuity paid under a registered pension scheme. Any pension or annuity paid under such a scheme on ill-health grounds will be taxable", and that this includes any enhancement for retiring on ill-health. Lower and upper tier ill-health pensions are paid from the police pension schemes, so they are taxed like any other pension.
- Injury award payments can be tax-free. EIM75900 says "payments from certain compensation or injury benefits schemes, such as those for police and firefighters, can be paid tax-free", usually where someone has been disabled by an injury at work. Where an ill-health or other pension is also paid from the registered scheme, that pension is taxable and only the injury scheme payment is tax-free.
- The legal basis. Section 644 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 exempts the "exempt amount" of a pension paid because someone left an employment or office through disablement attributable to their duties: broadly, the excess over what would have been paid had the disablement not been work-related.
In practice, check that your administrator is paying the injury pension part without tax and the scheme pension part through your tax code, and ask for the split in writing. HMRC's manual describes the general position; it does not settle how any individual award is taxed. See our police injury pension guide, the ill-health retirement guide and the injury and ill-health hub.
Survivor and children's pensions
A pension paid to a spouse, civil partner, eligible partner or child after an officer's death is taxable income of the person who receives it, under their own tax code. LPPA says survivors' pensions are taxed. HMRC's EIM75080 says the work-related injury exemption does not apply to a pension paid to a beneficiary after the member's death, because it is paid by reason of the death. Hampshire says HMRC instructs it to set up all children's pensions on code 1257L.
Lump sum death grants are treated differently: LPPA says a death grant is usually tax-free where the member died under 75, it is paid within two years of the scheme being told of the death, and it is within the £1,073,100 lump sum and death benefit allowance. See survivor and death benefits for retired officers.
Working after retirement: two incomes, two codes
Many officers take a civilian job after retiring. The tax on the two incomes together is the same as on one income of the combined amount (example D), but it only comes out right if HMRC has both and has split your allowance sensibly. GOV.UK says that if you are working and getting a pension, your employer will usually take any tax owed on your pension too, so the allowance and adjustments may sit on either code.
- Give the new employer your P45 if you have one, or complete GOV.UK's starter checklist.
- Check both codes in your HMRC account after the first pay day. One should normally carry the allowance; the other is often BR (or D0 if your total is in the higher band).
- If you are re-employed in policing, tell the pension administrator as well: some pensions can be reduced on re-employment. See working after police retirement.
- Earnings from a job can attract Class 1 National Insurance: GOV.UK says employers deduct it if you are under State Pension age and earn more than £242 a week from one job.
Marriage Allowance and other allowances
Marriage Allowance. GOV.UK says it lets you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner, reducing their tax by up to £252 a year. The lower earner must normally have income below their Personal Allowance, and the partner must pay basic rate tax (in Scotland, the starter, basic or intermediate rate). Receiving a pension does not stop you claiming. It does not apply to unmarried couples. You can backdate to 6 April 2022 if you were eligible. A retired officer whose partner has little income may benefit, as long as the officer's own income is within the basic rate band.
Other allowances. Savings interest and dividends have their own allowances, and Blind Person's Allowance adds to the Personal Allowance for those who qualify. Married Couple's Allowance only applies where one of you was born before 6 April 1935. See GOV.UK for the current figures.
P60s, P800s and Self Assessment
- P60. Your pension payer issues one after each tax year. LPPA says its P60 is available no later than 31 May. Keep them: they show what was paid and what tax was deducted, and you need them to check an HMRC calculation or claim back overpaid tax.
- P800 and Simple Assessment. If you paid too much or too little tax by 5 April, HMRC sends a tax calculation letter (P800) or a Simple Assessment letter between June and March of the following tax year. GOV.UK says you will only get one if you are employed or get a pension and are not in Self Assessment.
- Self Assessment. A police pension taxed through PAYE does not by itself mean a tax return. GOV.UK's current list of people who must send one includes sole traders earning more than £1,000, business partners, people with Capital Gains Tax to pay, and people paying the High Income Child Benefit Charge outside PAYE. Untaxed income such as rent, savings interest, dividends or foreign income may also mean a return. If you need to register, GOV.UK says to tell HMRC by 5 October after the end of the tax year. Use HMRC's online checker if you are unsure.
- Arrears. If a recalculation (for example under the McCloud remedy) pays arrears for earlier years in one go, GOV.UK says to ask the payer for a written payment schedule by tax year and ask HMRC to recalculate, so you are not taxed as if it were all one year's income.
If you live abroad
GOV.UK says you may be taxed on your pension both by the country where you are resident and by the UK; you pay UK tax on a pension from a UK provider or if you are UK resident for tax purposes; and a double taxation agreement may mean you do not pay twice. You need to tell HMRC if you move abroad. Administrators do not decide this: Hampshire says it has "no involvement in international tax agreements" and must apply the codes HMRC sends. The rules for each country differ, so read HMRC's guidance on tax if you leave the UK and the treaty for your country, and get specialist advice before you move.
