Personal tax
At a glance
Your pension from the police scheme is treated like a salary for tax purposes. You should be aware of how your income from all sources is taxed so you can plan the amount you will ‘take home’.
Income tax
Tax on your pension
When you start to receive your pension, it will be taxed like any other income. You’ll receive a tax code, in the same way you do for your salary. The code is based on your total income from all sources. This includes:
- Receiving a pension
- Employment
- Being self-employed
- Other forms of income, such as rental income from letting a property and income from investments (e.g. bank interest and dividends)
If the code changes, your take-home amount may change too.
If you are receiving an injury pension from the police pension scheme, this is not taxable.
National Insurance is not payable on pension payments.
Considering all income
Tax bands
Tax bands are reviewed each year. The latest information about tax bands can be found on the income tax section of the government website.
In Scotland, different tax bands are in place. The latest information about Scottish tax bands can be found on the Scottish income tax section of the government website.
If you are a higher rate tax payer
You also should also be aware that:
- Your personal savings allowance is reduced
- You may be subject to the high income child benefit charge
If you are an additional-rate tax payer
You should be aware that you:
- start to lose your personal allowance
- may lose certain benefits, including tax-free childcare
- will need to file a tax return
Other types of tax
There are other types of tax that are applicable to:
You can find out more about these on the government website.