PENSIONS & INVESTING
Pension Tax Relief Calculator Ireland 2026
Estimate how much of a new employee or personal pension contribution falls within Revenue's age-related relief limit after allowing for contributions already using that limit.
Updated 22 September 2026
YOUR ESTIMATE
At a glance
SCENARIO READOUT
Long-term planning illustration, not a forecast. Returns, fees, tax, inflation and market conditions can materially change the outcome.
See calculation method & assumptions ↓COMPARE SCENARIOS
Saved versus current
SEE THE SCENARIO
How the numbers develop
Enter your situation
Use figures that match your real quote, payslip, bill or plan where possible.
Stress-test it
Change the assumptions that matter most instead of relying on one perfect-looking result.
Read the context
Use the methodology, Irish rules and limitations below before acting on the estimate.
What this calculator is for
Irish pension tax relief has two separate constraints that are easy to confuse: an age-related percentage of relevant earnings and a maximum earnings amount that can be used for the calculation.
This calculator applies those Revenue limits to a new employee or personal pension contribution.
Advanced mode also subtracts other employee/personal contributions that have already used part of the same annual limit, so it can answer a more practical question: how much room may be left for another contribution this year?
It is a relief-limit calculator, not a complete pension recommendation or tax return.
Revenue’s age-related percentage limits
Revenue’s current age-related limits for employee/personal pension contributions are:
- under age 30: 15% of relevant earnings;
- age 30–39: 20%;
- age 40–49: 25%;
- age 50–54: 30%;
- age 55–59: 35%;
- age 60 or over: 40%.
The calculator selects the relevant percentage from the age entered.
A higher percentage does not mean Revenue pays that percentage into the pension. It means that percentage of relevant earnings can form part of the maximum contribution considered for Income Tax relief, subject to the other rules.
The €115,000 earnings ceiling
Revenue also limits the earnings taken into account to €115,000 per year.
If relevant earnings are €60,000, the age percentage is applied to €60,000.
If relevant earnings are €150,000, the calculator uses €115,000 for the relief-limit calculation.
That means a 40% age limit does not create a €60,000 tax-relievable employee contribution simply because someone earns €150,000. The earnings base used by this rule is capped.
Worked example
Consider a 42-year-old with €60,000 of relevant earnings.
The age-related percentage is 25%, so the maximum employee/personal contribution within the age-and-earnings limit is €15,000.
If the person has already made €6,000 of employee/personal contributions during the year, Advanced mode shows €9,000 of remaining limit.
A new €12,000 contribution would therefore be split into:
- €9,000 potentially within the remaining relief limit;
- €3,000 above the remaining limit for this calculation.
If the €9,000 eligible amount genuinely receives Income Tax relief at 40%, the simple relief illustration is €3,600.
That does not mean every taxpayer automatically receives 40% relief. The person must actually have sufficient income exposed to that marginal rate and satisfy the applicable pension rules.
Existing contributions matter
The age-related percentage is an annual limit, not a fresh limit for every contribution.
If payroll deductions, AVCs or other relevant employee/personal contributions have already used part of it, the remaining room is lower.
That is why Advanced mode asks for other employee/personal contributions already using the year’s limit.
Do not include the new contribution again in that field or it will be double counted.
Employer contributions are different
Revenue states that employer contributions to an employee’s scheme are not taken into consideration when calculating the employee’s earnings threshold for these relief limits.
That is why the Advanced existing-contributions field is labelled for employee/personal contributions rather than employer contributions.
Employer pension tax treatment can involve separate rules, especially in owner-director or company structures. This calculator is deliberately focused on the individual’s contribution limit.
Income Tax relief is not USC or PRSI relief
Revenue’s pension-relief guidance states that qualifying employee pension contributions can receive Income Tax relief, subject to the limits, but do not receive USC or PRSI relief in the same way.
The calculator therefore estimates Income Tax relief only.
It does not subtract USC or PRSI from the contribution.