Checking your tax, step by step
Run through this when your pension starts, when your State Pension starts, when you take a job, and each April.
- Find the code on your latest pension payslip or in the HMRC app.
- Check it is not an emergency code (ending M1, W1 or X, or NONCUM on the payslip).
- Check the prefix: S if you live in Scotland, C if you live in Wales, none for England and Northern Ireland.
- Check the income HMRC has used in your online account: police pension, State Pension, any other pension or job, taxable benefits.
- Estimate the year's tax using the 2026/27 bands above on your total gross income, and compare it with the tax on your payslips so far.
- Correct anything missing through the HMRC online service. Allow 15 working days for a new code and one or two pay dates for it to be used.
- Keep your P45, P60s and any HMRC letters together for at least the current and previous year.
- After 5 April, check any P800 or Simple Assessment against your P60s.
Common mistakes
What to ask HMRC and your administrator
| Question | Who | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Is my tax code right, and what income has it been built from? | HMRC (online account or app) | Only HMRC sets codes; the payer applies them |
| How much of my State Pension has been taken off my allowance? | HMRC | It is collected through your police pension code |
| Has my tax code been applied on a cumulative basis, and has any overpaid tax been refunded? | Pension administrator (payroll) | Refunds in-year come through the pension |
| Was any of my lump sum over the lump sum allowance, and how was the excess taxed? | Pension administrator | The excess is taxed as income |
| Which part of my payments is an injury award, and is it being paid tax-free? | Pension administrator, then HMRC | HMRC says injury scheme payments can be tax-free; the registered-scheme pension is taxable |
| Can you give me a breakdown by tax year of any arrears? | Pension administrator | So HMRC can recalculate earlier years |
| Do I need to send a Self Assessment return? | HMRC's online checker | Depends on other income, not on the pension itself |
HMRC answers questions about codes and tax owed; your administrator answers questions about the gross pension, the lump sum, the P60 figures and how payments are classified. Quote your National Insurance number and the PAYE reference from your payslip or P60 whenever you contact either. For complex positions (large lump sums, overseas moves, several pensions) a qualified tax adviser or FCA-authorised financial adviser can help; MoneyHelper gives free, impartial pensions guidance. Back to the police retirement hub.
What we could not verify, and how we handled it
- How each police injury award is taxed. HMRC's manual says police injury scheme payments "can be paid tax-free" and sets out the section 644 rule, but does not settle individual cases. We say ask your administrator for the split, and HMRC if in doubt.
- How HMRC splits the allowance between several incomes. GOV.UK describes BR codes as usual on a second income but does not set a fixed rule for which income gets the allowance. We describe what to check rather than a rule.
- The State Pension figure in a code. Our example B uses a full year of the full new State Pension. In the year you reach State Pension age, and if you were contracted out, HMRC will use a different figure.
- Refund forms. We read only the titles and summaries of HMRC's P50, P53, P55, P50Z and P53Z guidance pages, which describe situations other than a police pension in payment. If your case is unusual, ask HMRC which route applies.
- Overseas tax. Depends on residence and treaty. We point to HMRC rather than summarise country rules.
- The 1987 lump sum and the lump sum allowance. Covered in our separate tax-free cash guide; not repeated here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a police pension taxable?
Yes. Ordinary and ill-health police pensions are taxable income, taxed through PAYE by the pension payer using a code from HMRC. The first £12,570 of your total income is usually tax-free in 2026/27. HMRC says payments from police injury benefit schemes can be tax-free, and the commuted lump sum is tax-free within the lump sum allowance.
How much tax will I pay on my police pension?
It depends on your total income, not the pension alone. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland for 2026/27, income up to £12,570 is usually tax-free, then 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140 and 45% above. Scotland has six bands. Once your State Pension starts it uses up most of your allowance, so more of the police pension is taxed.
What tax code should I have on my police pension?
If the police pension is your only income, usually 1257L. With the State Pension, HMRC normally reduces the code on your police pension to collect tax on the State Pension, so the number falls and can become a K code. BR, D0 or D1 are used on a second income. A code ending M1, W1 or X is an emergency code.
Why is my police pension on an emergency tax code?
Usually because the pension payer set it up before HMRC sent a code. Hampshire says HMRC instructs it to use 0T on a week 1 month 1 basis for new pensions unless it has your P45. GOV.UK says you may also be put on an emergency code when the State Pension starts. Check your code online and update your income details with HMRC if needed.
Is the police pension lump sum tax-free?
Usually, up to limits. GOV.UK says you can normally take up to 25% tax-free, capped at £268,275 (the lump sum allowance) across all your pensions, and the tax-free lump sum does not affect your Personal Allowance. Anything above your allowance is taxed as income. Our tax-free cash guide explains how this works with police commutation.
Is a police injury pension taxable?
HMRC's manual (EIM75900) says payments from injury benefits schemes such as those for police and firefighters can be paid tax-free, usually where a person has been disabled by an injury at work. Any ill-health or ordinary pension from the registered police pension scheme is taxable. Ask your administrator how your payments are split.
Is a police ill-health pension taxable?
