P50Z

Form P50Z: emptied the pot, no other income

You took the whole pot, you have stopped work and you have no other taxable income or benefits this year. Most of the tax taken off at source comes back, sometimes all of it.

Who it is for

The whole pot was paid out and the provider gave you a P45.
You have stopped work and do not expect to go back before 5 April, or you have retired without an employer pension, or returned to full-time study.
You are not claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Carer’s Allowance, and have no other income.

How to claim

1Complete P50Z online (signed in) or print the PDF, sign it and post it.
2Enter the pension payment and the tax deducted from the P45.
3Confirm you have no other income or benefits for the rest of the year.
4Submit and keep the reference.

What happens next

Replies take about 14 days once received; payment follows by payable order. If any income does start before 5 April, tell HMRC.

What to have ready

Parts 2 and 3 of the P45 from the pension provider.
Your National Insurance number and the provider’s PAYE reference.
The date you stopped work, and the P45 from your last job if it was this tax year.

Worth knowing

If your State Pension or another pension is being paid, that counts as other income: use P53Z.

The form on GOV.UK

Claim a refund if you have stopped work and emptied your pension, form P50Z (GOV.UK)

Open the lump sum tool

P50Z, box by box

Every screen of the form, with what goes in each box, or shown as it looks on GOV.UK.

Your figures for the form

Type them in and the boxes below fill in. They are on the payslip or P45 your pension provider sent with the payment.

Total taken out of the pension

The gross payment, before tax, including any tax-free part.

How much of it was tax-free

Usually 25% of the payment. The provider’s paperwork shows it separately; the rest is the taxable part the form asks for.

Tax deducted by the provider

From the same payslip or P45.

Other income you expect this tax year

Pay, other pensions, State Pension and taxable benefits, before tax. Leave blank if none.

Done online

Form P50Z: claim a refund when you have stopped work and emptied your pension

For a payment that emptied the pot when you have no other income for the rest of the tax year: you have stopped working and are not claiming taxable benefits. HMRC repays the whole overpayment at once instead of waiting for the year end.

Run the calculator above and the payment, the tax taken off and your other income are filled in here.

Every box can be typed into, here or on the redrawn screens, and what you type stays in the box while you read the rest.

Show the pages as

Screen 1 of 5

About you

Your details as HMRC holds them. The National Insurance number is how the claim is matched to your record; check it against a payslip or your letter from HMRC.

Section
Full name
As HMRC has it. If you have changed your name, update HMRC first or the claim can be held up.
From your records
Section
National Insurance number
Two letters, six numbers, one letter, for example QQ 12 34 56 C. On payslips, your P60 and HMRC letters.
From your records
Section
Date of birth
Used with your National Insurance number to find your record.
From your records
Section
Address and postcode
Where HMRC should write to you. Online, the address on your record is shown and you can update it.
From your records
Section
Telephone number
Optional, but a daytime number lets HMRC resolve a query without writing.
From your records

Screen 2 of 5

Stopping work

The P50Z is for people with no more income this year. This screen confirms you have stopped work and are not claiming a taxable benefit.

Section
Your last employer’s name and PAYE reference
From the P45 your employer gave you when you left.
From your records
Section
Date you stopped work
The leaving date on the P45.
From your records
Section
Send parts 2 and 3 of your P45 from that job
HMRC uses the pay and tax to date on it. Online you type the figures in; by post you enclose the parts.
From your records
Section
You do not expect to work again before 6 April
Put X. If you find work before then, tell HMRC: the refund assumed no more income.
Put X
Ticked
Section
You are not claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance or taxable Employment and Support Allowance
Put X. If you are claiming either, the benefit office refunds tax through the benefit instead, and the P50Z is not the right form.
Put X
Ticked

Screen 3 of 5

The pension payment

From the payslip or P45 your pension provider sent with the payment. The gross figure and the tax taken off are the two that matter; everything else identifies the scheme.

Section
Pension provider’s name
The scheme or company that made the payment, as it appears on the payslip or P45.
From your records
Section
Pension provider’s PAYE reference
A three-digit tax office number, a slash and a reference (for example 123/AB456). It is printed on the payslip or P45 the provider sent.
From your records
Section
Date of the payment
The date the money was paid to you. It decides which tax year the payment falls in.
From your records
Section
Taxable part of the payment, before tax
The gross figure on the payslip or P45. If a quarter was paid tax-free (25%), enter only the taxable part: the provider’s paperwork shows it separately.
From your records
£
Section
Tax taken off the payment
From the same payslip or P45: what the provider deducted on 1257L on a month 1 basis.
From your records
£
Section
This payment used up the whole of the pension pot
Put X. The provider should have sent a P45 rather than a payslip, because the pension has now ended.
Put X
Ticked
Section
Send the P45 the pension provider gave you
Parts 2 and 3 of the P45. Online you enter the figures from it; by post you enclose them. Keep part 1A.
From your records

Screen 4 of 5

How to pay the refund

Your own bank or building society account, so the refund arrives by transfer. Never give a claims company’s details: they take a cut of money you can claim free.

Section
Name on the account
Your own name, or a joint account you are named on.
From your records
Section
Sort code
Six digits, from your bank card or banking app.
From your records
Section
Account number
Eight digits. Building society accounts may also need a roll number.
From your records
Section
Pay the refund to someone else (nominee)
Leave empty. Naming a nominee is how claims companies get paid; there is no reason to use it for your own refund.
Put X
Ticked

Screen 5 of 5

Declaration and submit

Read the summary, confirm the figures are correct to the best of your knowledge, and submit. Online you get a confirmation reference at once; keep it.

Section
The information I have given is correct and complete to the best of my knowledge
Put X. Online this is a tick box before the submit button.
Put X
Ticked
Section
Signature and date
On the printed form only. Online, submitting is the signature.
From your records

What happens after you submit

Because you have no other income coming, HMRC sets your full allowance for the year against the payment, works out the tax due and repays the difference, usually within 30 days. If you start work or claim a taxable benefit later in the year, tell HMRC so the code for the new income is right.

Claim a refund if you have stopped work and emptied your pension, form P50Z (GOV.UK)