Why the selected 20% or 40% rate is only an illustration
Ireland’s Income Tax system has standard and higher-rate bands.
Selecting 40% in the calculator does not prove that the entire eligible pension contribution can be relieved at 40%.
The actual tax saving depends on how much taxable income would otherwise have been taxed at each rate, the person’s credits and reliefs, the source of earnings and other circumstances.
For someone only partly exposed to the higher rate, the actual relief can be a mixture rather than one rate across the entire contribution.
The calculator intentionally labels the result as an estimate.
Net cost
The net-cost result is the new contribution less the modelled Income Tax relief.
It is a cash-cost illustration, not the value of the pension after tax.
For example, a €5,000 contribution with an illustrative €2,000 Income Tax saving has a €3,000 simplified net cost.
The full €5,000 may still enter the pension, depending on how the contribution and tax relief are processed, but the household has received or retained tax relief separately.
Source of earnings matters
Revenue notes that where a person has more than one source of income, pension relief is linked to the source of income in respect of which the contributions are made.
A single “relevant earnings” input cannot model every multi-income case.
If you have employment income, self-employed income or several pension arrangements, treat this calculator as a first-pass limit check and confirm the position with Revenue guidance or a qualified adviser.
Timing matters
Tax relief is assessed by tax year.
If you are making a contribution near a filing deadline, contribution timing and the pension arrangement can affect the year for which relief may be claimed.
This calculator does not determine filing deadlines or whether a contribution can be carried back to an earlier tax year.
Contribution limit is not an affordability recommendation
Tax relief can make pension contributions attractive, but the maximum tax-relievable amount is not automatically the amount someone should contribute.
Pension money is generally intended for retirement and access is restricted.
Before maximising a contribution solely for tax relief, consider emergency savings, expensive debt, near-term cash needs and the rules of the pension product.
The Emergency Fund Calculator and Debt Repayment Calculator can help frame those competing cash needs.
Common mistakes to avoid
Do not apply the age percentage to earnings above €115,000.
Do not add employer contributions to the employee/personal amount for this specific limit.
Do not assume all relief occurs at 40% merely because 40% is your marginal rate on some income.
Do not count the same existing contribution twice.
Do not interpret “above remaining limit” as meaning the pension provider cannot accept the money; it means the amount is outside the relief limit modelled here.
And do not assume a tax-relievable contribution is liquid savings that can be withdrawn whenever needed.
Related Compound tools
Use the Pension Projection Calculator to model long-term accumulation, the MyFutureFund Calculator for auto-enrolment, the Retirement Income Calculator for the spending phase and the Take-Home Pay Calculator for broader 2026 employee tax estimates.
Frequently asked questions
What age is used?
The calculator applies the percentage band corresponding to the age entered. Confirm the correct age basis for your tax-year circumstances if you are near a band boundary.
Is €115,000 the maximum pension contribution?
No. It is the maximum earnings amount used in this employee/personal Income Tax relief calculation.
Do employer contributions use up the employee’s age-related limit?
Revenue states employer contributions are not taken into consideration when calculating the employee’s earnings threshold for this limit.
Does pension relief reduce USC and PRSI?
The calculator models Income Tax relief only; Revenue guidance says employee pension contributions do not receive USC or PRSI relief in the same way.
Method and limitations
The engine first caps relevant earnings at €115,000.
It applies the age-related percentage to those earnings to calculate the maximum annual employee/personal contribution within the relief limit.
In Advanced mode, existing employee/personal contributions are subtracted from that limit to calculate remaining room.
The new contribution is then split into an amount potentially within the remaining limit and an excess amount.
Illustrative Income Tax relief equals the potentially eligible new contribution multiplied by the selected 20% or 40% rate.
The model does not calculate a person’s actual marginal-rate capacity, pension-product eligibility, multiple earnings sources, carry-back rules, tax filing deadlines or employer contribution treatment beyond excluding employer contributions from the Advanced existing-contribution input.
Useful sources
READ THE CONTEXT