Yes. HMRC's Employment Income Manual (EIM75080) says the work-related disability exemption does not apply to pensions paid under a registered pension scheme, and any pension paid under such a scheme on ill-health grounds, including any enhancement for ill-health, is taxable.
Is the State Pension taxed through my police pension?
Usually, yes. The State Pension is paid without tax deducted. GOV.UK says your private pension provider will usually take off any tax you owe, including tax on your State Pension. If you have more than one pension, HMRC asks one provider to do it. That is why your police pension code drops when the State Pension starts.
Do I need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return as a police pensioner?
Not just because of the pension: PAYE handles it. GOV.UK's list of who must send a return includes self-employment income over £1,000, partnership income, Capital Gains Tax to pay, and the High Income Child Benefit Charge not paid through PAYE. Untaxed income such as rent, large savings interest or foreign income may also mean a return.
Can I claim Marriage Allowance as a retired police officer?
Possibly. GOV.UK says the lower earner must normally have income below the Personal Allowance and the partner must pay tax at the basic rate (starter, basic or intermediate in Scotland). It transfers £1,260 of allowance, cutting the partner's tax by up to £252 a year, and being in receipt of a pension does not prevent a claim.
How do I get back emergency tax on my first police pension payment?
Usually you do not need to claim. Hampshire and LPPA say that once HMRC sends the correct code on a cumulative basis in the same tax year, overpaid tax is refunded through the pension. If it is not sorted in that year, HMRC checks after 5 April and sends a P800 tax calculation, normally between June and March.
Is a police survivor's pension taxable?
Yes. A widow's, widower's, partner's or child's pension from the police scheme is taxable income of the person who receives it. LPPA says survivors' pensions are taxed, and HMRC's EIM75080 says the work-related injury exemption does not extend to a pension paid to a beneficiary after the member's death. Hampshire says children's pensions are set up on code 1257L.
Do I pay tax on my police pension if I live abroad?
You may. GOV.UK says you pay UK tax on a pension from a UK provider or if you are UK resident, that you may also be taxed where you live, and that a double taxation agreement may stop you paying twice. Tell HMRC if you move abroad. Administrators say tax residence questions go to HMRC.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 1 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (2026 to 2027) — £12,570 allowance; 20/40/45% bands; allowance reduced £1 for every £2 over £100,000 (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Income Tax in Scotland (2026 to 2027 rates) — six bands from 19% to 48%; S codes; who counts as a Scottish taxpayer (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Income Tax in Wales (2026 to 2027 rates) — Welsh rates for 2026/27 match the rest of the UK table; C codes (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Tax when you get a pension — what is taxed; tax on the State Pension through the private pension; tax-free lump sums; arrears; living abroad (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Tax codes, including emergency codes and K codes — one code per pension; letters; M1/W1/X; K code 50% cap; refunds through pay (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Tax on your private pension contributions and lump sum allowance — £268,275 lump sum allowance; £1,073,100 lump sum and death benefit allowance (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: The new State Pension, what you'll get — full rate £241.30 a week; contracted-out records (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Employment Income Manual EIM75900: public service pension payments — injury benefit scheme payments for police and firefighters can be tax-free; registered scheme pensions taxable (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Employment Income Manual EIM75080: pension payments exempt from tax — s.644 disability pensions; ill-health pensions from registered schemes taxable; no exemption for beneficiaries (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 644 — exempt amount of a pension paid where employment ceased because of disablement from duty (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Self Assessment, who must send a tax return — current triggers; untaxed income; the 5 October registration deadline (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Tax overpayments and underpayments — P800 and Simple Assessment letters, sent June to March (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Marriage Allowance — £1,260 transfer, up to £252 saving, eligibility including Scotland and pensioners (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Your P45, P60 and P11D forms — what the P45 and P60 show; P60 by 31 May (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Hampshire Pension Services: police pension payslips and tax — pension is taxable; 0T week 1 month 1 at set-up unless P45; children's pensions on 1257L; codes only from HMRC (accessed 1 October 2026)
- LPPA: tax and your pension, and understanding your P60 — pension taxed as income; temporary tax and in-year refund; survivors' pensions taxed; P60 by 31 May (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: HMRC refund forms P50, P53, P55, P50Z and P53Z (guidance pages) — who each in-year refund form is for; none is for a scheme pension in payment (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: National Insurance — Class 1 deducted from pay if under State Pension age and over £242 a week from one job (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Home Office: The Police Pension Scheme 1987 members' guide (October 2006) — section 12.2: pensions taxed as income with tax deducted before payment; commuted lump sum tax-free (accessed 1 October 2026)
On this topic elsewhere
More in this guide series
Pension tools and guides
Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. It is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and this page is general information, not financial, tax or pension advice, and it cannot consider your personal circumstances. Pension and tax rules change and depend on your scheme, service and tax position: check your pension administrator's statement and, where sums are large or decisions hard to reverse, speak to an FCA-authorised adviser, Pension Wise (free guidance for defined contribution pensions only) or HMRC. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 1 October 2026.